Bullet Point // 2
Step into the world of B Heroes: fresh updates from portfolio companies, exciting news on upcoming investments, and all the latest buzz from our community
Ciao, welcome to the second edition of Bullet point 📜
November is here, and with it comes the season for fresh ideas and strategic planning for the year ahead and we’re preparing some cool stuff (a hint 🧑💻🧑💻). The world is rapidly changing from Trump’s election, wars, and the new AI wave.
But instead of diving into those complex discussions, we’re here to focus on our community: the latest insights, achievements, and developments within the B Heroes network.
We’d like to start with a quick update: we’ve introduced a brand-new application form for founders raising capital. It’s a simpler, more streamlined way to onboard into the B Heroes ecosystem - just one new touchpoint that could spark a network of opportunities (new updates are on the way 👀)
Our updates aside - Let’s dig into all the community updates! 🚀
🔎 Spotlights
We have the pleasure of meeting many entrepreneurs with captivating and challenging visions and it is always fascinating to see what trigger enables the creation of a new entrepreneurial path.
We have decided to bring these insights to the surface and put them in the best light, so that they can be enhanced, deepened and shared.
♻️ Consumers face diminishing purchasing power (7% in the last year) and on the other hand, products are increasingly polluting (800 Mn tons of waste yearly) due to planned obsolescence (-7 months in the last five years). Linear consumption methods may end if a new, circular paradigm can redistribute product value across the value chain. Will it happen?
🏡 Millennials surpass baby boomers and become the largest group of home buyers at 38%. Baby boomers, comprising both younger boomers (ages 59 to 68) and older boomers (ages 69 to 77), saw their share decrease from 39% to 31%, relinquishing their position as last year's largest demographic of home buyers. Will they demand more digital services? It seems so.
source ➡️ link
🏗️ Especially for large-parts manufacturing, the advancement in AI applied to robotics is making autonomous factories a reality. Early results are staggering with improved lead time (10x), cost savings (+50%) and improved sustainability footprint.
source ➡️ link
🗞️ Monthly round-up from our portfolio
Having 130 active portfolio companies is not an easy work. Between round closures, new acquisitions, new countries, product upgrades, and awards, the B Heroes’ portfolio each month has some small news worth mentioning.
Here are the most important news regarding our portfolio companies over the past month:
📣 Let’s start with two big news about closing rounds 📣
With the successful close of a €3 million round, WithLess, an AI-powered platform helping finance teams optimize costs and streamline software procurement, joined our portfolio ⭐️
A huge congratulations to Gianluca, Thomas, and the entire WithLess team!
To find out more about WithLess ➡️ click here.
Staying in the fintech arena, the unicorn led by Alberto Dalmasso, recently closed a €60 Mn round that will be mainly dedicated to new hires and new acquisitions.
To find out more about the round ➡️ click here
Now, some more news about our portfolio:
Bending Spoons; Contents e We Road - The three scale-ups were featured in TechBullion as Italian companies making an impact on an international scale
Hale e Zefi.ai - Gaia and Aurora, the respective CEOs and founders of Hale and Zefi, were named among Founders Forum’s 100 Women Founders to Watch.
Kuiri - Through its joint venture with Idnnt, Kuiri brings Star Kitchen to life, a company focused on creating new food & beverage brands in partnership with a talent.
Pandas.ai - A month of big news for Pandas.ai. They’ve launched new features for data extraction from .pdf files and, through their latest release on GitHub, received 13k stars.
Rubedo - A biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of therapies for diseases associated with aging, has announced the opening of its European headquarters and clinical operations in Milan, Italy.
Satispay - Apart from closing the funding round and introducing meal vouchers and fringe benefits, Satispay expands its product lineup with the launch of Satispay gift cards.
Sykell - With its SaaS solution “Circular ERP,” Sykell has won the German Sustainability Award.
Treedom - The Treedom app is officially available! A digital service designed to make planting trees easier and to track the stories of the projects you help bring to life.
We Road - Paolo De Nadai, founder of WeRoad, has been awarded the “Scale Up” prize at the XXVII edition of the EY “Entrepreneur of the Year” awards.
WithLess - Alongside closing its funding round, WithLess has been named by Mastercard as the best Italian fintech startup.
Zefi.ai - Zefi.ai, shortly after launching its latest version on Product Hunt featuring multiple updates, has been recognized as “Product of the Day” on the platform.
Zicklearn - The Irish startup focused on microlearning has announced the launch of a free version.
A big shoutout to these portcos for the impressive achievement that they’ve reached in the last month! 🙏🏻
If you’re one of our portfolio companies, we’re here to support you! Whether you have updates, requests, or any needs to share, feel free to reach out - we’re always ready to assist.
You can catch these updates and more also on our LinkedIn page, so don’t forget to follow us and drop a friendly 👍🏻
💎 B Heroes Founders Club on stage
The B Heroes Founders Club is our exclusive community of founders, who have collectively raised over €600 million. These experienced entrepreneurs help us identify and select the next generation of Italian founders.
Alessandro Petazzi, co-founder and former CEO of Musement and a key member of the B Heroes Founders Club, has been named the new CEO of Lastminute.com.
Enrico Giacomelli, board member of B Heroes and member of the Founders Club, following his recent recognition as a Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, has been appointed to the Board of Directors at the University of Macerata (UniMc),
Congratulations to both Enrico and Alessandro on these incredible achievements! 🎉
🧩 WIP platform
Through our daily interactions with the startups in our portfolio, we gain valuable insights into their needs. In response, we’ve built a robust network of partners
🖨️ Docsend - a platform designed to share documents in real-time with different stakeholders facilitating interaction and simultaneously ensuring privacy and control over materials.
🛍️ Coverflex - is the flexible pay solution that enables companies to disburse the welfare plan via voucher card (Visa circuit) and manage it in a single digital platform.
🧑⚖️ LEXIA - is a law and tax firm that boasts 100 professionals, divided into 15 teams in order to support national and international companies on their growth path.
🏢 Talent Garden - is Europe's largest Edu-Tech Community, providing access to more than 45 thousand professionals from the Startup, SME and Corporate world who together discuss how to create innovation.
Among these newly onboarded perks on our platform, we can count on many other partners ranging from digital marketing to finance, from payroll management to customer support.
If you’re a service provider and you’re keen to give support the Italian ecosystem with us, feel free to reach out to Nico. We’re always open to finding a way to collaborate!
🗓️ Mark up your calendar
Believing in the importance of relationships and breaking down any asymmetry between entrepreneurs, investors, and business professionals, we have created different types of event formats capable of reaching all people in the network.
🔙 Past events:
Insight Job - our think tank designed to share unique perspectives around the latest venture trends, starting with our darling: Artificial Intelligence.
During the previous week's roundtable, we wrapped up the year by exploring key facets of AI-driven and AI-first businesses. We emphasized that the combination of robust data, effective architecture, and a seamless user experience is crucial for success in AI. Additionally, we discussed the most impactful AI use cases and identified sectors with the highest potential to foster the next wave of AI champions.
👉🏻 If you’re curious about the interesting insights we’ve uncovered, you can find a sneak peek here
🔜 Events in the pipeline:
DRINK&DEAL! // November 28th
After an incredible year of DRINK&DEAL! gatherings - the last one at Italian Tech Week with over 250 participants bringing the energy - we’re excited to bring it back to Milan.
Through the support of our trusted sponsors Qonto, Mamacrowd, Fionda Agency, and Contents, on November 28th, we’ll cheer up for one final hurrah in 2024.
👉🏻 DRINK&DEAL! is invite-only, but if you’re up for joining us, here the link you’re looking at.
🤝🏻 Next events where you can find us:
SLUSH // November 20th - 21st
We’re getting ready for Slush, one of the most founder-focused events of the year! 🚀
Our CEO, Carolina, will be joining the Artificial Intelligence panel hosted by Italian Tech Alliance to explore AI’s transformative impact on Italian businesses.
Both Carolina and Tommaso will be in Helsinki - don’t hesitate to reach out and connect! 🚀
Curious to learn more? Check out the event details here ➡️ event link
📖 Book club
Every 2 months we select a reading that can be a stimulus for new projects and to feed the baggage we carry with us, both on a personal level and on a synergistic level as a company. Given the importance we place on the community, we are keen to share with you the reflections that may result from these activities.
This month we will start with “Let my people go surfing” by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. This isn’t just another business guide; it’s a manifesto for building a company that’s as committed to its values as it is to its goals.
Here few concepts that we’ve loved 🫶🏻:
MBA (Management by Absence): Chouinard’s version of MBA is all about trusting your team. Give them high flexibility but hold them accountable. The idea is that people work better when they aren’t micromanaged but know they’re expected to deliver. Freedom with responsibility, plain and simple.
Process over Output: At Patagonia, how you get there matters as much as getting there. The process isn’t just a means to an end — it’s the end itself. For Chouinard, a strong process reflects strong values. Don’t just focus on results; focus on how you get them.
Less is More: Keep it simple, keep it focused. This philosophy runs through Patagonia’s approach, from product design to decision-making. Less clutter, more clarity. It’s about making things that last, both in quality and impact.
Best entrepreneurs like to work with their hands: The best leaders aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. Chouinard emphasizes that practical skills and direct involvement keep leaders grounded and in touch with their team’s realities.