Having a great idea in the drawer is often not enough: you need to know how to open an innovative startup.

The steps may seem simpler than other types of businesses, but don’t be fooled: from writing a business plan to finding financing, there are many bureaucratic obstacles that can cause you to run aground and perhaps even abandon your plan.

This is why it is needed have clear ideas about the requirements, advantages and steps needed in Italy for this creature dedicated to innovation and technological progress.

Whether it is an innovative startup with a social, agricultural or technological vocation: in this short basic guide we will try to untie the main knots and give you an overall vision.

The meaning of "innovative startup"

By "innovative startup" we mean a capital company also established in the form of a cooperative, which however has the objective of development, production and marketing of innovative products or services with high technological value.

When you approach the regulations and requirements of the startup, you will often hear this objective referred to as the “corporate purpose”. 

What is the difference between an innovative startup and an innovative SME or other company?

The main difference, besides the corporate purpose, is that the innovative startup must be established as such, following certain rules and respecting certain requirements. 

Why open an innovative startup?

Because the innovative startup, precisely because of its peculiar characteristic of technological and social engine, is recognized some benefits, both for the members and for the investors. This, when requesting a loan, will be a factor that plays in your favor.

All the requirements of an innovative startup

• headquarters in Italy;
• or: head office in an EU Member State or in the European Economic Area, with production plant or branch in Italy;
• not arise from the merger, split or transfer of a branch of the company
• be under 5 years old
• have at least one patent or industrial exclusive for an innovative product. It is not enough to have a revolutionary idea without the necessary authorizations!
• or: the staff must have certain characteristics. 1) two thirds of the staff are master's graduates; 1) one third of the staff are PhD, PhD students or graduates with at least 3 years of research activity behind them;
• as an alternative to the last two requirements: the innovative startup must allocate to Research and Development more than 15% of the production cost or its value, whichever is higher.

Innovative Startup Statute: What Does It Mean?

During your in-depth study, you will often hear about the “innovative startup statute”. It is simply one of the documents required to register your company with the Chamber of Commerce. It contains the values ​​of your company, the corporate purpose and other details that you can find on the online model currently valid in Italy, at this link. 

Advantages and disadvantages

Along with the inestimable social value of an innovative enterprise, we have some advantages concrete also for the company owner, the partners and the financiers:

• management is easier;
• the procedure for setting up the company is simplified;
• there are several exceptions to the loss reduction rules;
• There are significant tax breaks available for those who invest in the company.

Among disadvantages main ones are the limitation in the distribution of annual profits of 5 million euros from the second year of activity onwards.

Furthermore, this company model is only valid for 5 years. After that, the transition from startup to innovative SME occurs.

Setting up an innovative startup

Establishing an innovative startup is a process that begins well before the bureaucracy.

First of all, you need to become familiar with some tools of successful entrepreneurship, such as the business plan, the management of any financing or personnel…

Before the actual incorporation of the company, but also before the business plan, you need to work on the product.

Do you have industrial or intellectual property rights?

What technologies will you refer to to optimize your product?

Will your product actually solve a problem?

These questions are preliminary to any innovative company formation.

Pizero Design assists digital SMEs and startups on a daily basis. We follow our clients on the most suitable technologies, the items of expenditure, and we give a general overview of the new technologies and the possibilities that exist in Italy.

from enterprise app development to management software: 

Give wings to your idea, with the digital startup consulting by Pizero Design!