1. Pathflow
Rome-based real life analytics Pathflow offers business intelligence, big data analysis and retail technology services. “We study how customers move and behave inside a location, we match this analysis with marketing and sales data and we generate dashboards with objective data and analysis. Our tools will finally allow retailers to really know their customers and their shopping habits,” according to Pathflow official site.
The startup company focuses on the retail market and enables several businesses to get to know and understand the needs of their customers by providing them with a tool that allows businesses to get data based on their customers’ shopping habits. The company founded by CEO Alberto Gangarossa raised EUR 105,000 from different investors in 2013 and its services are only available in a small number of retail stores in Italy.
2. iubenda
Iubenda is a Milan-based Privacy Policy generator for Websites and Apps that makes it easier for startups to generate in a few seconds a privacy policy for their website, Facebook apps, or mobile apps. “At www.iubenda.com, users can generate a professional, lawyer-crafted, customizable, self-updating privacy policy and request customizations or the crafting of terms & conditions thanks to a worldwide network of local attorneys. We started from a niche: legal compliance for web professionals. We created a SaaS for generating privacy policies and recently expanded to T&C and customization services,” iubenda website states. Just like Pathlow, iubenda was also funded by several investors in 2011 and raised USD 100,000.
3. AppsBuilder
Another Milan-based startup company, Apps Builder helps developers to build HTML 5 and manage, publish, and distribute their own professional apps without having to code at all. Apps Builder which was first launched in 2010 managed to raise USD 1.5 million using Italian VC fund United Ventures.
This very innovative mobile publishing and distribution platform helps companies to build their own strong and unique mobile presence, attract more customers and expand their businesses while keeping a strong relation with its current clients by offering them the best of app-based technology services. “To support SMEs in their marketing and client retention operations, AppsBuilder has developed a whole set of CRM tools to allow brands to engage with customers in long-lasting relationships and geolocalize their communications to maximize reach,” according to angel.co.
4. Tanaza
Tanaza was founded by Sebastiano Bertani and Torquato Bertani and it is the first all-in-one software that can provide everyone with cloud-managed Wi-Fi. With customers like Swisscom Strategy & Innovation and Claire's Accessories, the startup company raised in 2014 USD 500,000 in seed funding from Reshma Sohoni, Seedcamp, Alessandro Erta, Cosimo Maleci, Andrea Orioli, etc.
5. 4w Marketplace
4w Marketplace is a Milan-based multi-screen online advertising company founded by Gabriele Ronchini, Roberto Bassani, and Alberto Fioravanti. The startup company offers its customers mobile solutions that enable them to better manage their inventories and investments through various Italian publishers’ networks. According to angel.co, “thanks to an agreement in exclusivity with the Premium Publishers Network Consortium (founded by Gruppo RCS and Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso), 4w MarketPlace has established itself as Italian Advertising Network for the management of contextual spaces of the Italian premium publishers’ major online media.”
6. BeMyEye
Crowdsourcing website BeMyEye allows retailers to pay people, publish job vacancies, and earn money as mystery shoppers. Some of the other company services include store view for brands and shop audit for retailers. According to Business Insider BeMYEye “was started by former Motorola employee Gian Luca Petrelli in 2011, and has raised over $2.8 million in funding from Capital Bancorp, RedSeed Ventures, Pietro De Nardis and 360 Capital Partners.” Besides Italy, the company operates in Germany, France and the UK as well.
7. Beintoo
Beintoo is a mobile gamification for monetization and distribution company that operates in Milan and in San Francisco. Founded by William Nespoli, Antonio Tomarchio, and Filippo Privitera this startup company raised huge amounts of money in seed funding, Series A, etc.
“Our first-to-market technology enables marketers to understand users based on actual geo-behavior. Beintoo offers advertisers geo-behavioral audiences for programmatic in-app ad targeting and publishers a platform for geo-behavioral user segmentation for personalized cross-channel marketing and opportunities to monetize geo-behavioral data through our programmatic partnerships,” according to Beintoo’s official website.
8. Arduino
Open-source computer hardware and software company Arduino was first launched in 2005 as a design project by Italian students at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea. Arduino founders wanted to find a cheap and easy way to build digital and interactive devices by using sensors and actuators that are used to interact with the physical world. According to Wikipedia, “Adafruit Industries estimated in mid-2011 that over 300,000 official Arduinos had been commercially produced, and in 2013 that 700,000 official boards were in users' hands.” Manufactured by SmartProjects in Italy, Arduino boards are available in both scratch and do-it-yourself kits.
9. GiPStech
GiPStech offers precise indoor localization and navigation solutions that do not require expensive infrastructure installation. Founded by Matteo Faggin, Giuseppe Cutrì, Gaetano D'Aquila, and Giuseppe Fedele the startup company raised USD 270,000 in 2014 from Italian Angels for Growth, Lorenzo Franchini, Massimo Vanzi, Simon Ardiss, etc.
“Our proprietary (patents pending) technology is built around geomagnetic fingerprinting of building floor-plans. It integrates a proprietary version of “particle filter” (PF) Montecarlo Localization (MCL) algorithm that, using a smart inertial engine to determine the movement of the user/object, iterates until finding the candidate point that fits all requirements,” GiPStech official website says. The company’s services can also enable businesses track customers.
10. SpazioDati
Founded by Luca Pieraccini, Michele Barbera, Giovanni Tummarello, Gabriele Antonelli, and Andrea Di Benedetto, SpazioDati builds Dandelion API and offers Semantic Text Analytics services. Trento-based company is mainly used to enrich existing databases, automatically tag products on e-commerce sites, build smart search engines, add location knowledge to web apps, use data for creating infographics and marketing research, etc.
(Picture Source: dignited.com)