In-Person Event
Speed Mentoring: 5 AI Startup Mentors, 5 Rounds, 1 Night
Get five focused one-on-one mentor sessions in a single evening, each with a next step.
Date
Dec 03, 2026
Time
09:00 am - 11:00 am
Address
Monaci Digitali - Certosa di Padula, Viale Certosa snc, Padula, Salerno, Italy
Reading about mentorship convinces nobody. Sitting across from five operators in one evening convinces almost everybody.
You rotate through five short one-on-one sessions. Each mentor gets your problem, gives their read, and ends with one concrete next step you write down before moving to the next table. Five perspectives on the same problem in a single night.
Register now. Bring one problem, not five.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to use a short mentor session without wasting it on background;
- Two complementary expert perspectives on the same problem in one night: the local business community and the innovation ecosystem;
- How to work with local businesses, trade associations and public institutions in Southern Italy;
- How incubators, research partnerships and innovation certification can accelerate your startup;
- Where your blind spots are, named by people who have built before;
- One concrete next step from each mentor, written down before you leave;
- How mentor relationships start, and how to continue them afterwards.
Featured Mentors:
- Mariantonietta Aquino - President at Confesercenti Vallo di Diano - Mariantonietta Aquino is a business and community leader in the Vallo di Diano. As former President of Confesercenti Vallo di Diano, she has represented and supported local merchants and small businesses. She has coordinated training and workforce requalification programs, including initiatives under the Fondo Nuove Competenze and the GOL program. As a municipal councillor in San Rufo, she launched social-inclusion internships to bring people back into the labor market. She helps founders understand and work with the local business fabric and its institutions.
- Pasquale Brancaccio - Director General at INHUSE – Innovation Hub South Europe - Pasquale Brancaccio is Director General of INHUSE – Innovation Hub South Europe, based in Caserta. INHUSE is an incubator certified by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises (MIMIT), a 4.0 Technology Transfer Center of Unioncamere and a research organization recognized by the Ministry of University and Research. Under his leadership, INHUSE ranked first in Italy and 18th in Europe in the Financial Times’ “Europe’s Leading Start-up Hubs 2024.” He leads technology transfer with Università Vanvitelli and international projects, including a new hub in Buenos Aires. He helps founders and SMEs turn research and innovation into market-ready businesses.
Who Should Attend:
- Founders stuck on a specific problem they cannot solve alone;
- Founders building in Southern Italy who need to engage local businesses, associations or public institutions;
- Founders looking for incubation, research partners or innovation certification;
- Prospective applicants who want to experience mentorship before committing;
- Early founders with no access to experienced operators;
- Anyone who gets more from a conversation than from a presentation.
Additional Resources: Find more Startup Events, browse the Founder Institute Mentors you will meet, or read Reviews from founders who worked with them.
About Founder Institute: The Founder Institute is the World’s Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
Speakers
Platinum Partners
Google
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