By Jiska van der Kooij, Speaker Event Director PWA

On the 17th of April we had Rita Polarolo, Venture Capital Fund Manager of Principia SGR as our speaker. Rita worked with the most important players in the Seed & Early Stage Investment in Italy, from Innogest to Piemontech and TTVenture. She was an Investment Analyst and Project Manager at Innogest and Piemontech, funds active in seed and early-stage investments in ICT, Cleantech and Biotech. Today she is a Fund Manager of Principia SGR: she runs and selects the dealflow, she takes care of the investment process, from structuring the analysis of the business plan and the company valuation, to the negotiation and preparation of investment contracts. Rita sits on the board of 4 startups. She has a master degree in Business Administration.

‘The elusive dream of entrepreneurs, both aspiring and established: investment by a venture capitalist.’

Venture capitalists look at thousands of potential investment opportunities every year – how do you become part of the tiny percentage that succeeds? What are your first steps? How do you create a convincing presentation? How do you set yourself apart from the pack?

Rita told us about:

• key elements for a persuasive proposition
• the difference the right attitude makes
• components of a winning team
• traits of success stories
• opportunities and challenges unique to women

For those who couldn’t join the event  you can read the presentation of Rita Polarolo here.

Thank you so much Rita for your inspiring and stimulating talk!