The Vento Post | May 26
Our monthly pills for founders, wannabe founders and Vento’s friends.
Can you feel the heat? We definitely can, but not because of the off-the-charts temperatures that have hit us (I mean, that as well), but because of the million things that have happened in Vento this month! We always say we’ve been busy, but trust us when we say that there’s barely been a slow day here in May. Plus, we’re working at full speed on exciting things to come…
The youngest colleague ever: at the beginning of the month we welcomed a new addition to Vento, but this time with a slightly different CV from ours - let’s just say being alive was prerequisite enough to make the team: say hello to Niko! Our CEO Diyala celebrated his arrival a few weeks ago and we have already covered him in gifts - you’ll be seeing him at Reef’s 30th Cohort 👶🏻
Events all over: in May, Vento played both at home and away - from Turin to Barcelona to Bologna. We co-hosted an event with n8n, teaching aspiring builders how to create their very own AI agent, right here at OGR Torino; the investments team headed off to Barcelona to host a meet-up with Talent Garden and Italian Tech Club, which attracted incredible Italian talents working in tech; finally, Tommaso and Elena were our ambassadors at The Bologna Gathering, bringing home interesting insights and exciting business cards 🗺️
Pitch Perfect: as the end of Reef is quickly approaching, our founders in residence tested out their pitches in front of an audience during our Community Breakfast. Some stage fright, some technical difficulties but also a lot of promise and enthusiasm - we’re getting all the nerves out of the way in preparation for their first appearance in front of potential investors (*cough cough* - us) 🎤
🌎 News from Vento
Our portfolio keeps growing. Here’s a sneak peek on one of our latest deals:
Volta Space Technologies
What does Volta Space Technologies do? Volta Space Technologies provides innovative power solutions for lunar operations through its LightPort Power receiver, enabling cost-effective, on-demand energy access without the need for large batteries.
Who? Justin Zipkin (Co-Founder and CEO) and Paolo Pino (CTO) combine commercial operator experience and deep technical ownership to build the world’s first lunar energy grid — already validated with a live power beaming demo on Earth and hardware headed to the Moon aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 2.
🔮Wisdom Pills from our Network
“I don’t really believe in doing go-to-market with product features - it’s a big waste of time in my opinion. The way to do it is to actually address a specific need and sell the problem solved, which is a different story. So, you don’t sell features, you sell the problem solved.”
This kind of clarity only comes from being genuinely close to the problem, from having lived it yourself, grown up around it, and built a product on top of it. Special guest of our Vento Meets podcast, Enrico Mattiazzi didn’t just study what it means to be a freelancer, he is one, and that’s what helped him build FiscoZen: a way to make all the fear around taxes disappear. In this episode, he shares insights that every founder in the room can build on.
⛔️ Stop selling features
People don’t buy tools, they buy the solution to their problems. Framing your product as a solved problem is more enticing than a service that can “potentially” help you. In FiscoZen’s case, making all that anxiety around a freelancer’s obligations disappear, which is something Italian professionals typically experience - such as VAT numbers, is what led them to success.
🌎 Italy‑only by design
In regulated, trust‑heavy markets like taxes, you can build a big company by going extremely deep in one country instead of expanding superficially across many, owning law, culture, channels and brand in that single market. This can apply to other areas such as insurance, healthcare and more: it can be more powerful to truly dominate one geography rather than attempting to spread yourself across many countries.
🧬 Know your own physics
When you’re the person closest to the problem you become the one who can truly judge which strategy makes the most sense, even if this goes against standard VC wisdom. Enrico’s shift from VC to founder showed that his proximity to the issue and the freelancer world being his reality were key vantage points in understanding what users actually worry about. Some actions may clash with typical VC playbooks, like staying local, testing the riskiest assumptions fast, but it’s the actual physics of the problem that you should be using as your input.
You can find this episode and much more on our Youtube channel and Spotify!
🫵 We want you! (Openings)
Looking for growth opportunities? Our companies are looking for bright individuals.
Give it a shot!
JustSolve is looking for a Sales Development Representative (SDR) Intern;
BonusX is looking for a Sales Intern;
CommerceClarity is looking for a Founding Product Designer;
🤝 The Network Effect (only for our Portfolio Companies)
We are not just a fund: we are a partner. And we support our founders to the best of our abilities. How do we do it? Well, among other things we create synergies with companies to offer dedicated perks and help our founders work better, spending less!
🔗 Build powerful websites with Framer.
Framer is the fastest way to go from design to high-performance website—design, publish, and scale, no code required. Vento companies get 1 year free of Framer.
📊 Manage your cap table with Carta.
Carta helps you manage your cap table, issue securities, raise via SAFEs, get 409A valuations, and stay compliant. Vento companies get a free Carta Launch plan or 20% off the first year on paid plans, with 100% waived implementation fees.
💳 Simplify your business finances with Finom.
Finom is the all-in-one financial platform for startups and SMEs in Europe. Vento companies get 3 months free on all plans, plus dedicated onboarding support.
✨ The 3 Ls: Learned, Loved, Laughed
🤓 Learned
Building Shopify and the Future of AI - Uncapped with Jack Altman
AI isn’t coming for your job. It’s coming for your mind - Tom Slater
The Inference Shift - Ben Thompson
😍 Loved
In case you missed it, we partnered with Yellow Tech and Veliu in hosting Italian Hackathon League, a series of rounds where the best builders challenge each other all the way to the final, which will be held during Wave by Vento. The next session will be on the 13th of June in Milan, in collaboration with Cursor. Want to test yourself? Apply here!
We’re thrilled to announce that Wave by Vento is officially partnering with S-Tron Shanghai, one of Asia’s most exciting tech and startup gatherings, and the flagship event of a platform built over a decade on the legacy of Slush China.
Taking place on 22–23 September 2026 in Shanghai, this is the kind of room where ecosystems get built, deals get done, and the next chapter of tech in Asia gets written. Grab your passes here - add code wavebyvento for 100% off! You also get 15% off Startup Booths by applying here.
On a less serious note, we also enjoyed testing out all the catering options for Wave by Vento, coming to OGR Torino on 7-9 October. We were lucky enough to try four different cuisines in one lunch break, being personally served at our desks - we thought this was definitely newsletter-worthy.
😂 Laughed
This month we also had another new entry, only this time not a team player, rather a team disruptor. We’re talking about Aaron, Martina’s new puppy, who already has the strength to drag us around and cause chaos all across the office. His main fascination? Trash cans 🗑️
🦄 If you
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If you are a founder and you are fundraising, apply here.
If you want to be a founder but don’t know where to start, join our waiting list here.