Michael Cimino

Trying to launch Ventures @ FoolFarm Spa

About

Strategy, finance, and operations professional with almost 10 years of experience across investment banking and hands-on startup building. Experienced in coordinating complex projects, aligning multiple stakeholders and delivering results under pressure. Went all-in on first-hand startup experience to understand what it truly takes to launch and scale initiatives. Traveled extensively across Europe, Argentina, Tanzania, India, Sri Lanka and Taiwan, developing a global perspective and a personal commitment to fighting global poverty (think tanks, charity).

Country

Italy

City

Greater Milan Metropolitan Area

Industry

Venture Capital & Private Equity

Skill

Experience

Trying to launch Ventures

FoolFarm Spa

2022-2 - Present · 4 yrs 8 mos

Milano

Joined as the first team member, constantly trying to make things work for this high-stakes challenging initiative within the Italian startup ecosystem. - Experienced first-hand what it takes to build breakthrough innovation, namely flexibility, lateral thinking, smart risk-taking, fast pivots and impact measurement - Led multiple startup projects from idea to execution, delivering solutions in voice authentication, data protection, AI-workplace-safety and a proprietary AI vibe coding platform - Covered the full venture journey, from market discovery to product validation and team selection - Ensured execution continuity in highly dynamic environments - Ultimately contributed to scaling the organization from 1 to 30+ people and supporting €20M+ in fundraising across various rounds

Associate Professor

Sole 24 ORE Formazione

2024-9 - 2025-7 · 11 mos

Milano

Lecturing for Startup & AI Executive Master

IPO & Capital raise

STJ Advisors

2019-1 - 2021-12 · 3 yrs

Londra, Regno Unito

- STJ is a major advisor in EMEA for capital raising - My responsibilities spanned from business modelling to investor presentations, to attract fresh new money - Major involvements included £500m secondary in Wizz Air shares, Cellnex €2.5bn capital increase, Addiko Bank IPO in Wien

IPO & Capital raise

Commerzbank AG

2016-1 - 2018-12 · 3 yrs

London

- 2nd major bank in Germany - Origination & deal execution outside DACH region - Major achievements included CreVal IPO in Italy, €4.2bn IPO of Siemens Healthineers, €13bn capital increase of UniCredit (largest bank recap in Europe since the financial crisis)