In venture investing it is easy to get distracted by cycles.
Today the discussion revolves around artificial intelligence, valuations and the possibility of a future correction in the market.
But history suggests something different: technological waves survive the bubbles that surround them.
Andrea Rota experienced this first-hand in Silicon Valley during the dot-com crash. Companies disappeared overnight, offices closed, highways emptied. Yet the internet did not vanish — it became the infrastructure of the modern economy.
The same dynamic will likely repeat itself again.
What ultimately matters are the entrepreneurs capable of building real companies when the excitement fades. This is where angel investors play their role: backing founders early, when uncertainty is highest and institutional capital is still cautious.
At Club degli Investitori, the focus is simple. We invest in exceptional Italian entrepreneurs who are building companies with the potential to become European champions.
Increasingly, these companies operate in sectors that will shape Europe’s strategic future: nuclear energy, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing.
Europe has long been a leader in research and engineering. The challenge now is turning that scientific strength into companies capable of competing globally.
If that transformation succeeds, the 2020s may be remembered as the decade in which Europe learned to translate its knowledge into industrial leadership.
Angel investors cannot solve this challenge alone. But by supporting the right founders early — with capital, experience and networks — they can help make it possible.
