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Gianni Matera
Founder at Growing Capital
Gianni Matera is an Italian entrepreneur and investor who founded Growing Capital, an early-stage investment firm specializing in supporting startups with roots in Ireland.12 Here are some key details about Gianni Matera:
Professional Background
Matera completed his bachelor's degree in Organizational Behaviour at Università Bocconi while serving as Lieutenant at Scula Militare Alpina.1 He held business development roles in Italy and Turkey before founding DigiTouch, which became the largest independent digital advertising company in Italy.1
Entrepreneurial Journey
After selling 75% of his shares in DigiTouch, which later had a €44 million IPO on the Italian Stock Exchange in 2016, Matera founded DigitAlchemy in 2011.1 In 2015, he established Growing Capital and began actively funding Ireland-based startups.1
Focus on Irish Startups
Matera moved to Dublin in 2013 and started his Irish investment drive.1 Growing Capital typically invests around €250,000 in companies eligible for funding by Enterprise Ireland, with the organization often matching this sum.1 By 2020, Matera aimed to increase his Irish investment tally to €4 million.1
Recent Achievements
In March 2024, Matera was named the inaugural Venture Capitalist in Residence (VCiR) at NovaUCD, the innovation and startup hub at University College Dublin.23 This role involves engaging with the NovaUCD entrepreneurial community, holding office hours, delivering investor masterclasses, and participating in various startup support activities.2
Investment Portfolio
To date, Growing Capital has supported 27 Irish startups, including companies like Caragon, Brim Brother, GloFox, and Reflex Gaming.13 The firm has also invested in NanobOx, a UCD spin-out company.3
Gianni Matera's LinkedIn username is indeed gmatera, as mentioned in the query.4
Highlights
As the summer break approaches, it's time to take stock.
It has been an exceptionally busy year: over the past 12 months, Growing Capital has closed 16 transactions, investing a total of €2.2 million.
Here are some numbers.
By stage: 10 pre-seed investments supported (almost always) by EI Pre-Seed Start Fund 3 seed investments with EI Innovative HPSU Fund 3 follow-on rounds in more mature startups
Origin of the startups: 6 university spin-outs supported by EI Commercialisation Fund 5 from the EI New Frontiers programme 5 not involved in previous programmes
Best wishes to all the founders: we know it won't be smooth sailing for everyone, but I know that you will all give your best and, no matter the outcome, you will come out with your heads held high.
A special thanks to the founders of the startups I've invested in over the past years, who have generated the exits necessary to fund this new round of investments: Conor, Anthony, and Finn of Glofox; Tony, Garron and Trisha of Caragon; Conor and James of Flipdish; and Simone of Scalapay.
Have a great summer, everyone!
Akara Robotics ALPACA Assessment Leapifai Lua Health MoveAhead nanobOx OXHY Persuva.ai Protostars RecommenderX Restore Innovation Ltd Risso AI Slick+ Smile Genius Dental StationOps Ulysses Neuroscience Limited
With great joy, we congratulate Luca Marchesotti, founder of Risso AI, and Peter Horvath, founder of Persuva.ai, for successfully closing a €200,000 pre-seed round, with €100,000 from Growing Capital and €100,000 from the Enterprise Ireland Pre-Seed Start Fund.
We also wish to express our deep gratitude to Julian Seymour and the Furthr's team for the invaluable support provided to both founders in their application for the PPSF of Enterprise Ireland.
I strongly encourage founders to take advantage of the support offered by Business Innovation Centres in their application process. Their extensive expertise can guide you in preparing a compelling application.
Are you a founder looking for early-stage investment? Don’t miss this workshop organised by Furthr and Enterprise Ireland: https://lnkd.in/eNU9qWZK
More information about Risso and Persuva on Irish Times: https://lnkd.in/etVxCzhi
