In addition to the main conference gathering international VC and PE investors, fund managers and institutional stakeholders, there’s a rich program of side events.

In particular, we’d like to highlight VC Unlocked, an open session with Leading Investors and Experts in the afternoon of October 28 to be hosted by BASE, the coworking and creative space of the Municipality in the Tortona Design District, an event targeting a young audience interested in understanding the capital markets triggering innovation.

On October 29, there will be a very exclusive event: a VC networking dinner at Cracco in Galleria, an event sponsored by the Milanese VC firm United Ventures that will make movers and shakers of innovation taste the exquisite cuisine of one of Italy’s best chefs, in the classic downtown setting of the glass-and-steel arcade next to Duomo.

The following night, hosted by the BPI technology consulting firm, it’s time for the PE Networking Dinner on the Terrazza Duomo overlooking the spires and gargoyles of the Gothic cathedral, with leading financiers and bankers sipping an Aperol or Campari spritz while discussing private equity investment in promising startups.

Our own wrap-up is the Exclusive VC Investors Gathering in Palazzo Giureconsulti on the evening of September 29, for an aperitivo with gourmet catering fueling business conversations. It’s co-Hosted by 360LIFE II, a climate tech fund investing in the ecological transition, and is sponsored by A2A, Milano’s public utility, and by and 360 Capital, a VC market leader.

To fully exploit the Zero One Hundred event, a series of related 0-100 events are also taking place, hosted by the Lombardy Region. First, there is FutureMatch at Palazzo Lombardia, awarding the region’s most innovative university-spinoff and  introducing the winners of a new award dedicated for innovative green chemistry projects. Then in the same place, with the roundtable LPs and GPs: How to collaborate to boost European tech followed by startup pitches, there is the Demo Day of Berkeley Skydeck, the accelerator of the University of Berkeley, headquartered in MIND - Milano Innovation District, working in tandem with PoliHub of the Politecnico engineering university and Cariplo Factory, a foundation that fosters technological development. Milano is the only presence of this leading Silicon Valley seed accelerator in the EU landscape.

Milano is a leading European financial marketplace and has spawned an ecosystem of innovation particularly in biotech, pharma and medical sciences that is visibly transforming the urban landscape. It has a qualified pipeline of startup firms and spinoffs.

It’s also an academic powerhouse with 8 international universities and over 200,000 students, with universities building incubators and startups. Currently, over 50% of Venture Capital investment in Italy occurs in Milano and the vast majority of fintech ventures are based here. There are 5,000 multinationals having offices in Milano, more than 90% of those based in Italy, meaning 500,000 skilled professionals working in the metropolitan area. A significant portion of these belongs to the financial services industry. 

Milano therefore has the scientific knowledge and the financial skills to become a leading innovation hub in Europe, and Zero One Hundred is bringing leading financial players in in the international Venture Capital and Private Equity communities to the capital of Lombardy - a European powerhouse in terms of both research and manufacturing capacity - to assess the scaling potential of local startups and hear their pitches, while making them enjoy the best Milano has to offer through public sessions, exclusive gatherings and haute-cuisine meals around the city.