Seed Up Italy #1
Shining a light on Italy’s most overlooked early-stage startups
Welcome to Seed Up Italy!
Seed Up Italy is a monthly deep dive into the top overlooked 2-3 early-stage startups in Italy—no fluff, no hype, just raw validation.
As a startup operator with over a decade of hands-on experience across London, Berlin, and Italy, and as an active angel investor, I’ve learned one or two things 👇
great founders show their edge early and traction speaks louder than innovation theaters.
Italy is brimming with underestimated talent and sharp operators building quietly but executing powerfully.
While many international VCs overlook this market due to limited access and scattered visibility, I believe it's time to change that.
Seed Up Italy exists to spotlight the pre-seed and seed-stage founders who are actually making it happen—with real metrics, real users, and real momentum. Whether you're an investor, a founder, or just startup-curious, this newsletter is your curated window into Italy’s most promising early-stage opportunities.
1. Why this, why now
Italy’s startup scene is often overlooked, but it’s on the rise.
In 2013, just €152 million flowed into Italian startups.
Fast forward to 2024, and that number jumped to €1.5 billion, +28% compared to 2023, with the number of rounds also grows to 417 with a YoY growth of 31%.
Exit activity also reached a record 234 in 2023 alone. The opportunity is real—and it’s growing fast.
2. Why me
Over the past decade, I’ve mentored over 30 startups each year through leading accelerators like Techstars and Startupbootcamp, helping founders find product-market fit and scale smart.
Every time I meet founders and investors in the UK or other countries the question I’ve been receiving in the past 7-8 years has always been the same: which are the most promising startups to track in Italy?
My product, growth & go-to-market experience in early-stage startups in London and unicorns in EMEA, combined with strong ties to the Italian ecosystem and two best-selling books on growth and startups, has given me a front-row seat to this transformation.
Seed Up Italy is my way of opening that seat to you.
Whether you’re an investor, operator, or just startup-curious, this is your inside track to the best early-stage opportunities Italy has to offer.
3. What to expect
In each edition of Seed Up Italy, you’ll find sharp, metric-driven analysis of three standout early-stage startups—pre-seed and seed—chosen for their traction, not their buzz.
Expect deep dives into what’s working, why it’s scaling, and what industries or geographies are ripe for disruption.
We’ll also spotlight overlooked opportunities in sectors being quietly transformed by digitalization, especially in Italy’s mid-sized cities where local scale can unlock massive value fast.
As an active angel investor, these analyses are part of my own personal dealflow research—now shared publicly, to open up my process and build transparently alongside a community of curious investors, founders, and operators.
Ready? Let’s go with the first analysis!
Seed Up Italy Batch #1
Deeva
Deeva is a pioneering beauty-tech platform delivering professional hair, makeup, and aesthetic services directly to clients' homes in Milan and Turin.
By combining the convenience of on-demand booking with the quality of top-tier salons, Deeva is transforming the beauty experience for both clients and professionals.
As an early investor, I'm excited to share that Q1 2025 has been a significant milestone for Deeva, showcasing impressive growth and strong indicators of product-market fit.
📈 Q1 Highlights – Beauty Meets Execution
March Revenue: €34,519 (+23% vs. February; 2.6x vs. March '24)
Milan achieving 70% of Turin's revenue with only half the appointment volume
Gross Margin: 33.4% (+18pp YoY); Milan at an impressive 41%
Average Ticket: €57.9 (+28% YoY)
Appointments Completed: 584 (+103% YoY)
Agenda Saturation: 49.4% – indicating strong and consistent demand
Team Expansion: 15 professionals (9.8 FTEs) with 55+ new Pros in the active pipeline
🔁 Retention: Clear Signs of Product-Market Fit
In Milan, return clients (96) nearly match new clients (107) in March, despite the launch in Milan formally happening only 4 months ago
Milan clients are returning at a rate 60% higher than Turin's at a comparable stage of market maturity
Monthly repeat usage is on the rise, particularly in high-LTV segments like aesthetics and events
Return clients exhibit higher average spending compared to new users, reflecting successful upselling strategies
🧪 New Growth Levers Activated
Aesthetics Line Launched: 50+ test appointments with an average rating of 9.8/10
Booking Conversion Rate: Improved by 40% in the past six weeks
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Currently at €57, with ongoing optimization through TikTok and brand partnerships
If you’re interested to learn more, let me know I can intro the CEO :)
Industry context: what to expect from the beauty market
The beauty and wellness market in Europe is undergoing rapid evolution, driven by consumer demand for personalized, tech-enabled, and on-demand services.
Platforms like Treatwell report over 100 million bookings annually, with significant traction in markets like Italy, Germany, and the UK—indicating increasing comfort in booking services online. The segment is also moving upmarket, merging wellness with luxury and longevity, as recent VCs backing are related to “next-gen self-care” brands.
A relevant benchmark for Deeva is Urban, the London-based wellness app offering massage and beauty services on-demand. With a strong presence in European capitals and a near-profitable model, it raised $10.1 million in Series B funding, showcasing investor belief in the sustainability and scalability of this sector. Urban's growth illustrates how platforms blending convenience, wellness, and urban mobility can thrive in the shifting consumer landscape.
🧬 Levigata
Levigata is a pre-seed digital health startup on a mission to address erectile dysfunction (ED) through a data-driven, modern, and discreet approach tailored specifically to men.
Still in its early stages, the team is deeply focused on validating assumptions, understanding the pain points of its audience, and building a product that speaks directly to the needs of an underserved demographic.
While many players in this space focus on generic solutions, Levigata is designing a highly personalised experience for men looking to regain confidence and control over their intimate health.
Redefining Men’s Sexual Health
Despite being early, the traction is already impressive.
With over 250 paying patients, Levigata has reached a Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) of €40 and an Average Order Value (AOV) of €51, while maintaining a 50% month-over-month (MoM) growth rate. These numbers point to a strong market response and clear demand.
In April, the team is introducing new revenue streams through complementary products, based directly on patient feedback, and is optimizing its pricing model, an approach that has already shown positive impact on Lifetime Value (LTV).
What’s particularly promising is their early move into preventive health.
By offering diagnostic tests for underlying conditions often linked to ED—such as cardiovascular issues—Levigata has already seen 10% of paying patients and 4.2% of its wider community express interest in affordable local screening options. This opens an entirely new frontier in customer engagement and long-term health outcomes, showing that Levigata could evolve beyond ED into a broader men’s health platform.
🌍 Industry Context – A Growing Market for Men's Health
The men's health and wellness market is still largely untapped, despite the fact that men often have disposable income but are underserved by traditional wellness brands. With rising attention on men's fertility, hair loss, therapy, and sexual health, the market is expected to grow significantly in the next 3–5 years.
Levigata is positioning itself at the center of this wave, with a direct-to-patient model, fast iteration cycles, and early signs of strong product-market fit.
A notable example in this space is Mojo, a UK-based fertility startup offering AI-powered, at-home sperm testing services. Mojo's technology provides clinical-grade results within 48 hours, eliminating the need for clinic visits and reducing human error in sperm analysis.
The company has raised $4.4 million in seed funding to expand its services and further develop its AI-driven fertility solutions.
Mojo's success underscores the growing demand for accessible, tech-enabled men's health services and highlights the potential for startups like Levigata to make a significant impact in this evolving market.
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If you have any feedback, pls add it to the comments sections!
And if you want to share metrics about your startups, I’m all ears: reply to this email and I’ll include your startup analysis in the next episode. Only on the condition your metrica look good! 📈
Let’s goooo!!!