As an Italian expat, I do welcome the attempt; I just wonder who would actually apply for one.
If you're in the US, your ecosystem is so much more startup-friendly, there is no point moving anywhere else -- opening a cheap R&D is probably the only reason I can think of, but if you're going for costs savings in that area, wouldn't you get a better deal in Eastern Europe?
If you are in Europe, you don't need a VISA to move to Italy.
The only people who would lust after this, IMHO, are:
1. South-Americans who can't or won't get into the United States;
2. Middle-Easters who can't or won't get into Gulf countries or Israel;
3. the kids of first-generation immigrants in Italy who can't get citizenship (because Italian immigration laws are stupid).
Are these constituencies large enough to create a significant ecosystem? I don't know. They will certainly face huge problems with casual racism in the business sector, if they try to sell in the Italian market. And venture finance for unconnected businesses in Italy is non-existent; the culture is very risk-averse, and capital is too sparsely distributed to make venturing palatable to the average investor.
But hey, good luck. At least they're trying something, I guess.
If you're in the US, your ecosystem is so much more startup-friendly, there is no point moving anywhere else -- opening a cheap R&D is probably the only reason I can think of, but if you're going for costs savings in that area, wouldn't you get a better deal in Eastern Europe?
If you are in Europe, you don't need a VISA to move to Italy.
The only people who would lust after this, IMHO, are:
1. South-Americans who can't or won't get into the United States;
2. Middle-Easters who can't or won't get into Gulf countries or Israel;
3. the kids of first-generation immigrants in Italy who can't get citizenship (because Italian immigration laws are stupid).
Are these constituencies large enough to create a significant ecosystem? I don't know. They will certainly face huge problems with casual racism in the business sector, if they try to sell in the Italian market. And venture finance for unconnected businesses in Italy is non-existent; the culture is very risk-averse, and capital is too sparsely distributed to make venturing palatable to the average investor.
But hey, good luck. At least they're trying something, I guess.