“I was abroad and in Milan, then I came back to Naples: now I have my own company and I want to invest here”

The one of Antonio romano It’s a brain drain story in reverse. Although most of his classmates left the south to work in the north, he took the opposite route: he studied in Brazil, started working on Milan and then decided to found his start-up in Naples, city where he grew up. In 2014 she created a digital store for gastronomic products, and three years later her company specialized in digital services for companies. Now she is working in an academy to train future professionals of the digital economy. Her work didn’t stop not even during the confinementIndeed: the greater demand for digital services has allowed your project to grow and triple its billing compared to January. The aim of the academy is to fill a void that pushes many children to pack up and leave the twelve: “I’ve been abroad, then north, a Milan, and then I decided to go back to Naples because I love my land – says Antonio – with the academy I want create fertile and competitive ground for youth, what I was looking for a few years ago but could not find ”.

Antonio’s training intertwines two paths: on the one hand music, in the other one the economy. Graduated in piano from the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples, he graduated with honors in Business Administration from Federico II. To reconcile the two, he prepared his night exams: “Music has been my strength, gave me method and rigor. Coming from a very humble reality I have always placed myself ambitious goals“Then he moved to Milan to specialize in Management and decides to complete his studies abroad, in Brazil, with a master’s degree in International Management at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation.

Back in Italy, he started working as a financial analyst in various companies. When you do your first start-up, Antonio understands that the time has come to go home with a wealth of skills to invest in the South: “I wanted to improve the food products of the area at a difficult time for Campania, sadly known as Land of fires “. So in 2014 he founded an online platform dedicated to gastronomic specialties, can be purchased online and delivered to your home in 48 hours. Exit. Then, in 2017, it’s the turn of another project provide companies with tools to personalized marketing. In less than three years it goes from two to 11 employees: hence the decision to open an academy to train aspiring professionals of the digital economy. “Starts from way of thinking – he explains – you have to be positive, have tenacity and extreme curiosity – and then contribute the skills and experiences to carry out a specific project ”.

The purpose of the academy is also to fill a void in the digital economy: “All companies need experts in digital advertisingBut colleges often don’t provide these skills. Myself I struggled to find trained resources: our goal is to become the connector between the university and work in this field, to maintain excellence in the South ”.

Among the challenges to face, there is a huge one: the coronavirus pandemic and the closure. “It was a sudden wave that changed and upset habits, attitudes, social processes and even ways of thinking: it was a test for everyone“But he gave a strong boost to digital services and Romano jumped on the wave:” During those months I have acquired a new company, positioning my startup as the first Italian media technology company“. Result: sales tripled compared to January.” The success of a company is in itself ability to react – he explains -. We live in an age of sudden changes where everything ages right away. We return to the office with much more experience and ready for anything ”.

Looking ahead, Antonio notices a great illusion: “In the South there are important talents and resources, facilities and offers are lacking, but I think we can do it. The signs of change are evident, many initiatives are emerging in the area. Living thinking that things will never change and giving up doesn’t workLet’s at least give us some possibilities. “Reflecting on his path, Antonio reflects on how the world of work has changed in the last ten years, impressions confirmed by the rapid changes imposed by the pandemic:” Today the idea that sometimes work must be created and not sought “. The long-term goal of her start-up and her academy is to create new possibilities: “I don’t want my daughter to leave the South one day because it is forced, but only because he wants it ”.