Endeavor

24 GLOSSARY: Angel investment: an investment in a company made by an individual, not on behalf of a business or investment firm. Entrepreneurial firms: for-profit businesses that are started by individuals who possess ownership and control of the firm. This excludes businesses that began as either government entities or subsidiaries of larger companies. Local companies: businesses that were founded or are currently headquartered in the Milan metropolitan area. Mentorship: a connection through which a mentee will meet the mentor at least three times for a minimum of 30 minutes to discuss critical business issues. Metropolitan area: the boundaries of a city's metropolitan area are defined using local input. Serial entrepreneurship: the activity of founding of a company by someone who previously founded one or more companies. Software companies: firms where the primary business activity is either software development, fintech, or e-commerce. Spin-off: a company started by a former employee of another company. Startups: companies founded no more than three years earlier. Target companies: entrepreneurial firms founded or currently headquartered in the city's metropolitan area and in the software industry. Top performer: a company in the top decile of all local, entrepreneurial companies founded in the same year based on its number of employees. SAMPLING FRAME: Companies were considered "targets" and included in the sampling frame if they met the following criteria: 1. The company is local. Companies were included if they were: a) Founded in the Milan metropolitan area, or b) Currently headquartered in the city's metropolitan area after they were founded elsewhere. Target companies also included businesses that have closed after being founded or headquartered in the metropolitan area, and those that have been acquired after being founded or headquartered in the area. 2. The company fits the definition of a financial technology company. Financial technology companies were defined as companies that have developed or offer a technological solution dedicated to enabling financial services, or as technology companies whose corporate revenue is mainly linked to the financial services industry. 3. The company is entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurial companies are those started by individuals. This excludes businesses that began as either: a) Government entities, or b) Local divisions of corporations based in other cities. DATA COLLECTION: The data collected for this project comes primarily from surveys and interviews with local entrepreneurs and stakeholders. This study began by identifying "VIP entrepreneurs" and other stakeholders who had an in-depth perspective on the sector (Heads of venture capital firms, government officials, etc.) in each city. VIP entrepreneurs selected for interviews were identified based on: A) Scale – i.e., the current largest companies in the sector, or B) Influence – i.e., companies that have made large exits, received a large investments, or were otherwise noteworthy or influential. The preliminary interviews, which were mostly in person, focused on these important stakeholders. The responses helped establish a list of the sector's most "influential organizations," i.e., organizations with outsized influence. It also provided critical data on the challenges, city characteristics, and each industry's entrepreneurial scene that helped inform later analysis. The resulting primary company list formed a basis for the study, along with additional companies identified through other sources including databases such as Pitchbook, D&B Hoovers, and Crunchbase, as well as the portfolio companies of investors and entrepreneurship support organizations operating in the city. Only target companies moved forward for further investigation, i.e., those founded or headquartered in the mapped city, entrepreneurially founded and in the selected industry, and those fitting the aforementioned criteria on scale and influence. Entrepreneurs from the target list received invitations to fill out an online survey or set up an interview (either in-person or over the phone). METHODOLOGY:

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