Albert School x Politecnico di Milano GSoM : "Among Thousands of Entrepreneurs: What Really Makes One Stand Out?"

Every year, thousands of people start companies. A small fraction raise funding. An even smaller fraction build something that lasts. What separates them is not luck or timing alone — it is a combination of mindset, execution, and the ability to recognize what actually matters at each stage of growth.

This session answers that question from two distinct vantage points: the investor who evaluates founders, and the founder who is living it.

Elena Lavezzi is CEO of ZNEXT, the €60M venture builder launched by Zanichelli Editore to back high-growth technology companies in learning, work, and wellbeing. Her path to that role is unusual: she spent nearly a decade scaling three unicorns — as Marketing Manager at Uber (joining at 100 people, leaving at 15,000), as General Manager Italy & DACH at Circle, and as Head of Southern Europe at Revolut — before serving as Group Chief Strategy Officer at Kuda, a fintech built to expand financial access across Africa. She now backs and builds founders from the inside.

Alfredo Palena brings the founder perspective: what the decisions actually look like, and what he would do differently.

The conversation will be moderated by Floriano Bollettini, General Director Italy at Albert School, and Prof. Angelo Cavallo, Associate Dean at POLIMI Graduate School of Management and Professor of Entrepreneurship — both co-directors of the Master in AI & Entrepreneurship.

This is also a direct introduction to the programme itself: structure, cohort, and what the September 2026 intake looks like.

Reserve your spot. The session is free and open to all.

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