A connected entrepreneur 

Italian Flavio Nappi, holds a management master from the ESCP Europe and is the cofounder of the company Extraverso. He also created Regatta ESCP Europe, which puts in contact students and alumni from the school with players of the corporate world. 

A student Europe tour 

"To be a true European, you had to study abroad." Dublin, London, Valencia, Turin, Madrid o even Switzerland: the training years of Flavio Nappi are just as many stops in some of the most dynamic cities in Europe. But it's in Paris that this Neapolitan ended up living. In 2007, he passed a master in management in the ESCP Europe. "When young French start their higher education studies, they already have experience obtained through internships or summer jobs, for instance. Quality of the study courses, numerous interactions with teachers, and plurality of fields of the courses: in the ESCP Europe, this mix creates added value to the training." 

When networks are on the rise 

In the ESCP Europe, Flavio Nappi already wanted to create something. In order to combine his passion for water sports and his taste for management, he created the Regatta ESCP Europe in 2008. For four days, this sailing race gathers on the Neapolitan coast students and alumni from 5 campuses of the school (Paris, Turin, Berlin, Madrid and London) and companies, which are more than sponsors. The plan, besides the regatta, is to generate a series of meetings: social games, "Baptism of the entrepreneur", during which participants test their business project with managers, BtoB afterworks with partner companies, etc.

"The aim is to facilitate professional insertion for students of the ESCP Europe. People meet in a context that allows to break the ice. It's easier to meet someone on a boat than in a job interview!" The success is instantaneous: the first edition of the regatta gathers 60 participants. Six years later, they are 10 times more. The association that organises the event, Eventures, copied this event in several other locations: it also organises a ski contest and golf trophy.

Extraverso, a concept bound to stick around  

After a few years spent as a business strategy advisor, Flavio Nappi decided to start his own company. With Benedetto Levi, another alumnus of the ESCP Europe, he created Extraverso. The start-up started in 2013 and sells mobile phones casings designed in a resin primarily used in boat industry that sticks to the most diverse surfaces. By sticking the smartphone to a window or a car window, the user can easily watch videos, use the GPS or even Skype. It is handy, but also elegant: you can customize your product by choosing your own design on the e-commerce website .

"Bring people together as a community to create value" 

Extraverso develops through a bootstrapping strategy: the company owns few seed capitals, but manages a network of skills which secures a growing development. Flavio Nappi relies on contacts made during his studies: "By bringing people together as a community, you create value. When I face a problem or an opportunity, I reach out for the alumni directory of my school: the solution often lies there." Today, Extraverso products are being sold throughout the world: just like their creator, the brand is bound to travel.