STRONG EMPLOYER RECOGNITION AND INDUSTRY INSIGHTS PUT INTO PRACTICE
Genoa ES participants go from ideation to closing a round thanks to guidance and a strong network while obtaining a Master's.
Launch while studying like 94% of Fortune 100 founders, but with time and expert support.
Genoa ES helps talent with less than 3 years of industry experience and under €10k in monthly revenue become successful founders in the US and EU. Successful candidates earn a certificate from Columbia Business School and a Master's degree from the University of La Sapienza.
One in three classes led by professors
All our professors are former founders or investors, with real-world experience in the subjects they teach and a strong understanding of what students need. They ensure participants develop the right hard and soft skills to navigate the world successfully.
Two in three classes led by a mentor
Our mentors lead 3-hour sessions, starting by sharing insights they’ve personally mastered over years of success in key areas like closing the first sale. Through workshops, they then ensure students can apply the insights effectively to their ventures.
Company visits and challenges
Students are hosted in HQs like Google Campus and the Tesla Factory to gain firsthand exposure to world-leading practices they can apply to their own ventures. While intense real-life simulations throughout the program help them gain experience faster.
Tailored advice
Edoardo Serra, who led 120 Apple engineers, personally joins our students in interviewing their potential technical co-founders to ensure they are truly capable.
Having been in the students’ shoes, experts work closely with them to avoid common mistakes and accelerate growth. This includes warm introductions to ideal customers and investors, and reviewing pitches or emails.
Over 500 hours of 1:1s
Class workshops are followed by hands-on 1h, 1:1 sessions, ensuring that the learning is directly and specifically applied to students’ ventures.
Personalized weekly 1:1s
Students are paired with an industry expert in their field who, through weekly 30-minute 1:1 sessions, ensure students improve each week of the program.
Hands on support 24/7
Mentors remain available at any time via email or phone, so any problems can be resolved quickly and the startups' progress is not interrupted.
#2
World MBA Business SchoolFinancial Times’ MBA Ranking in 2025
1st
semester
Start up business
prof. Murray Low
Quantitative analysis
prof. Oded Netzer
Negotiation and persuasion
prof. Robert Buontempo
Social styles to grow a team
prof. Joann Baney
Networking
prof. Jerry Kim
#2
University in Italian academiaCensis ranking of Italian universities
2nd
semester
Development anthropology
prof. Mario Carta
Economic growth
prof. Roberto Pasca di Magliano
History of economic dev.
prof. Daniel Pommier Vincelli
Law and governance
prof. Francesca Romana Lenzi
Quantitative methods
prof. Dario Guarascio
What do students learn from mentors
Managers
Sharpen marketing skills and close sales with
industry leaders
Founders
Build solid teams and products with founders who raised +$7.5B
Investors
Discover the fundraising secrets with investors managing +$100B
Flavia Oliveira (right-hand of Stripe’s CRO $65B val.) will share her secrets for building the perfect presentation, writing the correct email, and closing calls to secure your first payment from B2B customers.
Where our 50+ managers have been working:
Prasanna Sankar (co-founder of Rippling, $11B val.) shows students where to find their customers and validate their ideas quickly. Students can use his actual messages and the same words that made him successful in calls.
Some of the companies built by our founders:
Douglas Leone as the managing partner at Sequoia ($88B AUM), has the best startup pitches and financial models on his desk every day. He helps students replicate them, ensuring that they are be fully ready for raising.
Where our investors have been investing for years:
Managers
Sharpen marketing skills and close sales with industry leaders
Flavia Oliveira (in team of the CRO at Stripe, $65B val.) will share her secrets for building the perfect presentation, writing the correct email, and closing calls to secure your first payment from B2B customers.
Where our 50+ managers have been working:
Founders
Build solid teams and products with founders who raised +$7.5B
Prasanna Sankar (co founder of Rippling, $11B val.) shows students where to find their customers and validate their ideas quickly. Students can use his actual messages and the same words that made him successful in calls.
Some of the companies built by our founders:
Investors
Discover the fundraising secrets with investors managing +$100B
Douglas Leone as the managing partner at Sequoia ($88B AUM), has the best start ups’ pitches and financial models on his desk every day. He helps students replicate them, ensuring that they are be fully ready for raising.
Where our investors have been investing:
Developing in the world’s best ecosystems
September 21st - October 20th
Learn startup theory
at Columbia
How to build a solid global business:
finance, sales and conflict management.
#2
World MBA Business School |Financial Times’ MBA Ranking in 2025
In 2024 alone, Columbia’s startups raised $6.5B, with professors helping launch 3,000+ startups in 3 decades. The Genoa ES students will learn the hard skills necessary to build successful startups from leading professors.
Some of the startups born at Columbia University:
Some of the key skills learned during this period:
Law for startups
Finance for startups
Economics for startups
October 21st - November 17th
Gain practical experience
in New York
How to think and execute to succeed:
mindset, risk management and speed.
At Genoa ES in New York, students have the chance to grab coffee with the founder of a $7B IPO startup in his office, work alongside rising NYC founders in dynamic co-working spaces, and visit Meta’s iconic skyscraper. Within the concrete jungle, the opportunity to grow, meet co-founders, and win customers is everywhere.
HQ visits or mentors with experience at:
Some of the key skills learned during this period:
Developing an MVP
Creating a brand
Storytelling
Choosing cofounders
November 18th - December 18th
Network with the best
in San Francisco
How to attract the best technical talent:
insights, expertise and network.
With Genoa ES in San Francisco, students work alongside tomorrow’s founders in the co-working spaces where companies like Airbnb began, and see firsthand how ideas scale into production at Tesla’s factory. Every moment is an opportunity to connect with future co-founders, get direct feedback from the world’s best, and learn techniques you can apply to your venture.
HQ visits or mentors with experience at:
Some of the key skills learned during this period:
Running a team
Organic growth
Retaining users
Building products
Selling
January 7th - May 28th
Build & grow your startup
in Genoa
How to obtain the first customers:
engineering, communication, and analysis.
Mentors fly in from all of Europe to teach our students in 48-72h deep dives every week. Genoa combines a rich entrepreneurial history with highly skilled technical talent at competitive costs, providing the ideal ecosystem to nurture early stage ventures.
HQ visits and mentors with experience at:
Some of the key skills learned during this period:
Analysing your data
Growing on social media
Pricing your product
Obtaining contracts
May 28th
Graduate at La Sapienza
in Rome
#2
University in Italian academia ecosystem |Censis ranking of Italian universities
Students receive a Sapienza - Unitelma Master’s of 60 ECTS and a Columbia certificate. Both institutions have been delivering excellent education for over 250 years, making this program recognized by employers and investors from the start.
Some of the key skills learned during this period:
Economics
European law
Quantitative analysis
May 30th
Pitch in front of investors
in Genoa
Have the chance to raise in front of +100 investors
Mentors and industry professionals assist students in presenting their startup to over 100 potential investors coming from all over the world.
Investors attending the demo day:
Some of the key skills learned during this period:
Investor relationship
Managing feedback
Planning fundraising
Pitching
Creating slides
After the program
Work with a mentor or continue building
Students can seek internships with our mentors in case startups don’t succeed when program ends.
It’s rare for our students’ startups not to grow by year’s end. But as a backup, they can request internships from mentors they’ve connected with, ensuring every student leaves Genoa ES with a standout experience for their CV. Final approval rests with the mentors, who always enjoy working with talented people.
Where our mentors work at:
A typical week
Full year with talents, mentors, investors and much more...
1:1 mentorship session
Theoretical Class
Mentor workshop
Events & activities
Collaboration & management
Mon
1PM - 3PM
US Business Environment & Law
prof. Murray Low
How to incorporate in the US.
3.30PM - 5PM
How to build your MVP
David Rivier
Mentor with experience at:
1:1 MVP session
Receive tailored guidance on your MVP for 1h, so you can obtain your first customers.
Tue
1PM - 3PM
How to create your brand
Alessandro Cannas
Mentor with experience at:
1:1 Brand session
Receive tailored guidance on branding for 1h, so you can stand out from competitors.
Practical and actionable classes from experts
Those who have succeeded share insights on how they did it — and how our students can do the same.
Y Combinator–backed founder Ian Tracey explains to students how to find their niche and first customer.
Mentors deliver workshops on specific topics in which they excel and that have been key to developing their ventures. One example is "how to connect with potential customers." In this case, the mentor even shows students the actual message he used, allowing students to replicate it and avoid many trials and errors. In the same session, they assign exercises and ensure that participants can apply the insights by the end. This prepares young founders to perform at the highest professional level in front of customers and investors, despite their young age.
Experts are hands-on to help students succeed
Students execute side by side with leading founders and managers, so they can operate as if they had years of experience.
Vittorio Viarengo’s (ex-CMO at McAfee) session on creating the right marketing message for a start up.
Successful experts rarely have time beyond talks, leaving case-specific questions unanswered and no certainty that learnings are applied correctly. At Genoa ES, mentors arrive at sessions prepared, knowing each student’s challenges. Small cohorts allow them to brainstorm tailored solutions during sessions and continue working side by side late into the night. In the second semester, in particular, mentors fly to Genoa for 48 to 72 hours solely to work with the students.
Real world simulations to develop faster
Students repeatedly face simulated real startup scenarios to be ready when it matters.
Students challenged to pitch as many times as possible on New York’s streets to overcome pitching anxiety.
Most of the time, what holds students back from creating startups is fear. Many others fail at critical moments due to lack of experience and being unaccustomed to pressure. In the program, we simulate multiple times challenging startup situations — like negotiations, sales, and fundraising — in a real but safe environment. So when founders face these challenges with their ventures, they’ll know how to handle the pressure and avoid costly mistakes.
Frequently asked questions answered by the students
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Check out our FAQ section for answers to commonly asked questions.
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