February 14, 2025

Navigating from pre-seed to seed in Italy

On February 4th, during our Demo Day, we hosted a panel to dive deep into the realities of building a startup. Demo Day is a key event in B4i, where founders from the last Pre-Acceleration and Acceleration batch present their project, connect with investors, and share hard-earned lessons from the trenches.

Within this context Aurora Maggio, CEO & Co-founder of Zefi.ai, took stage to share her experience. Founded in Lecce in September 2023 by a team of five with international experience, Zefi.ai quickly gained traction, securing a €1.6 million pre-seed round in April 2024 from top investors like 360 Capital, 14Peaks, Exor Ventures, and B-Heroes.

Moderating the conversation was Amy O’Brien, a freelance journalist and author of Il Digestivo newsletter, who guided Aurora through an honest and tactical discussion on fundraising, hiring, and the tough decisions that come with scaling a company.

In this interview, Aurora Maggio takes us behind the scenes of a founder journey, sharing the key lessons she’s learned firsthand. These are the kind of insights you won’t find in startup playbooks.

Aurora, you raised an impressive pre-seed round in May last year—€1.6 million. Did you find that the feedback you received from Italian VCs was different from that of international investors?

Absolutely. That’s why I usually suggest to other founders not to think of it as a step-by-step process, like going from “easy” investors to “difficult” ones.

For example, international VCs and Italian VCs often focus on different aspects. Italian investors tend to ask about your market in Italy, while international investors might have different priorities based on their investment strategy or industry focus.

It’s not necessarily about levels of difficulty — it’s more like speaking with different types of customers. Each one will give you different feedback depending on their perspective.

Once you had successful conversations with investors and a provisional cap table, how did you navigate the bureaucracy of actually closing the round? What challenges did you face in getting from verbal agreements to finalized contracts?

This is a very important point. As founders, we often think, “Okay, we got the term sheet— done!” But that’s when the real negotiations begin.

One thing I wish I had understood earlier is that, while lawyers are essential in handling legal aspects, founders must make the core business decisions. Your lawyer will translate those decisions into legal terms, but they won’t make the business choices for you.

I initially expected my lawyers to guide me through both legal and strategic business decisions, but that’s not really their role. If I had taken ownership of those choices from the start, the process would have been much smoother and faster.

That’s why having a combination of legal advisors and experienced founders to turn to is so valuable. Other founders have been through this before and can provide insights that legal teams might not.

And how did you first connect with your investors? Was there a particular introduction that played a key role?

Actually, it was an angel investor who introduced us. It was unexpected — she just reached out and said, "Hey, what if I introduced you to this investor?" And I thought, wow, really? That’s great. It was a small ticket, but they joined our cap table last year, and it was a nice addition.

I’ve noticed that international investors are becoming much more active in Italy. Bringing together both Italian and international investors gives you different perspectives and helps create a stronger foundation for growth.

One thing that really surprised me was how much the startup ecosystem helps you if you tap into it. Many introductions came through other founders — someone I knew would connect me with an investor, or sometimes investors would reach out directly.

Something I wish I had known earlier is that getting an introduction from another founder is often much more effective than reaching out to an investor directly. When a founder introduces you, they’ve usually already vetted your idea in some way, and that investor starts the conversation with a more positive mindset.

Once you raised the money, how did your initial budget and spending priorities change compared to what you originally planned?

Things definitely changed once we actually had the funds. One key realization was that you’ll never have enough data to make a perfect decision. If you wait for complete certainty, you’re moving too slowly. In the early stages, you have to make decisions based on limited information and adjust as you go.

For example, when hiring, we didn’t just stick rigidly to the initial budget. If we found an exceptional talent, we adjusted our financial plans accordingly. On the other hand, if an opportunity wasn’t as impactful as expected, we cut back on spending in that area.

Flexibility is key.

Speaking of hiring, did you scale your team as quickly as you expected? What lessons did you learn from your early hires?

Something interesting I’ve noticed is that the talent market has changed a lot. A few years ago, it was much harder to find skilled people, especially in areas like software development. But with everything that’s happened in the tech industry — like the big corporate layoffs — there are now more highly qualified professionals available.

From a startup perspective, Italy is an interesting market. Compared to places like the UK or the US, hiring talent here can be more cost-effective while still maintaining a high level of expertise.

At the same time, we’ve been mindful of keeping an international perspective. Since our product is software-based, we need to think beyond just Italy. Having a diverse team with different experiences and backgrounds has been valuable, even if sometimes it takes extra effort to align ways of working.

What proportion of your team comes from a startup background versus a more traditional tech enterprise? And how has that mix influenced the way your team operates?

One of the biggest lessons I learned is that hiring from corporate backgrounds doesn’t always translate well into a startup environment. For example, one of our first hires had an impressive CV, having worked at top-tier companies. But they struggled with the fast pace and ambiguity of a startup.

Startups need people who are highly adaptable, proactive, and comfortable with uncertainty. It’s not just about skills — it’s about mindset. That’s why it’s crucial to not only focus on the roles you need to fill but also on how each person works and how they fit into the overall way you structure your company.

This is where culture starts to take shape. We’re a young company, just a year old, and every hire contributes to defining the kind of organization we’re building. If we don’t dedicate time to shaping that culture early on, we risk losing alignment. And at the end of the day, your biggest asset — your team — is not going to perform at its best.

Your first customers are your first real feedback loop. How did you approach those early relationships, and what did you learn from them?

Initially, we focused on building a community, thinking it would naturally convert into customers. But we quickly realized that while our community was highly engaged and supportive, they weren’t necessarily ready to pay — especially when our product wasn’t yet fully developed.

We then shifted to co-design partnerships, working closely with early adopters to refine the product. Looking back, I would have prioritized selling earlier, even if it meant offering a free trial or a minimal version. When people commit financially, they give much more valuable feedback because they’re truly invested.

Another key learning was that the first paying customers influence the direction of your product. At first, we thought we had the right target audience, but once we introduced pricing, we realized that some of those early users weren’t actually the right fit for long-term scalability.

So, my biggest takeaway? Not all feedback is equal. Your first customers should be those who not only believe in the vision but also have a strong need for what you're building — and are willing to pay for it. They are the ones who will help you refine your product in a way that makes it scalable, rather than just giving abstract feedback.