With over 20 years of experience alongside businesses in North-East Italy, I support SME owners and managers in turning growth ambitions into concrete, measurable and executable plans. Not slide decks — results.
Innovation consulting for SMEs is not about technology for its own sake, nor about theoretical frameworks that gather dust in drawers. It means supporting the entrepreneur in redesigning how the company creates value: identifying markets where it can grow, building a differentiated offer that customers consciously choose, and structuring decision-making processes that do not depend solely on the founder's intuition. After 20 years working with manufacturing, services and distribution SMEs across Italy, I have learned that the real obstacle to growth is never a lack of ideas — it is a lack of method for evaluating, prioritising and executing them.
Italian SMEs with 10-200 employees face very concrete challenges: growth has levelled off at rates that no longer cover rising costs; the historical market is under pressure from foreign competitors or large-scale distribution; strategic decisions are still made empirically without reliable data; and the owner is simultaneously entrepreneur, sales director and operations manager, with very little time to think about the medium term. These are not structural weaknesses: they are problems that can be solved with the right strategic support. My role is to bring into the SME the analytical tools, decision frameworks and sector experience that normally only large companies can afford.
My approach always starts from the entrepreneur's business objectives — not from a pre-packaged framework. In the first two weeks I conduct a diagnostic assessment that maps the company's competitive position, margin structure, key processes and unexploited growth opportunities. From there we build together a pragmatic strategy and an action plan with 90-day sprints, clear KPIs and regular checkpoints. Every engagement is measured: before we start we define together what success looks like, and along the way we verify progress with real data.
Competitive positioning, pricing structure, sales channels and a quarterly roadmap grounded in verifiable assumptions. Not a document for the bank — an operational map for disciplined growth.
Market mapping, structured competitor benchmarking and identification of white spaces where the company can compete with advantage. The deliverable is a clear strategic map, not a 100-page report.
Monthly strategic support with a dedicated working session and asynchronous availability for urgent decisions. The sounding board the entrepreneur rarely has internally: cross-sector experience, no conflicts of interest.
Lean methodologies to test new offerings with minimum investment, exploration of adjacent markets, and redesign of the internal processes that hinder growth or erode margins.
The engagement begins with a two-week diagnostic phase I call the "company X-ray": structured interviews with the owner and key managers, analysis of the financial data from the last three years, mapping of the main commercial and operational processes, and an audit of the competitive position. The goal is not to produce a theoretical report, but to identify the three or four critical nodes — unexploited opportunities or growth barriers — on which to concentrate energy in the following months. At the end of the two weeks I present my findings with prioritised recommendations and the outline of the strategic path.
The next phase is a one- or two-day strategy workshop, usually in person, with the owner and key management figures. In this session we define together the strategic direction for the next 12-18 months: where we want to be, how we get there, with what resources and with which KPIs we measure progress. The workshop produces a one-page document — not a hundred — that summarises the strategy in a way every team member can understand and use as a compass in daily operational decisions.
Execution happens through 90-day sprints with specific, measurable and realistic objectives. At the start of each sprint we define the priority initiatives, the owners, the resources needed and the weekly or fortnightly checkpoints. At the end of each sprint we run a retrospective: what worked, what did not, what we need to correct. This rhythm — diagnostics, strategy, sprint execution — ensures that the consulting engagement stays anchored to the reality of the business and produces measurable results every quarter, not promises for the future.
It depends on the complexity of the company and its objectives. The initial diagnostic phase takes 2 weeks. A complete strategic innovation path — including the diagnostic phase, the strategy workshop and at least two 90-day execution sprints — typically lasts 6 to 12 months. For companies that already have a clear strategic direction and are primarily looking for execution support, the engagement can be shorter. In any case, the phases and deliverables are clearly defined before we start.
No. I work with SMEs across all sectors: manufacturing, B2B and B2C services, distribution, technology, food and agriculture, organised professions. My methodological approach adapts to the specific context of the company — cost structure, competitive dynamics, customer type — and to the market it operates in. I am based in Udine but work with companies throughout North-East Italy and across the country.
Before we start, we define measurable KPIs specific to the company's objectives together: these may relate to revenue growth, margin improvement, market share gained, reduction of operating costs or the launch of new products or services. Each 90-day sprint has its own KPIs that we verify at the end of the period. This approach ensures that the consulting engagement is always anchored to concrete results, not to processes or activities as ends in themselves.
Yes. The first introductory call — usually 45-60 minutes — is always free with no commitment. It is an opportunity to understand your company's situation, the objectives you want to achieve and whether my profile and approach are the right fit. If they are not, I will tell you clearly: I would rather point you towards someone who can help you better than take on an engagement I cannot bring to the result.
There is no rigid revenue threshold, but in practice I work best with companies that already have at least 10-15 employees, an established turnover and an entrepreneur or management team that has already clearly identified the problem or opportunity they want to address. Below this threshold, the greatest value often comes from more targeted interventions — individual coaching or a single bounded project — rather than a structured consulting engagement. We can discuss this in the first introductory call.
The difference is substantial. A business coach works primarily on the personal development of the entrepreneur — mindset, habits, soft skills — through questions that stimulate autonomous reflection. A strategic consultant, as I do, brings content: market analysis, decision frameworks, sector best practices, experience from other entrepreneurial contexts. My work is to support you in analysing your company's competitive situation, defining a strategy grounded in data and building an executable plan. I do not just ask the right questions: I also provide answers grounded in concrete experience.
The first call is free with no obligation. Let's talk about your business goals.
Let's review your business priorities together