EpiCura, the first digital home care provider in Italy that aims to simplify and innovate the personal care sector, and Young Platform, the Italian fintech platform that simplifies access to the world of cryptocurrencies, are the ex-aequo winners of the "Start-up of the Year I3P" 2022 award, assigned by the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino to the young companies that have most distinguished themselves for their achievements after three years of incubation.
The awards were presented during the annual "Festa delle Startup I3P" event, held in its 23rd edition, which provided an opportunity to present the case histories, innovative products and services of the 25 new start-ups that joined the incubation program during 2022 and to launch those who have "graduated", ready to face the market having successfully completed their path of entrepreneurial growth at I3P.
The winning start-ups
Founded in 2017 by Gianluca Manitto and Alessandro Ambrosio initially to offer physiotherapy services, epiCura's project later focused on home care, through on-call service, to support the clients for short periods or specific needs, and full service for long periods. EpiCura takes care of the entire placement process, along with the contracts and any in-person replacements, while also providing psychological support to the family of the assisted person. There are more than 70,000 contacts of carers throughout Italy on the platform, and more than 80,000 hours of assistance are provided on average in a month.
Investors are also believing in the project: in 2021, with a major funding round worth a total of €5 million, EpiCura closed its third capital raising operation and reached a total of €11 million. Thanks to these resources, the start-up has been able to work on its strategy to simplify a long-standing industry such as the health and social care sector, which, even today, is not very flexible and responsive to the needs of patients and family caregivers. Finally, in 2022, EpiCura inaugurated its new headquarters in Turin and its first two "epiStores" in Milan and Turin, strategically placed to facilitate contact from potential customers about the services offered and to optimise the recruiting processes of professionals.
Young Platform, founded in 2018, aims to simplify access to the world of cryptocurrencies through a platform of digital products and intense educational activity and awareness of blockchain technology and its applications. Among the top three cryptocurrency trading platforms in Italy with 36% market share, the company had over 1 million users at the end of the first quarter of 2022, 11 times last year's figures, and aims to become a smart digital bank with a focus on new digital services.
After raising €3.5 million in 2021, in 2022 Young Platform closed a €16 million investment led by Azimut, in which a pool of investors including Banca Sella and United Ventures took part. With the new raised capital, Young Platform intends to support its development plans, which include expanding its team - from 41 units to 110 by the end of 2022 - and expanding into new markets such as Spain and France.
"EpiCura and Young Platform deserve this recognition as they have been able to invent and reinvent themselves over time, also in line with the needs of the market," commented Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P. "For example, with its solutions epiCura is positioning itself at the centre of the healthcare innovation process, while Young Platform, with its crypto exchange features, is operating in a sector that is constantly evolving and is thus able to address the new generation of investors. At I3P,” Scellato concludes, "we are proud to have supported these start-ups on their path to growth: our goal is to continue to be a point of reference for innovation in Italy, supporting and promoting ideas and projects with high technological potential that work on services with a direct impact on the lives of citizens.”
