From the Traiano district of Naples to the heart of America, Antonio Giacomini shares with Il Newyorkese his vision for Innovaway: an Italian company focused on skills, sustainability, inclusion, and innovation to face global challenges.

How and when did Innovaway start?

The company’s story began in 1998, and last year we celebrated our 25th anniversary. It’s the story of two families coming together to create a business. We were four friends at the bar: me, my brother, and my two brothers-in-law. Some were still finishing their degrees, others had just graduated, and together we decided to start our entrepreneurial journey. In the early days, we had to divide the work ourselves, without secretaries. But it didn’t take long to realize that we would write our story from there. We grew in the sector we believed in, and today we have more than 1,300 employees spread across seven Italian cities and four cities abroad. A few months ago, we also expanded to the United States.

When deciding to start a business in a challenging place like Naples, there must be many difficulties...

Yes, our headquarters is still where we were born, in the multi-purpose center of Soccavo, right in the heart of the Traiano district. It’s a neighborhood certainly known for negative news stories. But today, for us, it’s still a source of pride to be there and engage with that difficult area. We believed in that area, we still believe in it, and we invest in it. The story began there, and then, little by little, we expanded, first to Rome, then to Milan, and then to Turin. At that point, we realized we needed a different structure.

Have you ever had tough moments where you thought you wouldn’t make it?

I’m tenacious, so when I set a goal, I try every way to achieve it. I never get discouraged. A strong point is the family: it’s not a family business, but we’re four very close people. Perhaps the success is mainly due to this, especially since I personally didn’t study in the IT field—I come more from the finance sector. I often say that I’m a man borrowed from finance to IT. But in this sector, I know what pieces to add and how to make them work together.

The world, especially in IT, is constantly evolving. How do you stay up-to-date?

The key is to focus on certain niches and develop them. Our strength compared to multinationals, which offer standardized services, is that we provide tailor-made services, customizing the offer for each company. We study the company, we understand it, we speak the same language. This has been the key to our growth. Then the challenge became international. Now we have offices in New York, Philadelphia, but even before, we were in Albania, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria.

When you first went to America, did you have the famous American dream?

No, I’m being honest. I know people who operate in the United States, and the last acquisition made by the international management has always worked here in America. So our decision to open in the U.S. was driven by the fact that the time had come to do so, because the team was right to enter such a large but competitive market. Working in IT in the U.S. is like selling ice to Eskimos, but we always do it with our own touch, with the same attention to services we’ve always had. We have the confidence to think we’ll find our niche here too. We prepared for this leap, it won’t be a leap into the void.

What are the goals you’ve set for yourselves?

The goal is to reach a global turnover of 100 million. Today we are at the end of the last quarter of 2024, and we will close just below 70 million.

Here you’ve chosen an American management to handle everything well. How long did the preparation phase for your U.S. expansion last?

Let’s say that initially, we courted a group already active here that we knew through some collaborations in Europe. In general, the idea of expanding to the U.S. started more than two years ago.

How are you approaching Artificial Intelligence, and what opportunities does it offer?

Artificial Intelligence is a field where an IT company must be involved. We created a dedicated department, also thanks to our research and development office, with which we developed our solutions in this direction.

As a successful manager, what advice would you give to today’s entrepreneurs?

One word encapsulates all the most valuable advice I could give: skills. That’s the term now. We must train young people, have a tight-knit team, and invest in skills—train them and bring them into the company.

In Campania, we have an ITS that I directly oversee. We managed to bridge that gap in Italy: bringing students straight out of high school into training in the company. The course usually lasts 2-3 years, during which the student receives some classroom lessons, but the most valuable ones are those directly related to the working world, in the company, with an internship ranging from one to four months, where the student experiences the work environment firsthand. Additionally, Federico II has developed a synergy with a group of academics and businesses that are particularly interesting in the area, and we were selected as part of this initiative, which makes us very proud.

Do you have any corporate policies regarding sustainability and governance?

Certainly, having a sustainable and equitable company is one of our cornerstones. First, 50% of our employees are women, there’s complete gender equality, both in terms of the number of employees and in terms of pay. I care about this because, in this area, we are one of the most advanced companies. And indeed, the turnover rate is very low. We are around 7-8% annual turnover, which is a very low figure considering that in other contexts, it often exceeds double digits.

In a world where software is becoming more standardized and doesn’t adapt to the experiences and activities of companies and people, what alert would you raise to other players and clients?

In general, companies that don’t transform are destined to take steps back. If you want to stay in the market, you need to transform, digitize, and make your processes leaner. We can certainly help tailor a solution that fits the size, sector, and competencies that the company wants to push. We help make the right choice, not just sell a product.

What is the most common mistake you’ve seen entrepreneurs make over the years?

Many entrepreneurs are guilty of being presumptuous: you need to engage in discussions before making choices; otherwise, these choices often turn out to be unsuitable over time.

What’s your favorite place here in New York?

It’s SoHo. And then there’s Cipriani, my favorite restaurant.