In this episode of ICONS, host Roman Kirsch interviews Luca Ferrari and Matteo Danieli, founders of Bending Spoons. Operating from Milan, Bending Spoons has evolved from a failed startup into Europe’s most sophisticated digital acquisition platform, acquiring and improving dozens of businesses worth over $1.2 billion in revenue. From their first $10,000 acquisition to writing $500 million checks, the founders share how they built a unique culture-driven approach to scaling tech businesses through strategic acquisitions, proprietary technology platforms, and an unconventional talent strategy focused entirely on developing young graduates into business leaders.

Topics Discussed:

• Building a serial acquisition platform from startup failure to billion-dollar scale

• Creating a culture where talent allocation drives competitive advantage

• Developing proprietary technology platforms that enable massive operational leverage

• Strategic decision-making around geographic expansion and market positioning

• Managing risk and capital allocation across dozens of acquired businesses

• Scaling from consumer mobile apps to enterprise software worth hundreds of millions

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Treat Geographic Strategy as Core Competitive Advantage

Luca and Matteo spent months analyzing 20-30 global locations before choosing Milan, recognizing that location decisions create massive long-term leverage. They identified markets with high talent density but limited opportunities, enabling them to attract exceptional people while building inspiration for local entrepreneurship. Consumer brands should similarly approach geographic expansion strategically rather than opportunistically.

Build Platforms That Create Exponential Value Across Portfolio

Bending Spoons developed over 50 proprietary technologies that can be deployed across any acquired business – from A/B testing infrastructure to payment management systems. This platform approach enabled them to improve businesses dramatically post-acquisition rather than just consolidating. Consumer marketers should build reusable marketing technologies and playbooks that compound value across product lines or markets.

Design Culture Around Dynamic Resource Allocation

Their most powerful competitive advantage is the ability to rapidly move talent to highest-impact opportunities without organizational friction. Team members proactively suggest reassignments, and leadership regularly restructures based on value creation potential. This requires hiring for cultural fit over experience and aligning incentives through equity ownership across the organization.

Optimize Team Size for Maximum Individual Impact

Bending Spoons deliberately runs smaller teams (40 people managing $100M+ businesses) to maximize individual contribution and decision-making speed. They’ve proven that focused teams with clear autonomy outperform larger organizations with complex hierarchies. Consumer brands should resist the temptation to scale headcount proportionally with revenue growth.

Invest in Talent Development as Primary Growth Engine

Rather than hiring experienced executives, they hire exclusively new graduates and invest heavily in their development, creating loyalty and cultural consistency while enabling rapid internal promotions. Their 27-year-old CEO of Evernote exemplifies this approach. Consumer marketers should view junior talent development as a long-term competitive moat rather than just cost management.

Apply Serial Learning to Business Model Innovation

Their approach to acquisitions mirrors how they think about product development – each acquisition teaches lessons that improve the next one, creating a compounding knowledge advantage. They deliberately balance exploitation of proven playbooks with exploration of new business models to expand their platform capabilities.

Focus Resources on Negligible Failure Probability Rather Than Maximum Returns

Despite managing billions in capital, they prioritize risk management through sophisticated Monte Carlo simulations and scenario planning. They never acquire businesses where pessimistic cases would be “ruinous,” preferring steady compounding over venture-scale risks. This patient capital approach enables longer-term value creation strategies.