Engaging the external startup ecosystem can be very rewarding – if every feature of your program is designed to consistently work towards your objectives. In this AMA session, Paolo Lombardi and Adam Berk, the authors of Startup Program Design (McGraw-Hill, 2022), will map the design steps behind the most successful corporate and government programs. Session participants will learn how to choose a program model (accelerator, incubator, etc.), tweak it to their goals, and identify the right startups to achieve their KPIs.

Paolo Lombardi wrote his first line of code at the age of 7 and trained his first neural network in 1995. He co-founded two startups and the startup accelerator Techpeaks. He was later involved in two dozen startup programs for corporations and public institutions, including the World Bank, European Commission, and Italy’s main telco operator TIM. He is currently Director of AI Innovation at Taylor & Francis and contract lecturer of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Bocconi Business School, Italy. Paolo is a Fulbright Fellow and holds a double PhD in Computer Vision from the University of Pavia and Paris Sud.

Adam Berk is a startup collaboration and innovation expert with over a decade of experience working with large organizations to drive innovation at scale. He is the co-author of ""Startup Program Design"", a book about how organizations can work with startups for better outcomes on both sides. With a proven track record of helping large public and private companies, government agencies, and impact-driven organizations implement ""innovation at scale"" using Lean Startup principles, hypothesis-driven product development, and evidence-based (stage-gate) investment governance. He also serves as a mentor for Google for Startups, Techstars, and college entrepreneurship programs.