DIGITAL MAGICS AND LEADING ITALIAN INVESTORS LAUNCH EUR 725,000 CAPITAL INCREASE IN PLANNIFY STARTUP

DIGITAL MAGICS AND LEADING ITALIAN INVESTORS LAUNCH EUR 725,000 CAPITAL INCREASE IN PLANNIFY STARTUP

The venture incubator to enter into an investment agreement for the event search engine together with Atlante Seed (Intesa Sanpaolo Group), Uvet Group, Withfounders and other business angels

This funding round will enable Plannify, founded with the support of Digital Magics, to develop the platform’s mobile and social technology and bet on internationalization

Milan, February 6, 2014 – Digital Magics, a certified venture incubator of innovative digital startups listed on AIM Italia of Borsa Italiana (ticker: DM), has signed an investment agreement with its Angel Network for the Italian startup Plannify – a search engine dedicated to events in Italy and abroad.

Atlante Seed (Fund of Intesa Sanpaolo Group), Uvet Group (Italian leader in the travel industry with a turnover worth EUR 2.2 billion), Withfounders (Italian investment company that has supported important business initiatives and successful startups such as Buongiorno Vitaminic, SaldiPrivati, Jobrapido and Glamoo) and other investors have signed this agreement and, together with Digital Magics, have approved a EUR 725,000 capital increase in Plannify.

The capital increase in tranches has already been subscribed for the amount of EUR 508,250.

The Digital Magics Angel Network is made up by over 100 private and institutional operators – both Italian and foreign – that play an active role by collaborating with the certified incubator to select, mentor and co-invest in startups.

This operation will allow Plannify to enhance the technology development of the platform; it will increase the effectiveness of the research engine in collecting details on as many events as possible. The innovative Digital Magics startup – founded by two young entrepreneurs Enrico Gennari and Carlo Scabin – will develop the mobile application for smartphones and Tablets, and will release new social features for the organizer. Plannify will bet on internationalization, launching new releases in different European languages, in order to foster foreign incoming tourism in Italy.

Massimo Fregnani – entrepreneur who has worked for over 35 years in the production and organization of events such as Notre Dame de Paris, Cirque du Soleil, Sensation Italia – enters the shareholding structure of the company and is appointed non-executive Chairman of Plannify. By leveraging  his experience, Fregnani will support the company in the process of international expansion, thus contributing to the establishment new partnerships worldwide. Moreover, the Plannify team will be further strengthened with the employment of new developers, graphic designers, content editors and sales accounts who will work to develop its sales network.

Established at the end of 2012, Plannify is currently offering over 300,000 activities per month. At www.plannify.com the 15,000 registered users can find events, exhibitions, shows – free of charge or for a fee – in Italian cities and in major European capitals; they can schedule events in their own calendars, share and comment on their choices on social networks, invite friends and purchase tickets directly online. Plannify has entered into important Italian partnerships with leading ticketing and live entertainment organizations, public places and promotion agencies such as Barley Arts Promotion, Elita Milano, Show Bees, and has developed business-to-business solutions for Superflash (Intesa Sanpaolo Group) and BizTravel (Uvet Group).

Plannify’s technology platform has been identified by investors as the best-in-class tool to collect information on events, activities and locations of Milan Expo 2015 and to prompt them to the over 20 million Italian and foreign visitors expected. This startup offers day-to-day initiatives closer to users, depending on where they are located and their tastes, according to their hobbies and passions: from live music to film festivals, from literary festivals to village feasts, from wine tasting to shows for children. Plannify allows to create private events to invite one’s own friends, besides offering a business service for events organizers, who can promote their initiatives and directly target their audience.  To promote your event: redazione@plannify.com

Luigi Gioni, Co-Founder and CEO of Plannify has stated: “We proudly want  support the market of events, free or not, musical and cultural, as well as the tourism industry in Italy, which is a key driver for the Italian economy and  that will be even more important in the coming years. We are very excited for the warm welcome and support we received from many industry stakeholders, both financial and industrial: from angels to banks, from promoters to artists”.

Enrico Gasperini, Founder and Chairman of Digital Magics said: ” Plannify represents the virtuous example of how digital and new technologies can be applied to a traditional sector such as tourism. Important partners and experts in the travel industry such as Atlante Seed, Uvet, Withfounders and a group of business angels trust, together with us, that this project is highly scalable and original, also in view of Expo 2015, for which EUR 5 billion are expected just for the tourism industry[1]”.

 

Digital Magics – www.digitalmagics.com

Digital Magics is a certified venture incubator of innovative startups which provide high-tech contents and services. Digital Magics is listed on AIM Italia, Alternative Capital Market of the Italian Stock Exchange for small and medium-sized Italian companies with high growth potential. Digital Magics sets up and launches Internet startups, alongside the founders, investing equity capital and providing acceleration services. It starts from talents and ideas, turning them into successful, disruptive businesses operating in the Italian and international digital economy. The incubator fosters a culture of entrepreneurship and risk, thus contributing to economic growth and increasing the youth-employment rate. Digital Magics provides services aimed at fostering the establishment and development of innovative startups and supports them in the subsequent stages of fund raising from private and public – both Italian and foreign – investors. The Digital Magics model is unique in Italy and is based on Digital Magics LAB, a team of professionals in charge of identifying, analyzing and launching new initiatives, providing innovative startups with mentorship as well as with Finance, Administration, Strategy, Logistics, Technology, Marketing and Communication services, besides delivering a Business Management support able to speed up the business growth process.

Plannify – www.plannify.com

Plannify is the search engine for events, public performances and shows. It provides social features: it allows visitors to search for events by location, schedule their diary, share the selections made and invite friends.  Plannify caters for anyone wishing to try and participate in any type of event, but it is also a business platform for organizers, allowing them to promote the relevant initiatives and directly target their audience. With its technology platform, Plannify now offers over 300,000 activities per month, and is able to daily prompt nearby events, according to the location of users, their taste, hobbies and passions. Plannify allows users to also purchase online tickets for concerts, exhibitions, shows, thanks to its exclusive partnerships with leading ticketing and live entertainment organizations, public places and promotion agencies.

Atlante Seed

Atlante Seed, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group fund dedicated to Seed and Early stage capital, invests in the risk capital of small innovative businesses with high growth potential, paying particular attention to companies that operate in the hi-tech sectors. In addition to this activity (direct investment), the Fund also invests in select business incubators or accelerators specialising in specific sectors (indirect investments).

For further information:

Digital Magics – Press Office

Giorgio Bocchieri – Mail: giorgio.bocchieri@digitalmagics.com

Tel. 02 52505202 – Mob. 334 6853078

Burson-Marsteller – Digital Magics Press Office

Fabio Caporizzi – Mail: fabio.caporizzi@bm.com – Mob. 340 5250566

Rossana Pastore – Mail: rossana.pastore@bm.com – Mob. 340 1790470

Luca Fumagalli – Mail: luca.fumagalli@bm.com – Mob. 348 4586948