Employerland, the successful story of an Italian start-up
The first professional game on Facebook
The phenomenon of gamification on social networks is in continuous development: CandyCrush, FarmVille, FarmHero. From last week the experienced entrepreneur Gabriele Lizzani launched Employerland, the first professional game dedicated to the business world on social networks. Prof. Lizzani has been teaching courses in Marketing and Employer Branding for almost ten years at the University "La Sapienza" in Rome. Moreover, he works as managing director at "Contatto Lavoro", a company offering support and training for entering the professional world.
The realization of Employerland came from months of hard work and courage of investing in a start-up idea. "I made it! My idea became a technological start-up" states Mr. Lizzani. The aim of this game is to put young people in contact with the professional world. On Employerland, you can create your own profile and buy your own virtual house. Then, you can click on your dream company and participate in their recruiting process. Through solving cases, analysing data and communicating with your virtual colleagues, you gain more knowledge about the corporate world.
Employerland received a grant of ?500 thousand from a venture capital, thanks to a 5 minute long elevator pitch. Also, it is supported by some of the biggest multinationals, such as Procter&Gamble, Unilever, Bosch, Luxottica, Elica, Golden Lady, MSD and BNL. "It would be less risky to open a Pizzeria instead of investing in a start-up, they kept telling me - continues Mr. Lizzani -, but there is no greater satisfaction in engaging people you hold in high esteem to work with you and finally see the concrete realisation of your idea".
In Italy the concept of start-up still lags far behind from realities like the U.S. However, Prof. Lizzani believes that investing in technological start-ups is a way of re-launching Italian economy. More and more young people are creating apps, games and realizing technological ideas to pursuing their dreams, and some of them have proved successful.
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