As a venture coach with the Conestoga Entrepreneurship Collective’s Venture Lab, Italo supports early-stage entrepreneurs in building strong foundations and making confident strides toward growth and scalability.

Italo brings more than 15 years of global experience in entrepreneurship, business operations, and innovation ecosystems. He founded and scaled a business consulting firm to five branches across Brazil, achieving an average of 175 per cent year-over-year growth. He also served as head of business operations for a European startup for five years, where he led strategic initiatives and operational excellence across international markets.

Italo has played a key role in advancing startup communities, co-founding the first accelerator in northeastern Brazil and helping shape one of the country’s leading innovation ecosystems. He has served as a mentor and board member for startups, incubators, and entrepreneurship events across multiple countries. In parallel, he has contributed to post-secondary education as an instructor, including at Conestoga.

Italo holds a degree in production engineering and an M.Sc. in science, technology and innovation management.

Connect with Italo on LinkedIn.