Gallotti Created His American Dream in Monza

AS A MANAGER, NICOLA GALLOTTI WORKED IN ARGENTINA AND THE UNITED STATES, BUT HE CHOSE ITALY TO START HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE. HIS COMPANY SELLS MULTICOLOR MIRROR COVERS FOR CARS AND SCOOTERS

Starting a business in Italy is hard in the current economic predicament, but if you do it when you have a successful career in the States, it might seem foolhardy. But that is exactly what Nicola Gallotti did. A Bocconi graduate in Business Administration from Monza, Gallotti, now 42 years old, established 47Fifth, a company that sells silicon covers for car and scooter mirrors. The startup was officially launched at the end of 2013. “What made me come back to Monza,” Gallotti explains, “were Italian government incentives for startups and the fact that if you want to start a business in either design or fashion, the Italy brand opens a lot of doors”.

His earlier career as manager took immediately Gallotti abroad: “I was 26 years old, I had just been hired by Sisal, which shipped me to Argentina to open an office there. In a sense I was an absolute beginner, but the University had equipped me with all the tools to do well. And so it went: the fact of being alone and having to count only on myself proved being a tremendous opportunity.” This experience was followed by a stint in consulting, “which is fundamental to acquire analytical skills,” and then the arrival at the Binda Group, which sells watches and accessories, where he was in charge of strategic planning.

“In 2008 I decided to take the great leap and leave for New York,” Gallotti remember, “to take care of the restructuring of a major business group as general manager”. Gallotti went to the US alone: he’s the only Italian in the team, but this proved being an advantage, rather than a problem: “To be on your own makes you a better listener and forces you to adapt to local customs: you just cannot replicate managerial models that work in Italy but have no place there. In America, the work-life balance is fundamental. For example, it’s unthinkable to call a meeting at 6pm. They would look at you as if you were crazy.” Another differential aspect is the respect for punctuality, just as the ease with which you can reach anybody in top management: “Being late for a meeting is considered a form of disrespect, just like not answering emails. Everybody, including the CEO, is expected to be quick in replying to messages.” Gallotti was in the States when the Great Recession hit, and could appreciate the quality, resilience and adaptability of US managers. “In that period of time a lot of Wall Street people went jobless and had to reinvent themselves as English teachers while they waited for better times. Something like that would be unimaginable in Italy.”

However, while he appreciated the positive aspects of working in the US, Gallotti was ready to start the second phase of his professional life: becoming an entrepreneur. “I was walking across Manhattan, and as I was considering the grey uniformity of cars passing by I told myself: why not making the equivalent of smartphone covers for cars, namely silicon mirror covers that you can put on and take off as you please?”

To give substance to the idea “such product would not have to be sold to the car accessories industry, a predominantly male market, but to the wider sector of fashion accessories,” says Gallotti, “where the Italy brand enjoys a market premium. We are selling to Japan, France, and we are looking out to the rest of the world.” There are thirty models currently in production, including rainproof saddle covers for scooters, sold in a wide assortment of colors, ranging from classic brown to multicolor patterns.

He concludes: “Our objective is to surpass €1 million in sales by the end of 2015. We have a lean structure, with headquarters in the Brianza region around Monza, but offices as far as Shanghai. We are not shy about thinking big. When I think there are 56 million cars only in Japan...”.

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Alex Foti