Danilo's Flight

A UNIVERSITY DEGREE IN MILAN, EXPERIENCE IN THE UK, GERMANY AND AFRICA. TODAY HE LIVES IN POLAND, ITALY AND THE UNITED STATES WHERE, WITH AIRHELP, HE SUPPORTS PASSENGERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WITH AIRLINE DISPUTES

Danilo Campisi is 27 years old but seems older. Not because of how he looks but because of the quantity and quality of experiences he has accrued. Danilo, who is from Siracusa Sicily, is now a partner and head of online marketing at AirHelp, a startup with headquarters in Poland, offices in 17 countries and 55 employees. He helps passengers from all over the world obtain reimbursements from airlines for late flights, cancelations and other problems. “In Italy, for example, there is no other company like ours,” he explains. “There are a few legal firms that deal with these issues, but we’re faster and, more importantly, we don’t require payment from clients other than a percentage of the reimbursement they may obtain. At the moment, we handle about 3,000-4,000 procedures per month around the world.”

Danilo Campisi started at Bocconi, where he completed a Bachelor in business administration and management and a Master of Science in public administration and international institutions, to then complete a true trip around the world. “I started working in Lugano when I was still a student,” he explains, “then I went to Africa, Nigeria and Kenya in particular, for a company in Berlin which, along with London, is the best place in Europe for anyone looking to found a startup.” The startup phenomenon is a recent one, but it is increasingly important, even though the number of successes is still low: “The rate of failure is 99% of ideas,” he says, “and of those that become a company, only 50% survive after one year.”

AirHelp is a success story. It was part of the Y Combinator incubator one year after its foundation, when it already had a team of about 20 people and was present all over Europe, attaining 5 million euros in funding. “Because investors give us money, you first have to demonstrate that you know how to earn. A lot of people think that a good idea is enough, but unfortunately it’s not.” It’s not the idea that matters, but how it’s put into practice. The ‘where’ isn’t very important, however: “Everyone talks about Silicon Valley as the Eden for starting a new company,” says Danilo, “and California has a large number of incubators, especially focusing on the IT sector. But moving a company to California is expensive, just like moving to London or Berlin: the choice should therefore be thought out. We have an office in New York because in our sector we think it’s more important to be present in the Big Apple than in San Francisco, but it’s not crucial.”

 

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Jenna Walker