Zest (formerly LVenture Group)

Choosing the right programme

• Founders with an idea, prototype or MVP and high-growth potential fit the Scouting Ticket.
• Startups with an operational headquarters in Lazio, Italy fit Venture Tech Lazio.
• Founders based outside Italy should ask Zest about the Scouting Ticket before applying, because its page does not state a country restriction.

Before you apply

• Neither programme page shows intake dates or a deadline. Check the live call before you prepare an application.
• The Venture Tech Lazio page is in Italian.

What the programme works on

• The Scouting Ticket focuses on the product, the market and your first customers, so show where you stand on each.
• The programme is for ventures with high-growth potential, so show how the business could grow fast.

Zest is an Italian early-stage investor and startup accelerator. It was formed when Digital Magics merged with LVenture Group, and its legal name is Zest S.p.A., formerly LVenture Group S.p.A. Its headquarters is inside Rome's Termini Station.

How its programmes work

Zest runs two programmes for early-stage founders. The Zest Scouting Ticket invests in founders who are validating an idea, a prototype or an MVP with the potential to become a high-growth business. It pairs that investment with eight weeks of hands-on work on the product, the market and the first customers. The investment is described as designed to fund early experiments and to test whether there is a real business opportunity. Its page gives two different figures for the investment, a headline amount and a larger initial total, so ask Zest which applies before you plan around either.

Venture Tech Lazio is the second programme. Zest selects, invests in and accelerates innovative startups that have an operational headquarters in Lazio, Italy. Its page is in Italian.

Who can apply

The Scouting Ticket page does not state a country restriction, so it does not say whether founders based outside Italy can apply. Venture Tech Lazio requires an operational headquarters in Lazio, so a startup based in India would not meet that test. Neither programme page shows intake dates.

Locations

Zest Hub is Zest's workspace. Its headquarters is in Rome's Termini Station, and it has spaces in Rome, Milan and Turin. The Hub offers coworking in an open space. Its page does not say which city's space offers coworking. The Hub also hosts over 50 corporates and startups in residence, and its page reports more than 400 events a year.

Portfolio and scale

Zest's figures are self-reported. Its investments page reports 230+ startups in its portfolio, 16 exits, 13 investment vehicles and more than 20,000 startups in its dealflow. Its homepage gives 250+ startups in the portfolio. For acceleration programmes, the homepage lists seven, while the innovation page says more than 40. The pages give different counts, so treat each one as the company's own claim.

Joint ventures and network

Zest has two joint ventures: Apside, with Intesa Sanpaolo, and Open T, with Tinexta. Its Venture Tech Lazio page says the programme gives access to a network of more than 80 corporate partners and investors in the Zest ecosystem.

Who runs it

Zest describes itself as a startup accelerator and early-stage investor. It traces its history to Digital Magics and LVenture Group, which it describes as Italian venture capital pioneers, and it says it has over 20 years of experience in the market. Its pages do not state a founding year.