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The session, coordinated by Málaga TechPark, featured Gianluca Dettori, entrepreneur and investor specialising in Deep Tech and venture capital
The European UPTECH project has held the first session of its 2026 mentoring program, an initiative designed for early-stage Deep Tech startups across Southern Europe. The project brings together an alliance of universities, research centres and innovation stakeholders under the EIT Higher Education Initiative, with the aim of strengthening Europe’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
The session, coordinated by Málaga TechPark, featured Gianluca Dettori, entrepreneur and investor specialising in Deep Tech and venture capital, who shared his expertise on the key challenges startups face during their early stages of growth.
During the session, participating startups presented their projects and received tailored guidance on key topics such as fundraising, market validation and the development of scalable growth strategies.
Among the mentor’s main recommendations was the importance of building a clear and compelling narrative, accurately defining the problem the startup solves and its target customer, validating product-market fit before scaling, and establishing a solid and coherent growth strategy. He also emphasised that, beyond technological innovation, investors place significant value on the founding team’s execution capabilities and commitment.
This first session marks the beginning of a mentoring programme designed to strengthen the participating startups’ business models and better prepare them to face market challenges and secure investment.
The next session will take place on 24 June and will be led by Davide Rovera, who will explore the key drivers of internationalisation and best practices for startups with global growth ambitions.