Hype and early success are crucial to get on top of the algorithm

A specific goal: raising €10,000 through crowdfunding on Indiegogo to publish a photo book containing 50 destinations for climbing lovers that are off the beaten track. The objective was achieved in just 24 hours. "We ended up raising 25,000 from 600 people", says Alessia Fontanari, a 29 years old Bocconi alumna and cofounder of Mapo Tapo together with Bocconian Daniele Calvo Pollino (they met during their year in Shanghai together for the Double Degree in International Management). A very positive crowdfunding experience, taken to counter the misfortune of having launched the business based on adventure travel for lovers of climbing and extreme sports just a few months before the second lockdown at the end of 2020.

"We decided to create Mapo Tapo because of our love for nature travel and because we realized that, although fans of extreme sports are growing in number, the outdoor industry tends to remain rather unstructured. Furthermore, we notided that 90% of climbers and trekkers traveled alone because they had no travel companions with whom they shared their passion: here we aggregate them in small groups ". All with an eye to sustainable tourism, Mapo Tapo's absolute mantra and behind the idea of ​​financing a photo book. "When the second lockdown started we had just started with the first test trips and we decided we wouldn't waste the subsequent months. Hence the idea of ​​the book, whose goal is precisely to bring sustainable tourism, and therefore development, to areas that are not yet developed ", continues Alessia. "We have worked since our inception to create a community of enthusiasts and the idea of ​​entrusting ourselves to crowdfunding was due to the presence of this strong fam base". Alessia and Daniele had long chats with Italian and foreign companies that had already tried the crowdfunding path: "The initial hype is very important, to generate expectation even before launching the campaign, while maintaining a bit of mystery. And then, once the campaign has started, it is essential to have good results in the very first hours ".

For two reasons: "Because showing that the campaign is having success serves to persuade other potential investors and because it fuels the platform algorithm". In fact, successful fundraising allows a business to be inserted, as it happened to Mapo Tapo, in the very first pages of the platform, thus bringing further organic traffic to one's own fundraier. Finally, in May 2021, the restart of the travel activities of Mapo Tapo, which between the end of 2020 and the spring of 2021 took advantage of the acceleration program offered by B4i - Bocconi for Innovation: "To date, we have organized about sixty trips and have built a team of seven people", concludes Alessia.