Interview to Paolo Corradi, CEO of Guzzini & Fontana Projects Srl
What does "entrepreneurship" mean to you?
It is a concept that goes beyond the mere creation of a business.
It is the ability and luck to gather the set of qualities and skills necessary to identify and organize opportunities, develop innovative ideas, imagine and create new products, services, and/or business models, and turn them into reality.
It is the willingness and courage to take calculated risks to achieve goals.
It is passion for what one intends to do and the ability to transmit that passion to others by dedicating the appropriate space to team-building activities.
It is "elegance."
It is a hard and exciting commitment because it allows for illuminating the entrepreneurial humanism of the protagonists, which withstands crises, creates wealth with honor, and distributes it equitably. It is a commitment aimed at profit, free from the systemic approach of ruthless, predatory, and rapacious capitalism, but filled with social logic. It involves the ethical engagement of collaborators and employees, as long as everyone matters in the company, as long as everyone contributes concretely to the progress of the factory, not only with manual labor but also with ideas and thoughts that make us feel human, not insensitive cogs in a cold industrial organization.
What has been the most significant experience or lesson you have learned along your journey?
In front of an idiot, don’t argue… it brings you down to their level. In front of a genius, don’t let them step out of their genius… it would only cause harm. Everyone carries joy… some come in, some go out.
What distinguishes Guzzini&Fontana in the competitive landscape?
That’s a question that should be asked of those who already believe in Guzzini&Fontana today. Based on the events that have happened and are happening, one could argue that we have found a way to touch the "sensitive chords" of our stakeholders. We focus entirely on the ability to create well-being for the users of our products.
What is your personal and professional motto?
"The truth is lived… not taught."
ELITE: the ecosystem that helps small and medium-sized enterprises grow and access private and public capital markets. Why is it an opportunity that other businesses should consider?
Because every business should create a structure exclusively around its "core business"—for visibility and optimization of structural costs—and then seek external support from professionals operating in areas complementary to the actual activity. From a pool of high-profile professionals, which we believe the ELITE Group represents.
