Women’s revolution in finance
Interview with Lucrezia Lucotti, Partner at 360 Capital
ENGLISH VERSION
For the fifteenth issue of EmpowHER, we had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Lucrezia Lucotti, Partner at 360 Capital and today one of the most authoritative voices in European venture capital. Her professional profile embodies a new generation of investors: highly competent, instinct–driven, and deeply rooted in the innovation ecosystem.
After completing her studies in Economics and Management of Innovation and Technology at Bocconi University, Ms. Lucotti embarked on a path that led her to transform her inclination toward risk into a vision of what value creation means in the early stages. For Lucotti, risk is not a threat to be avoided, but the living substance of her work, a shifting boundary between what we know and what we choose to believe is possible. Throughout her story, a common thread emerges: risk as an act of trust in people’s potential.
As she explains, private equity deals with structured companies rich in data, whereas venture capital operates when almost nothing exists yet. There are no revenues, no validated market and sometimes not even a finished product. What exists is a team, an idea, and someone who must decide whether to believe in them. Every decision requires courage, because an investor does not only deploy capital; they put their credibility on the line.
This personal philosophy is fully reflected in the identity of 360 Capital, a fund that has made the human dimension, trust and the freedom to experiment the core of its approach. “The principle of 360 Capital is people first, internally and externally,” she notes. “Within the firm, it is essential to nurture our people: we hire few, but we invest heavily in them, because they are meant to stay and build with us over time.”
Alongside this focus on human capital, curiosity represents the second pillar of their vision. It is what, in Lucotti’s view, sets the fund apart from other market players. For her, curiosity is not merely a value, it is an attitude: the freedom to propose ideas, to experiment, and to test oneself without the fear of making mistakes.
In a landscape dominated by large asset managers, often rigid and vertical, 360 Capital stands out through an entrepreneurial model that is flexible and horizontal, where every individual is involved: from investment analysis to special projects, from portfolio management to building relationships across the ecosystem. This way of working shapes people, empowers them, and keeps motivation alive.
The same philosophy is mirrored in their decision-making processes. Lucotti explains that an internal rule exists: whoever truly believes in a deal has the autonomy to champion it and take full responsibility for the decision. It is a way to elevate courage and intuition, avoiding the risk that collective thinking may curb innovation.
This people-first approach also extends outward, shaping the relationship with portfolio startups. A key aspect of her work is the centrality of the entrepreneur over the idea itself. In venture capital, she says, the quality of the jockey, the person driving the project, matters more than the horse, the idea. For her, the real bet is on people: their vision, their capacity to listen to the market, and their willingness to pivot when necessary. “I will always prefer an excellent entrepreneur with a mediocre idea than vice versa.”
When describing how she works with founders, Lucotti immediately highlights a dimension often undervalued within the tech ecosystem: intuition. For her, selecting a project means cultivating the ability to look beyond the technology: to understand people, observe how they navigate their ideas, and sense the energy they bring to building.
Lucotti explains that she predominantly invests in people with whom she has cultivated long-standing relationships; to her, investors and founders are allies. She does not believe in trust born “from a ten-minute pitch”: credibility is built over time, by observing founders as catalysts of innovation, and experienced founders as engines of stability.
Her work also reveals a sharp distinction between first-time and second-time founders. The formers bring raw, visionary, sometimes reckless energy. The latters arrive with still-fresh scars, yet with a new calm, a maturity forged through past mistakes. Different worlds, equal potential. The challenge is to elevate both: younger founders as catalysts of innovation, and experienced founders as engines of stability.
Alongside all of this lies a concept that recurs repeatedly in her words: psychological balance. Not as an accessory soft skill, but as a necessary condition to withstand the volatility of the sector. “You cannot build anything if you cannot hold yourself,” she suggests almost between the lines. For her, the deepest form of resilience often comes from balance.
Reflecting on her journey in venture capital, Lucotti emphasizes that the real training for a venture capitalist comes primarily from learning by doing, or even better, from learning by seeing. One gains experience by seeing thousands of startups and navigating the complex situations that emerge within a portfolio: from periods of rapid expansion and growth to restructurings, and even to liquidations, which do happen. All of this becomes a valuable training ground for building solid skills.
Lucotti also highlights the growing role of personal branding in the sector. With the evolution of the asset class and the ecosystem in Italy, entrepreneurs and startups are increasingly inclined to choose not just a fund, but the people behind it. “Often, when I evaluate a company, the entrepreneur tells me that they want to work primarily with the person in front of them, as well as with the fund: it’s a clear sign of how much the personal dimension matters in this business” she notes.
Finally, turning to younger generations, Lucotti encourages all of us to be “competent, but also visible.” Competence is what protects and gives credibility, while visibility allows one’s value to emerge and enables access to opportunities along the way. For her, no one should feel intimidated by youth or inexperience, but should instead express their potential fully. Her message is clear and powerful: ambition must never be constrained by age. One must instead cultivate the courage to be visible, ensuring that preparation remains the tangible proof of one’s commitment, and the only true key to long-term success.