I'm Alessandro Cataldo and I work across startups, marketing, innovation and social impact. I get involved when an idea needs testing, when a market needs finding, when growth stalls or when something needs building from scratch. You can bring me in as an advisor and, on a small number of projects, as an operating partner.
Areas of work: agrifood, disability and accessibility, digital and tech, work for equity, validation, positioning, go-to-market, investment rounds.
I have lived with cerebral palsy since birth and it taught me something early. When a standard solution fails, the problem is not always the person, often it is the system. I work the same way, so I do not start from the tool, the campaign or whatever technology is having its moment. I start with the problem, then look at the people and the data, and only then build.
Alessandro Cataldo Montevarchi, Tuscany, born 2002
I do not sell standard packages, and I usually get involved at three points, namely when an idea needs testing, when growth stops working and when a team needs someone inside the project.
Validation
Starting from early stage projects, we check whether there are customers willing to pay and whether the revenue can cover the costs. Then we define the offer and how to take it to market. If you are raising, I prepare the investor materials with you.
Marketing
We choose the channels together, based on the customers you want to reach and the budget you have. I run the work and we measure what it contributes to sales.
Work for equity
On some projects I consider coming in as a working partner. Work for equity means shares in the company in exchange for my work, with a commitment we define together.
You do not need a perfect brief, I just need to know where you are and what you are trying to unlock. The timings below are indicative and depend on the project.
Before you invest in building it, we check whether the problem you want to solve matters to potential customers. We agree on a test and a budget to find out whether anyone is willing to pay.
We look at where you lose potential customers and what each one costs you. The problem can sit in the offer, in the price or in the channels you use. We start from the data to decide what to change.
I consider projects in the sectors I know, with a team already committed. Before we talk about shares, I want to understand what I can contribute and how much work it takes. Then we set the terms of the collaboration.
I do not add complexity to look useful. We start with what is there, separate the real problems from the assumptions and then decide where to invest, with timings that adapt to your situation.
01
We go through revenue and costs, listen to customers and compare the alternatives already on the market.
1 to 2 weeks
02
We design tests for demand and willingness to pay. We agree up front how we will read the results.
2 to 4 weeks
03
We turn the results into an offer and a commercial plan, with owners and budgets attached.
4 to 8 weeks
04
We start the marketing work. Every month we put spend against results and decide what to keep and what to change.
ongoing
I can work elsewhere, but here I start with an advantage, because I know the language, the dynamics and most of the real problems.
01
I founded the Libera Associazione Disabili Imprenditori and I am its president. Through the YES! by LADI programme we support disabled people who want to start a business. That work helps me judge the needs a product has to answer.
Libera Associazione Disabili Imprenditori · president Inclusive entrepreneurship Accessibility as a market
02
I trained at catering school and then in food and agriculture marketing at the ITS in Grosseto. With The AfterTaste and my work in *beeco I have worked on how product, price and sales channels fit together in food.
The AfterTaste · founder *beeco Food & beverage Supply chain and retail
03
I work with startups building digital products and platforms, from testing demand to acquiring customers. With GEOrank I also work on how content surfaces in AI-based search engines.
AIUTASTARTUP · founder GEOrank · founder SaaS and platforms Rounds and investors
A committed and capable professional, able to listen to the client and at the same time steer them towards the right solution. Excellent.
Simone Bertin CEO, La Orange
I have worked with Alessandro several times and every time he surprises me more. With his straightforwardness he finds exactly the idea that finishes the job, through teamwork.
Davide Noto CEO, Tascapan
Alessandro proved to be very helpful, and above all a very capable professional. He solved my problem quickly, effectively and for good.
Pierpaolo Turri CEO, Maison Ginori Guelfa
Alessandro turns enthusiasm into competence. And it is contagious.
Renato Nesi Food marketer and trainer
Alessandro has always shown initiative and problem solving in every task he has been given. He is eager to learn and to test himself.
Gabriele Zappelli Director, Grosseto Export
A real professional. We have been working together for a while now and I recommend him without hesitation.
Nicola Donati CEO, The Island of Technology
The reviews were written in Italian and are translated here.
More reviews and references on LinkedIn
Interviews about my work and about YES! by LADI, the incubation programme for disabled people who want to start a business. The articles are in Italian.
Over the years I have built relationships with companies, universities, associations, incubators and professionals. When it helps, that network becomes part of the work and brings expertise, feedback and connections.
I was born in Siena in 2002 and grew up in Montevarchi. I started in the kitchen, at catering school, then trained in food and agriculture marketing at the ITS in Grosseto. From there I moved into working with startups, on business models and marketing.
I founded AIUTASTARTUP, The AfterTaste and GEOrank. In 2025 came the Libera Associazione Disabili Imprenditori, which I chair, supporting disabled entrepreneurs and professionals. Out of that work came YES! by LADI, the incubation programme for disabled people.
I also bring these subjects to public talks. In December 2025 the University of Milan included me in the programme for the lecture Food Chemistry for Disability, alongside Chiara Di Lorenzo, on nutrition and disability.
The first call lasts 30 minutes and is free. Tell me where you are, what is not working and what you want to achieve, and if I can help I will tell you how. If I am not the right person, I will tell you that too.
info@alessandrocataldo.it +39 339 4255390 LinkedIn Instagram
