Bradley Hopkinson (former VP Microsoft) joins the capital of Startup Bakery

Milan, 10 December 2025 – Startup Bakery, the Italian startup studio founded by Alessandro Arrigo and Angelo Cavallini, announces today that Bradley Hopkinson, former Vice President of Consumer & Device Sales at Microsoft, has joined its community through a capital increase executed under the Investor Visa for Italy program.

Hopkinson’s entry brings value that extends far beyond the financial investment. With more than three decades of international leadership experience, Bradley adds a global strategic perspective and a proven track record of scaling complex organizations, building high-performing multinational teams, and driving innovation across both mature and emerging markets. His move to Italy was made possible thanks to the Investor Visa for Italy program—an instrument that, when well applied, helps attract world-class talent and capital.

The operation was supported by Armando Strofaldi of Hoop Capital, who introduced Bradley to SB, coordinated the deal between the parties through to closing, ensuring the obtainment of the Visa for Bradley and the success of the operation.

“We are delighted to welcome Bradley into the Startup Bakery community and grateful to Armando for his essential support in this operation. This is a significant step forward for us but, more importantly, a positive signal for the Italian ecosystem: fostering collaboration between international investors and Italian innovation is now more crucial than ever,” said Alessandro Arrigo, CEO and co-founder of Startup Bakery.

About Bradley Hopkinson

Bradley Hopkinson is an international business leader and investor with over 30 years of corporate IT experience across four continents. At Microsoft, he held several senior leadership positions, ultimately serving as Vice President of Consumer & Device Sales, where he led large-scale commercial operations, regional go-to-market strategies, and multinational teams responsible for accelerating the adoption of Microsoft’s consumer ecosystem. His leadership is characterized by a blend of operational discipline, customer-centric innovation, and the ability to scale organizations across complex global markets.

After retiring from Microsoft in 2024, Bradley co-founded Villa Issima with his wife Veronique, developing design-led hospitality properties. Their flagship in Menaggio (Lombardy, Italy) has recently been joined by projects in London and Cape Town, reflecting Bradley’s focus on combining hospitality, design, and entrepreneurship across global markets.

“After nearly twenty years at Microsoft, I’m excited to begin this new chapter in Italy and to do so alongside Startup Bakery,” said Bradley Hopkinson. “Italy offers extraordinary opportunities for global innovators and investors, and I’m motivated to contribute my experience to the growth of exceptional Italian startups.”

The investment reinforces Startup Bakery’s mission to build sustainable B2B SaaS companies with a strong AI component, reducing the typical risks of launching a startup and leveraging industrial and local expertise through a serial approach, proprietary algorithms, and lean methodologies.

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About Startup Bakery

Startup Bakery’s mission is to build sustainable B2B SaaS companies with a strong Artificial Intelligence component, reducing the typical risks of founding a startup while enhancing industrial and local expertise. The studio applies a serial, data-driven approach supported by proprietary algorithms and lean methodologies. In addition to launching its in-house UX/UI studio Donux, Startup Bakery has already founded and invested in five startups: Veterly (2021, PetTech), Condeo (2022, PropTech), Sencare (2022, HealthTech), EsgMax (2023, Sustainability), and Kontai (2024, FinOps). Kontai, its latest AI-driven vertical solution, will welcome a new co-founder into the ecosystem as of January 1, 2026.