GIORGIO PAUTRIE AND HOW AN ACCIDENT PAVED THE WAY FOR A SUCCESSFUL STARTUP

When he was 21, the Milanese Giorgio Pautrie was studying Management at Bocconi University. Following a serious car accident, he was forced to miss two years of lectures and academic study. However, thanks to his determination, motivation, and a mixture of supplements created by a local pharmacy, he was able to graduate. He then decided to partner with the chemist, Farmacia Legnani, to create a new product. A chewing-gum containing the mixture of supplements that he felt had been so important to his success. He almost died in the car accident, but the near tragic experience turned out to be the turning point for his professional life. Having fractured his neck in the car accident, he was told that he might never regain his full cognitive functions. He was completely immobile for eight months, which were followed by eight months of rehabilitation. When he was able to move his head he started to study again, but concentration and memory were failing him. In the meantime, the health of his beloved grandfather had started to deteriorate and allowing him to see his grandson graduate became a huge motivation. He wanted to graduate as quickly as possible. That was when he turned De Zanetti, the chemist of the Legnani pharmacy. He created a compound with 15 active ingredients aiming to boost Pautrie’s memory and concentration. It was a tablet which dissolved under the tongue, which Pautrie added the beneficial effects of chewing the tablet and associated it with chewing gum. With the tablet and his relentless determination, he was able to pass more than 20 exams and submit his dissertation to Bocconi University in just over a year. After having tested the effectiveness of the compound on himself, Pautrie decided to incorporate the active ingredients into actual chewinggum, thus creating Mind The Gum. He developed a business plan with one of his professors, who subsequently became a partner, and launched a start-up. The company reached the breakeven point in just a few months exporting to Austria, Switzerland, Germany and soon to the UK.