The first experiment, in the summer of 2021, was at a holiday farm in Roccamalatina, a hamlet near Guiglia, in the Modena area – not far from the organic-holiday farm L’Alpenice di Savignano sul Panaro (Modena) where we met Riccardo in late summer 2023. Here, in front of a beautiful lavender garden, stands one of the prototypes of Aria, the second model of tent designed by Tipì, with a special feature that makes it really unique: the fabric is recycled, obtained from processing waste. What happened in between is the story of a successful start-up, capable of consolidating its business model and investing own resources every year.

In the summer of 2021, Riccardo participated in the RestartApp ‘on-campus’ course organised by Fondazione Edoardo Garrone, winning that edition in a tie with Marta from ético – sartoria marchigiana. The prize money helped him get his project off the ground, by creating a portal – https://www.tipiglamping.it/ – https://www.tipiglamping.it/ that is a showcase (to help customers choose the Tipì they prefer), but also a management system offering the opportunity to book all the accommodation facilities belonging to the network.
“In the summer of 2023, we put up 22 tents in 12 regions. By now, Tipì is present throughout central and northern Italy except in Lazio, where we will start operating next spring, and in Apulia”. Around one thousand overnight stays were recorded last season. Most of the tents are rented: this means that Riccardo travels around Italy in the spring to set them up and arrange the furnishings; then, after agreeing on the price to charge with the hosting facility, he splits the proceeds with them. “My presence is a vital aspect of our relationship. Anyone developing a project similar to mine may consider entrusting the installation of the tents to a third party, but that would be a mistake: one of the keys to Tipì’s success is the ‘selection phase’, i.e. the care I devote to choosing exactly where to place each tent” he explains.