Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about the business you have built?
I’m Samuele D’Esposito, a Computer Engineering student and co-founder of Synaptix, an Italian technology company born from our experience in automotive and motorsport. My journey started with a strong interest in electronics, embedded systems, telemetry, and software through university and Formula Student. Together with my co-founders, I turned that experience into SYNET, which started as a telemetry platform for physical machines. Today, we are developing technology that connects engineering data, tools, and AI around physical systems, starting with industries we know best.
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What has been the most challenging phase of your entrepreneurial journey?
The most challenging phase has been moving from building a technical project to building a real company. As engineers, creating something that works came naturally to us. Turning it into a business was different. We had to learn how to understand customers, make product decisions with limited information, manage money, and take responsibility for the company as a whole. The biggest lesson has been accepting that, as a founder, there is rarely a perfectly correct answer. You have to make decisions, learn quickly, and adapt.
What kept you going during the most challenging moments?
Watching a simple idea turn into something real is what kept me going. Things didn’t always move fast, and sometimes progress felt slow. We had to fix or redo things we had already finished. But looking back showed us how far we had come from a university project to a real business with actual customers. I have also always been deeply curious. Whenever I don’t understand how something works, my first instinct is to figure it out. That mindset has carried me through difficult moments. That mindset is what helped me push through the hardest days.
Have you explored investments outside your primary business? What attracted you to them?
I have not made significant financial investments outside my business so far. Right now, most of my resources and time go directly into growing Synaptix. However, I choose to invest in education, unique experiences, and meaningful relationships. I think all these are as valuable as investments for me at this stage of my life. Being selected for the Silicon Valley Fellowship is a good example. It gave me the opportunity to meet founders and investors, experience a different startup ecosystem, and learn from people building companies at a much larger scale. At this stage, investing in knowledge, skills, and people is what creates the most value for me.
When faced with a difficult decision, what factors guide your final choice?
When making difficult decisions, I try to separate what I know from what I assume. I focus on the facts about our customers, market, technology, and resources, while leaving my assumptions behind. I carefully think about the outcomes of each choice and look at how easy it is to reverse it. If a decision is easy to change, I choose to act fast so we can test the idea and learn from the results. However, if a decision is permanent or hard to reverse, I take more time and involve my co-founders and people with relevant experience. Ultimately, I always try to choose what best supports the long-term future of our company.
What role have mentors, partners, or other people played in your growth?
People have played a huge role in my growth. My co-founders have taught me the value of having people who challenge your ideas while working towards the same goal. Professors and mentors have helped us look beyond the technical side of what we were building, while Formula Student taught me how to collaborate, take responsibility, and work under pressure. More recently, programs like the Silicon Valley Fellowship will expand my perspective by connecting me with founders and investors from different backgrounds. The best people are those who challenge your assumptions.
Is there a milestone that may look small from the outside but meant a lot to you?
Getting the first real payment for something we built on our own was a big moment for us. For others, it may have been just a small business transaction, but for us, it made the project feel real. Someone was willing to pay for what we had created, and that showed us that we were working on solving a real problem. At that point, we stopped feeling like students working on a project and started seeing ourselves as a real company with a customer who trusted us.
How has your approach to risk changed throughout your journey?
I used to try avoiding risks completely. But working on projects and starting my own company taught me that running away from every risk stops you from growing. It holds you back just like unnecessary risks can. Now, I know there is a big difference between smart, planned risks and careless mistakes. I am more comfortable making decisions even when I don’t have all the answers, as long as I know what I am risking and what I can learn. Starting a company while still at university was a risk, but it was a choice I knew was worth making.
What trends or changes in your industry do you believe will create the biggest opportunities?
I believe one of the biggest opportunities will come from the convergence of AI and physical engineering. AI has transformed how we work with information and software, and the next step is applying that intelligence to physical systems such as cars, machines, factories, and energy systems. Engineering teams already generate enormous amounts of data through sensors, simulations, and testing, but it is often fragmented across different tools. The opportunity is to build technology that allows AI to understand and interact with the engineering environment, not simply add another chatbot to existing software.
Where can people find you online?
You can follow us on our social media pages and find us online at:
Website: https://www.synaptix.it/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samueledesposito/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuele.desposito/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samuele.desposito
Linktr.ee : https://linktr.ee/samuele.desposito
What is one piece of advice you believe every aspiring entrepreneur should hear?
My biggest piece of advice is: do not let other people decide what you should do with your life. Throughout my journey, I have been told that some of my choices were not the safest or most conventional ones, from my education to spending so much time on engineering projects and Formula Student, and eventually building a company while still at university. You should listen to advice, but remember that other people are looking at your future through their own experiences. Take the useful parts, think for yourself, and have the courage to choose your own path.
What are you building toward next, and what can we expect from you in the coming years?
Right now, we are focused on turning Synaptix into a technology company with international ambitions. We are developing SYNET beyond its original applications in automotive and motorsport, with the long-term goal of connecting engineers, their data, tools, and AI around physical systems. I also want to keep putting myself in environments where I can learn from people building at a global scale, such as through the Silicon Valley Fellowship. Over the next few years, I expect experimentation, international expansion, and probably a few unexpected turns. I know I want to keep building.
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