Nobody believed it but today Odda is a star. Prestigious award for Abruzzo's entrepreneurship with the inclusion of Odda in the “Stars of the South” ranking drawn up by Il Sole 24 Ore and Statista. A ranking of 200 companies in the South that achieved the best performance in terms of revenue growth, their employees and tangible and intangible assets between 2020 and 2023. Odda's placement is absolutely significant, occupying thirty-sixth place in the overall ranking with a score of 77.85 and the thirteenth place for the subcategory dedicated to revenue growth.

The choice of Abruzzo

A medal that is the result of a path of resilience and confidence in their means in a land where talents are often forced to seek their fortune elsewhere. “After the pandemic, we had to completely invent a new identity - explains Stefano Coccia, CEO of the company - since the entertainment startup Addo that we founded in 2016 had a setback due to the macroeconomic situation (even though it had 50,000 active users in Italy). So we decided to set ourselves a new goal: build an international innovation model in Abruzzo too”. Staying on the territory, therefore, was immediately a cornerstone. “The team has strongly chosen to stay here, relying exclusively on their skills and resources. We didn't receive any funding, no support, and no investor was willing to bet on us. We financed ourselves to carry out our vision and we wanted to do it in Pescara even if someone would have done the golden bridge in Milan. Today we are happy to have won this challenge.”

Turnover at +756%

There is, therefore, a precise concrete philosophy that drives Odda. ”We operate - Coccia continues - in full-remote mode, demonstrating to national and international realities that talent exists and can be anywhere. We have a hub of more than 200 IT professionals offering IT consulting, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, AI and UX/UI Design services. We collaborate with more than 50 partner, corporate and international companies. The growth was extraordinary and sales rose from 132,000 in 2021 to 1.3 million euros in 2024, an increase of +756% with an average annual growth rate of +121.72%.”

A fight against brain drain

Obviously, a company like Odda has the capacity to create work. In Pescara, in Abruzzo, in Italy and in the world. ”Today, the team has 25 internal employees with a retention rate of more than 90%.”. Here, perhaps, is the most romantic key in this business story. “The brain drain continues to deprive the South of qualified talent and we have convincingly decided to be the opposite magnetic pole. We have positioned ourselves as a center of attraction for professionals who wish to return to their land without ever giving up opportunities for growth. The full-remote model allows you to create global connections while maintaining local roots, allowing highly specialized profiles to work on innovative projects without having to migrate.”

Of course, successes should be celebrated, but there is always an extra challenge. “Of course - concludes Coccia - we already have new objectives. We want to reach two million in sales in 2025, always focusing only on our capabilities. As, on the other hand, it has always been. We have never benefited from public funding and we have never won a tender. Every success has come thanks to our strength and the conviction that Abruzzo can also be the innovative engine of a world. And that's the way it is.”

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