About
Hi, I'm Simone. Everyone calls me Tabba.
Born and bred in Bologna, reggaeton lover, co-founder and CMO of play2match. This is where I tell you about my path through business, mindset, sustainability and sport. No filters, I'm terrible at them anyway.
Entrepreneur, to the bone
The day we signed the founding papers of play2match, I thought I was signing a sheet of paper. Turns out I was signing a change of life. Being a founder isn't a title, it's a state of mind: it doesn't switch off in the evening and it doesn't go on holiday (I know, I tried 😅).
Before that I co-founded Startability, a podcast about green economy startups. With Sprintaly I'm the CMO of social innovation hackathons, and with Nicola Mei I run the Bologna Startup Network. And when I can, I give back: to people who are just starting out I tell what we got right and what we got wrong, straight, no filters. I owe it to the people who did the same for me when I was the one with no idea where to start.
Sustainable, with myself too
For me sustainability started with business: with Startability I told the stories of nineteen startups trying to fight the climate crisis. Then it made its way to the table: I eat flexitarian, with three fully plant-based days a week.
And it goes for body and mind too. If you don't protect yourself, you burn out: training, sleeping, eating well, letting go of anxiety and anger. Because if you crash, everything crashes. The startup only grows if you grow too.
Stoic, by choice
I sign my posts with MEMENTO MORI. It's not a Sunday-philosopher pose: it's the reminder that time is short and should be spent on what depends on me.
In the short run everything looks huge; in the long run almost nothing really is. Every weekend I put a name on whatever made me most anxious and ask myself: twelve months from now, how much will it matter, from 1 to 10? Usually not much. Halfway through the day I do four-count breathing, and cold water is a habit by now (a bit less so at the start 🥶).
Sporty, since forever
I grew up playing basketball. Every time I moved up a league it was the same story: loads of passion and extreme discomfort, tougher games, more technical practice, stronger opponents. As a founder today I feel exactly the same thing. And I've realised that's fine: the discomfort isn't a bug in the path, it is the path.
These days I play beach volleyball with the play2match crew and train for HYROX: I finished Bologna in Doubles with Iaco, my business partner, and in January I'm racing Verona on my own (whose idea was this). Team sport gives you people, solo sport gives you your head. You need both.
My path
It all started at the ITS McLuhan programme of Fondazione FITSTIC in Bologna: two years of digital communication and marketing, finished with 100/100. From there, marketing for startups, personal branding, community and then play2match. The rest is on LinkedIn, with the right dates.
- 2025 – todayCo-organiser · Bologna Startup NetworkFree meetups for the Bologna startup ecosystem, run with Nicola Mei since the Bologna Tech Night of December 2025.
- 2024 – todayCo-founder and CMO · play2matchThe community where sport is the excuse to make new friends: games with new people in Bologna, Turin, Milan and Rome.
- 2024 – todayTeam Italy · Circular MondayThe movement for conscious consumption and the circular economy, the sustainable alternative to Black Friday.
- 2024 – 2025Ecosystem builder and community manager · BIGBO – Boost Innovation Garage e BoostER AcceleratorEvents, partnerships and meetings between startups, investors and partners in Bologna's innovation network.
- 2023 – todayCo-founder and CMO · SprintalySocial innovation hackathons: young talent, a few days, one real challenge for the country.
- 2023 – 2025Co-founder and podcaster · StartabilityThe Startability Stories podcast, featuring 19 Italian green economy startups.
- 2022 – 2025Digital marketer and personal branding consultant · Sfridoo, The ID Factory e clienti freelanceStrategy and digital channels for a circular economy startup, personal brands for founders and managers.
- 2019 – 2021Higher technician in digital communication and marketing · Fondazione FITSTIC – ITS McLuhanThe two-year post-diploma programme in digital communication and marketing in Bologna, finished with 100/100.
Get in touch if you are
I reply to everyone, but with these people I'm more than happy to talk (and something good usually comes out of it):
- Investors and funds interested in play2match and in sport, community and B2C
- People who want to work or collaborate with play2match
- play2match partners: sports centres, clubs, companies and brands
- Anyone building startups and innovation in Emilia-Romagna
- Schools, ITS programmes and universities looking for trainers on digital marketing, community and startups
- Events looking for a speaker on community, startups and marketing
Why play2match
Let's be honest: making new friends as an adult is hard. You don't know where to go, you don't know when, and introducing yourself to strangers feels a bit awkward. It happens to everyone, even the ones who won't admit it.
play2match makes it easy: you book a game, show up even on your own, and play with people you don't know. By the end of the evening they're your teammates, and often they become friends. Strangers, teammates, friends. Today we do it in Bologna, Turin, Milan and Rome, and we've got the whole of Italy to get playing 🔥
Write to me
Want to build something with us, invest, or bring play2match to your sports centre or your club? Or just have a chat about Bologna and startups? Drop me a line, regaz: I reply personally.
simone.tabellini@gmail.comMEMENTO MORI – Tabba 🔥
FAQ
What does Simone Tabellini do?
He is co-founder and CMO of play2match, in Bologna, and a community builder in the Bologna startup ecosystem: he organises the Bologna Startup Network with Nicola Mei, is co-founder and CMO of Sprintaly and previously co-founded Startability. He writes about his path through business, mindset, sustainability and sport.
Where did Simone Tabellini study?
At the ITS McLuhan programme of Fondazione FITSTIC in Bologna: the two-year post-diploma course for higher technicians in digital communication and marketing, from 2019 to 2021, which he finished with 100/100. He then worked as a digital marketer for the startup Sfridoo, as a personal branding consultant and as an ecosystem builder for BIGBO, before co-founding play2match.
Does Simone Tabellini speak at events or train in schools?
Yes: he speaks about community building, startups, digital marketing and personal branding at events, schools, ITS programmes and universities, in Italian or English. To make a proposal, write to simone.tabellini@gmail.com.
Why does Simone sign off with memento mori?
It is a Stoic reminder: time is short and should be spent on what depends on you. He uses it to keep the long view when everything looks huge in the short term.
What sports does Simone Tabellini do?
He grew up playing basketball; today he plays beach volleyball with the play2match community and trains for HYROX: he raced Bologna in Doubles in 2026 and is preparing for Verona in solo Open, in January 2027.
What does a sustainable lifestyle mean to Simone?
Sustainability in business, with Startability and green economy startups; at the table, with a flexitarian diet and three fully plant-based days a week; and with himself, taking care of sleep, training and recovery.
How can I contact Simone Tabellini?
By email at simone.tabellini@gmail.com, or on LinkedIn, Instagram (simone_tabellini), TikTok and YouTube (simonetabellini).