Building a business on passion

Fabio Zaffagnini is the Founder and General Manager of Rockin’1000, a live-events company and global music community originally created in Cesena, Italy. In 2015, Fabio, a marine geologist with no prior events experience, ran a crowdfunding campaign to gather 1,000 musicians in a field to play the Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly” in unison, hoping to convince the band to perform in his hometown. The video went viral, drawing tens of millions of views, the Foo Fighters accepted the invitation, and Rockin’1000 has since been dubbed “the biggest band in the world.” Fabio is also the co-founder of Trail Me Up, a virtual and augmented reality startup that lets people explore trails reachable only on foot, and the creator of Rockin’1000 Corporate, a team-building and motivational events programme.
In this episode, Fabio talks passionately about how to build a business based on passion. He speaks in detail about turning a personal love of music into a sustainable venture, the crowdfunding and persistence behind the viral moment, and how genuine passion can mobilise thousands of people and dissolve barriers of borders, generations and background to build a lasting global community.