Founder of Rush, Milan

FedericoMonaco

I build startups where music, technology and community meet. I start from a problem I have seen up close, turn it into a working product in a few days and test it with the people it is for.

Open to junior roles in growth and business development.

LinkedIn Download CV
Founder of RushESCP Blue Factory acceleratorCommunication graduate, IULM7 products live
Startups & products

Six ideas, six real products.

Each one started from a problem I saw up close. I build them myself to learn quickly what holds up and what does not. Rush has a waitlist of 250+ people; the others are how I test ideas before investing more time.

rush-app-live.netlify.appRush home page: “Access the artists, not just their content”
Music tech, marketplace

Rush

Access the artists, not just their content.

A marketplace where fans buy direct experiences with emerging artists: private live rooms, 1:1 calls, listening sessions and exclusive drops. The Backstage Pass becomes your identity as a fan, and the Rush Score rewards the people who were there from the start. It is the startup I am developing in ESCP's Blue Factory accelerator.

Live rooms1:1 callsDigital dropsVerified artistsPayments and refunds

300+user interviews
250+waitlist sign-ups
2026ESCP Blue Factory
What I did

I designed the business model, paid experiences between fans and artists, and built the MVP: an experience catalogue, the Backstage Pass, bookings with refunds and a creator area. I am now validating it in ESCP's Blue Factory.

What I learned

My Blue Factory mentor suggested the pivot. The original token model ran into copyright and regulation; selling direct experiences is much simpler legally and has a clearer revenue model. I learned to let go of a first idea when the rules and the numbers point elsewhere.

Read the case studyVisit the site ↗
noxia-night.lovable.appNoxia home page: “See who's going before the night starts”
Nightlife tech, beta

Noxia

Tinder for nights out: see who is going before you arrive.

Buy a ticket, unlock the guest list and match only with people going to the same event, then chat before the night starts. Your profile is visible only to other ticket holders.

In-app ticketsEvent-based matchingPre-event chatPrivacy first

What I did

Concept, name and brand. I designed the flow from ticket to guest list, match and chat around one rule: only people going to the same event can see you. The web app is installable and in beta.

What I learned

I had friends try it. Their biggest worry was not privacy but the site crashing mid-event and costing the organiser money. For people who run events, reliability matters more than any feature.

Read the case studyVisit the site ↗
beat-leap-play.lovable.appBeatLeap home page: “Learn to make beats, before you even open your DAW”
Music edtech, gamified

BeatLeap

Duolingo for beat-making.

Learn to produce before you open a DAW. Short lessons on a 16-step grid, instant feedback on timing and groove, then step-by-step instructions to rebuild the beat in FL Studio, Ableton or Logic.

12 chapters8 genresTrap 140, House 1243 DAWs

What I did

I designed the curriculum (12 chapters, 8 genres), the 16-step grid with timing and groove feedback, and the guides to rebuild every beat in FL Studio, Ableton and Logic.

What I learned

The hard part was not the grid but making the theory simple without hollowing it out. Every lesson has to explain why a rhythm works, not be trivia you never use.

Read the case studyVisit the site ↗
BeatLeap demo

Make a beat.

A stripped-down version of the 16-step grid behind BeatLeap. Each row is a sound; each column is a sixteenth note.

  1. Pick a genre: the pattern and tempo change.
  2. Press Play.
  3. Tap the cells to switch sounds on and off.

Turn the volume up. In BeatLeap, every beat becomes a lesson with feedback and instructions for FL Studio, Ableton and Logic.

140 BPMStep 01/16
Career Copilot, local appCareer Copilot on demo data: scored openings with the Match, CV Match and AI Fit breakdown
Personal tool, Python

Career Copilot

Collects openings from 22 sources, scores them against my profile and tracks my applications.

I built it for my own internship search. It runs locally on my laptop and never sends anything without my approval.

22connected sources
250automated tests
16klines of code

PythonFastAPISQLitePlaywrightCustomTkinter

Read the case studypersonal project
reputa-hero-ai.lovable.appRecensì home page: “Reply well, even when they write badly”
AI, hospitality, SaaS

Recensì

Reply well, even to bad reviews.

An AI assistant for small Italian restaurants. It reads reviews from Google, TripAdvisor and TheFork, drafts replies in three tones and flags the ones that put the rating at risk, with a recovery plan.

3 reply tonesStar SaverReputation scoreWeekly report

What I did

I chose the niche of small Italian restaurants, defined the reply tone and the Star Saver rules (never promise a refund in public), and built the Free Scan and the pricing page.

What I learned

I picked small venues because, with tiny teams, they struggle most to keep up with everything, reviews included. I have not tested it with a restaurant owner yet: that is the next step to see whether the idea holds.

Read the case studyVisit the site ↗
startuplen.lovable.appStartupLens home page: “Validate your startup idea in 30 seconds”
AI, founder tool, validation

StartupLens

Validate a startup idea in 30 seconds.

Describe the idea, the customer and the market, and the AI returns a structured analysis that scores opportunity, competition, go-to-market and risk. The tool I wish I'd had before launching Rush.

4 scoresNo sign-upStructured report

What I did

I defined the four dimensions of the analysis and the report format, and built a flow that works without signing up.

What I learned

I ran my own ideas through it and dropped several apps before losing weeks on them. A tool like this is most useful when it tells you no early.

Visit the site ↗startuplen.lovable.app
Landing pages & brand

Brand and first impressions.

A real event run by a friend, and a style exercise for an artist I follow. Three seconds to make people want to stay.

fuorimenu-good-times.lovable.appFuoriMenù home page with the large logo
Landing page, real event

FuoriMenù

Not a dinner. Not a party.

A pop-up night in Milan: a different venue each time, with food, cocktails and house and funk DJ sets. The landing page covers the line-up, the menu, €25 bookings and a newsletter for the next location.

Booking7:30 pm to midnightNewsletter

What I did

I built the landing page for a friend's real event: naming, tone of voice, line-up, menu, €25 paid booking and newsletter.

What I learned

Working for someone else taught me to put their voice before mine and to get the practical details across first: when, how much, how to book.

Visit the site ↗fuorimenu-good-times.lovable.app
pips-urban-grid.lovable.appYung Pips home page with the Spotify player
Artist website, practice project

Yung Pips

A website for a Turin rapper I follow.

Bio, a discography synced through the Spotify API, links to TikTok, Instagram and Genius, and a downloadable press kit for labels and media.

Spotify APIPress kitSocial hub

What I did

Not a client: a personal project. I built the site and the press kit, with the discography pulled from the Spotify API and links to every social channel.

What I learned

It was practice in vibe coding and in wiring up real data, the Spotify discography, instead of hand-written text.

Visit the site ↗pips-urban-grid.lovable.app
About

I studied communication. I think like a founder.

Method

Problem first.

Every project starts from something I have seen up close: emerging artists who can't live off their fans, nights out where you know no one, restaurants buried in reviews.

Speed

Days, not months.

With AI and no-code tools I go from idea to clickable product in a few days. One real test is worth more than a month of slides.

Honesty

Changing course is a result.

Rush started as a token platform and became a marketplace for experiences. StartupLens made me drop several ideas before I put time into them.

I want to build platforms where people take part in culture, not just consume it.

I'm Federico Monaco, from Turin, based in Milan. I graduated in Communication, Media and Advertising from IULM in 2026. I founded Rush in 2025, while still at university, and in 2026 it was selected for Blue Factory, ESCP Business School's startup programme. My way of working is simple: I make an idea clickable, get people to try it, then decide whether to keep going, change course or drop it.

Product & MVPBrand strategyPitch decksAI toolsNo-codeFigmaMusic industryCommunity design

  1. 2025–now
    Founder, RushMusic tech, in the ESCP Business School Blue Factory accelerator
  2. 2025
    Noxia, BeatLeap, Recensì, StartupLensSide projects to validate ideas in music, nightlife and AI
  3. 2023–26
    IULM University, MilanBA in Communication, Media and Advertising
Contact

Let's work
together.

I'm looking for co-founders, partners in the music business and people who like to build. I'm also open to junior roles in growth and business development. If you have an idea, a project or an opportunity, write to me.

Download CV LinkedIn ↗