This Italian startup makes $1.5B a year reviving zombie apps

Bending Spoons, an Italian startup valued at $11B, generates $1.5B annually by acquiring struggling but established apps like Evernote, Meetup, and WeTransfer. Their playbook: buy companies with loyal users but poor execution, send strike teams to fix bugs and optimize monetization, then hold forever rather than flip. They've completed 20 acquisitions in 10 years using proprietary tools for data analysis and decision-making, maintain 1% annual turnover with elite talent (0.003% acceptance rate), and fund growth primarily through debt rather than venture capital. The strategy focuses on improving products for paying users, raising prices, and achieving profitability through operational excellence rather than building from scratch.