Francesco Acri, CEO and founder of Bliss, explains how a service that didn’t exist was born. For a problem that everyone knows, but that no one had ever addressed the right way.
60-70% of Italian family businesses do not survive the first generational transition.
The official cause is financial; the real one, however, is that many businesses live within the founder’s mind. And when they pass away, the vision is lost.
Sure, there are accountants, notaries, and advisors, yet none of them deal with the brand. And until today, there has never been a structured partner capable of doing so.
Hence the birth of a service no one ever thought of, for a problem no one ever noticed: Generational Continuity.
We interviewed the CEO and Founder of Bliss, Francesco Acri, to talk about it.
When the Company Was Dad
When talking about succession, before the numbers, we must talk about the people – about those families who find themselves managing something they no longer know how to communicate. Because the one who knew how to do it is no longer there.
The most cited case in the Italian landscape is that of Leonardo Del Vecchio and Luxottica.
Upon his death in June 2022, the legacy of the eyewear giant (we are talking about a $30 billion empire) entered a phase of prolonged uncertainty. Three different wills, six children from three relationships, disputes over inheritance tax, and governance hanging in the balance. Luxottica had already merged into EssilorLuxottica prior to the founder’s death, which partially cushioned the impact, but the event revealed an alarming perspective.
What would have happened if Del Vecchio hadn’t had the time to formalize the merger?
Even though it might seem so, the answer doesn’t only concern Luxottica. It concerns, rather, all the 820,000 family-owned companies in our country, which make up 80.9% of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. Companies where the founder is the strategist, manager, and public face: all rolled into one.
And for which, therefore, an exit (sudden or planned) would represent an immense risk.
This is why only 30% of family businesses end up being managed by the second generation. And only 12% by the third.
“I saw entrepreneurs on their knees. And I understood what was missing.”
Our CEO started from a simple observation.
“Years of working with structured companies,” he told us, “have always shown me the same pattern. When planning a succession, everyone thinks about the tax and legal aspects. Then comes the moment of the actual handover, which can be planned or perhaps sudden. That’s where the problem arises, because the brand no longer knows how to exist on its own.”
“By professional habit, the accountant only sees the numbers and the advisor sees the risk. Yet, none of them try to solve the problem: none of them know how to make the brand survive the person who created it.”
This is why Bliss launched the Generational Continuity service: a rigorous, structured process that never abandons the human aspect.
“Imagine losing a father, who for thirty years dedicated himself to building something important every day. Suddenly, you have to manage not only your grief but also a company with dynamics and logic that do not belong to you. Customers ask you about him. Suppliers treat you differently. Even the narrative revolved around your father, and not you. We are talking about an enormous burden that no one is ever ready to carry.”
Lightening that burden is the foundation of this service.
A Service That Didn’t Exist
Bliss Agency’s Generational Continuity service is a structured journey that transforms the brand from a personal dependency into a transferable asset.
“The idea,” Francesco continues, “is to address anyone who has built a business they want to last. From the sixty-year-old founder who knows the transition is approaching, to the heir who has just taken over a company and doesn’t know where to start. But also, why not, to those who want to grow without having to be present everywhere.”
To achieve this, the service occupies the space that no professional figure has ever tried to oversee before.
“In all these cases, the problem is the same: the brand doesn’t work without you. And this comes at a cost. Economic, operational, emotional. We want to free owners and successors from any burden.”
The Right Time Is Always Before It Seems Necessary
No one is ever ready for a succession.
We would rather never think about it: almost as if the very idea made it more imminent and real. It’s not a lack of desire. It’s not a lack of time. The hope is that that moment is as far away as possible. Yet, this is not always the case.
“Can your brand survive a succession?” Francesco concludes. “It’s an uncomfortable question, I know, but sooner or later you have to ask it. It will certainly be a difficult transition: it always is. But the right time to do it is now: tomorrow might already be too late.”
If you are thinking about the future of your company, or if that future has arrived earlier than expected, the first step is a conversation.
Discover Bliss Agency’s Generational Continuity service.