Carlo Scaglia established Exordi, an innovative new platform operating at the intersections of AI and content creation in 2021.
Born in Milan, Scaglia moved to London at the age of 10, and went on to study hospitality management at the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne. During these formative years, Scaglia also trained and competed professionally as part of the Italian national alpine ski team, representing Italy in international alpine skiing competitions.
An internship during his degree course, sparked an interest in retail consulting and he worked in the sector for a few years, with globally renowned brands including Valentino, Ferrari, Moschino, Panerai and Poltrona Frau. This experience showed first-hand how these brands leveraged immersive, engaging content on Chinese platforms to drive demand, but the brands were not replicating the success on western channels.
It was Scaglia’s unique, combined insights of retail consulting and his time on the slopes that led to the inception of Exordi. Skiing allowed him to see the dichotomy between sports and content where, in the former, passion and hard work are rewarded, but in the latter, it’s followers. It’s there that Scaglia set out to build something which values talent and passion above everything else.
Exordi brings together a vetted global network of the world’s best photographers and video makers to produce authentic, aspirational content. The process offers both scale and speed within budget, supporting brands and agencies needs and allowing them to connect and engage with their audiences on a deeper level.
We caught up with Carlo Scaglia for the latest edition of our ‘My London’ interview series.
Favourite neighbourhood:
Chelsea – I think it still has a good blend calm of residential areas, with a great selection of restaurants, bars, cafés etc… it doesn’t get crazy busy during the day like Notting Hill and the evenings remain calm.
Favourite place for brunch:
Balthazar in Covent Garden. I personally love the more old school aesthetics and ‘organised’ chaos within it.
Best coffee in London:
Café Verona in Drury Lane. In all fairness you would never consider it if you passed by, but it’s close to our office in Holborn and I popped in because I noticed the De Longhi coffee machine and Illy coffee so I had to go in and it delivered!
Favourite gallery or museum:
Tate modern. I think it always has a really exciting and varied selection of works available, complemented by their fun Tate Lates.
Tell us a secret:
If you don’t give your negative thoughts any energy you’ll be much happier than most people.
Favourite place to shop:
Soho. It has a great mix of everything, and it benefits from being all quite close together and very walkable. You can easily go from a fashion store to a vinyl one to a design store all within the same block, and when you get hungry there’s no shortage of food options close by. Plus, during the day Soho remains somewhat ‘calm’ compared to East London and the more typical shopping spots. Also, the small streets means there’s very few cars which make their way in, so all round it’s a pretty solid spot.
Favourite place to find inspiration:
I’ll have to go back to the Tate Modern for this. Aside from the art inside which in itself is very inspiring, it has these amazing open spaces and incredible open views over the Thames which, regardless of the weather, really help with inspiration. It’s a peaceful place which gives you the headspace to reset/think, supported by everything it has to offer.
Best London destination for a date:
I think the Soho Houses are a great place to go on a date. They’re relaxed but fun, making it easy to talk while enjoying a good vibe. Plus the drinks and food are good so whether it’s a drink or dinner, it’s perfect.
Favourite park:
I’ve got to say Hyde Park – it’s beautiful, big, there’s always space and it’s so varied.
Favourite food market:
Clifton Food Market! It’s small so it doesn’t get crowded, and they’ve got an amazing selection of foods all cooked from locals – honestly, a solid 10/10 with great prices and quantities.
Your sanctuary in the city:
Eight Core – I do jiu jitsu so that’s my therapy session and the gym itself is also stunning. State of the art equipment, countless classes from boxing to muay thai to yoga and a great steam room. It’s never crowded, everyone knows each other, amazing place.
What inspires you?
Our creators! Each of them tell a really inspiring story of how they decided to leave a ‘normal’ path in life to pursue their creative endeavours. As founder, I find this really inspiring as I’m constantly learning what motivated these individuals to become entrepreneurs in their own right. Moreover, I get to learn where they get their passions from, what excites them, how they’ve overcome challenges etc. Seeing people being excited by their passions and pursing them is incredibly inspiring. I also get a lot inspiration from athletes, especially those that have suffered severe injuries or upsets but always bounced back.
This season I’m loving…
Exordi (my business) it’s about to go through a really exciting, kind of daunting, growth. There’s a new fundraise coming in, expanding our services, opening new offices, growing the team. It’s all really exciting and I really love seeing it grow. You know for me, it’s my baby so seeing it’s progression, and seeing it gain recognition within the industry is something I love.
