Giorgia Strazzulla

In September 2023, Giorgia Strazzula swapped her hometown of Rome for Leeuwarden and threw herself into her Business Administration degree. The language, the city, the climate: everything was new. And if that wasn’t enough, Giorgia started her own pizzeria with traditional Roman pizzas. And she’s loving it. It’s proof that if you really believe in something, anything’s possible. 
 

“Leeuwarden is absolutely nothing like Rome but I felt really at home right from the start. In the first few months, I often wandered round the campus buildings, and I came across a leaflet for the Center for Entrepreneurship. I was curious. I didn’t have a business at that point, but I did have an idea for our own Roman pizzeria. From the minute I stepped into the CfE, everything took off.”  
 

Try out in the canteen 

“My very first business plan was exactly four pages, I remember. Working with lecturers from the CfE, I transformed it into a beautiful plan with specific steps. The first thing I did was a market analysis. That was followed by a great pilot in the canteen on campus with my business partner Luca. It was only for a week but we found out what our strengths were – and what we needed to work on.” 
 

On the road with the food truck 

“In October 2024, we opened our own pizzeria in one of the StudentStay buildings, the student accommodation next to the campus. We started with Roman pizza slices at lunchtime and focused mainly on students. Our location wasn’t hugely visible so we borrowed the NHL Stenden food truck to spread the word. And we went to the Leeuwarden station and handed out leaflets. We’ve now got other customers coming to us. People from the neighbourhood, but also young families from elsewhere in the city. That made us decide to switch more to the evenings.” 
 

A Frisian family 

“The first year was mad. I was combining studying in a new country with my own business. My study coach emailed me in the summer of 2024 to say she was proud of me because I’d passed all my exams. That felt so good! And I got loads of support from the CfE too. All the lovely people there feel like a second, Frisian, family.” 
 

Can’t be learnt from a book 

“The most important thing I’ve learned over the past few years is how passion and determination can make your dreams come true. At the same time, I’ve learnt how important it is to look after yourself. My pitfall is that I spend all my free time in the business but that means it’s sometimes too much. It’s only when you’re good for yourself, that you can be good for your business. It’s the kind of thing that can’t be learnt from a book. It can only be learnt by doing.” 
 

Throwing the towel in the ring 

“It’s true, I have sometimes thought about stopping. Especially when I’ve had to hand in all kinds of official documents. Those were the times when I wondered if it was all worth it. But thanks to the support I got from CfE and my lecturers, I’ve got faith in myself and in our future. Grazie mille!” 

Find out more about studying and running your own business. Check out the Center for Entrepreneurship page.