I'm also reading some cultural clash between American and Europeans/Mediterranean mentalities.
Prioritizing your business model over your product and answering amiably to annoying questions are decidedly "American" behaviors. That's not to say these aren't great practices for aspiring entrepreneurs.
When you're ready to apply again, maybe you should consider hiring an Italian guy with an American MBA who can bridge the two cultures?
(I think your idea is cool. If no one went for the long-shot projects Silicon Valley would be full of copy-cat boring App companies. Imagine how that would be like)
Totally wrong. The technical bias shown here is every bit as strong in American entrepreneurs who lack experience pitching a product. I see this still all the time and it took a few of these painful holding up a mirror experiences for me to start seeing things from multiple perspectives.
If they have the courage to really examine what went wrong here they will come back much stronger.
You're definitely right about the technical bias. Most comments here support this theory. I just offered a supplemental explanation, based on my experience.
Kudos to you for overcoming that bias. I'm still working on it.
(I think your idea is cool. If no one went for the long-shot projects Silicon Valley would be full of copy-cat boring App companies. Imagine how that would be like)