Who We Are
Stretto was founded by a team that understands both the creative world of arts education and the practical realities of running an institution efficiently.
The idea came from firsthand experience. As a former classical music student who later built a career in logistics, our founder experienced the administrative challenges that many arts academies face every day, fragmented systems, repetitive processes, and unnecessary operational complexity. Seeing how these inefficiencies affected both staff and students inspired the creation of a better solution: a unified platform built specifically for creative institutions.
To bring that vision to life, we combined deep industry knowledge with strong business expertise. Co-founder Francisco Pestana adds strategic leadership and operational discipline to the team. Alongside his international background in classical music, Francisco has built a successful career as a real estate entrepreneur with expertise in investment analysis, asset management, and financial strategy.
Together, we are helping arts institutions move beyond outdated administrative processes and deliver a more seamless experience for students, faculty, and staff. Our unique combination of arts education experience and business leadership allows us to build software that is both practical and scalable. Stretto is more than a platform, it is a commitment to bringing clarity, efficiency, and operational harmony to the institutions that nurture the next generation of artists.
Simão Ribeiro
Founder
Francisco Pestana
Co-founder
Where We Are At
Stretto has successfully achieved its first major development milestone. We have built a comprehensive, high-fidelity interactive prototype alongside a complete promotional showcase. This milestone allows us to actively demonstrate the full scope of our all-in-one management platform to early partners and stakeholders.
Every aspect of the user experience has been designed, including the administration dashboards, room occupancy, exam management and upload logic, that automate complex curriculum management for the fine arts. By validating our interface design and core operational logic, we have created a strong foundation, proving that Strettoresolves institutional friction in real-time.
The Next Scene
Our journey is just beginning. Based in the Netherlands, Stretto is actively seeking strategic investment, funding, and forward-thinking institutional partnerships. We are looking for investors and early-adopter academies who share our passion for modernizing arts education. Our immediate goal is to transition Stretto from a high-fidelity prototype into a fully stacked, market-ready enterprise product that will redefine institutional management for music, dance, and theater schools worldwide.
