In the last two years, the fragility of our businesses, due to their fragmentation, low capitalization, and the effects of the pandemic, has been supported by the public hand. But the prospects that emerged during 2022, first stagflation and then inflation, as well as a radical redesign of production and distribution chains at the international level, require a deep reflection that goes well beyond limitless aid from the state. In this regard, there are three challenges that Italian businesses and their owners must face in the near future: sustainability, large size, and openness to capital. At the level of industrial policy, these challenges must be supported by the state. The state must abandon the role of entrepreneur, that is has occupied too often, and act as a shareholder and promoter of clear business choices: growth through M&A, investment in innovation, capitalization, the creation of conglomerates, the attraction of group holding companies, and public-private partnerships, favoring growth and acting as a multiplier of resources.