by maria | Feb 29, 2016 | Uncategorized
For all those in fintech, Money 20/20 probably rings a bell. This is the world’s largest fintech conference, held in Las Vegas, every year. However, for 2016, they’ll organise a second conference in Europe, in Copenhagen, this April.
For this reason, Money 20/20 has been gathering key players in the fintech industry across many different cities in Europe, and this time they’re coming to Lisbon.
This Friday, in our office at Beta-i, we’ll have a meetup, to address the latest trends and challenges in fintech. We’ll talk about how fintech has broken through the public consciousness, how and why it has gained the interest from top VCs, and why being based in NY or London sometimes matters for this business.
To talk about all this we have invited Filipe Neves, from Feedzai, Sebastião Lancastre, CEO of EasyPay, Pedro Fonseca, CEO of Crowdprocess, and Pat Patel, Content Director at Money 20/20.
If you’re building a fintech business in Lisbon, join us on Friday. Just make sure you register here.
The post Money 20/20 is having a fintech meetup in Lisbon appeared first on Lisbon Challenge.
by lc | Feb 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
The national movement already started!
Check how can you join and manifest yourself!
The Portuguese Startup Manifesto movement was launched during the Startup Europe Week 2016 @LISBOA.
If you didn’t have the opportunity to join the event, here’s an update of the ongoing project.
Several parties from the entrepreneurship ecosystem came together, such as incubators, accelerators, business angels, entrepreneurs, government members, and after presenting the arguments that led to the decision of incorporating Portugal in the European Startup Manifesto movement, this community movement was launched.
During the next four months the Portuguese startup scene will work hard and raise its voice to express all their challenges and innovative ideas, to boost the growth and sustainability of this ecosystem in Portugal.
Here you can have a look at the overall planning for this project that will be presented at the Startup Europe Summit in Berlin, in the beginning of June.
Speak Now. You will be heard.
The Portuguese Startup Manifesto is a document created by the startup community and for the community.
Be part of this, follow the movement, share your opinion on social media, using the hashtag #PTstartupmanifesto and engage in an active discussion at the nearest event.
This is the time to be a change-maker, take advantage of this opportunity.
P.S.: Remember that on the 2nd of March we’ll be in Braga for a small meet-up to listen to your ideas on how to make the Portuguese startup scene greater.
The post Portuguese Startup Manifesto – Join the Movement appeared first on Lisbon Challenge.
by maria | Feb 18, 2016 | Uncategorized
“Design may have its greatest impact when it’s taken out of the hands of designers and put in the hands of everyone.” Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘design’? We bet it has something to do with aesthetics and fashion trends – making things look pretty, right?
But design is much more than that, and it can be much more than that for you.
Truth is, in times of change we need new ideas, and we can’t have new ideas by taking conventional approaches and old ways of thinking. In other words, we need new ways of tackling problems, and that’s what we can learn from Design Thinking (especially if you’re not a designer).
So, if you want to be a great leader, innovator and problem solver, join us, this March the 18th, for an amazing full-day workshop with Bill Burnett, the Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford, on “Design Thinking and the Art of Innovation”.
Bill Burnett is the Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford. He directs the undergraduate and graduate program in design and teaches at the d.school. He received has worked in start-ups and Fortune 100 companies, including seven years at Apple designing award-winning laptops and a number of years in the toy industry designing Star Wars action figures.
This is a great opportunity for all entrepreneurs out there. Make sure you get your ticket right here as we only have 50 seats available.
The post Design Thinking Workshop in Lisbon with Apple’s Designer (from Stanford University) appeared first on Lisbon Challenge.
by maria | Feb 10, 2016 | Uncategorized
All startups struggle with PR. When you build your own business, you just want to get it out there in the press, but PR is not as simple as it seems.
You usually start with the general press release because, apparently, that’s all it takes. You then, forward it to the hundreds of press contacts you got from a friend of yours, and wait for magic to happen. However, truth is, magic rarely happens when it comes to PR.
To get PR right you should probably forget everything anyone has ever told you about how to do PR for startups (believe me I’ve been there myself) and take a different approach. Good thing we’ve got it covered…
Last week, we were lucky enough to have at our HQ in Lisbon, Robin Wauters, Editor and Founder of Tech.eu, to give a talk about how to get the press to talk about your startup.
Robin gave awesome advice to all the entrepreneurs in the room (totally sold out by the way) so we thought it would be cool to share it with anyone who is interested. Here are Robin’s 6 rules for PR:
Rule #1 – Do or build something mind-blowing
If you build something truly amazing and unique you will definitely draw some attention. Journalists love to talk about things they can understand and relate to, and if the product takes an innovative approach that’s the first step for getting some press coverage.
Rule #2 – Do your homework
You clearly need to know how journalists work. Journalists get all sorts of pitches on Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, they get hundreds of emails every day with press releases from random people they haven’t even met, and all of this keeps them super busy, all the time. So, if you want to get their attention you need to do your homework. Figure out what they write about, who their audience is, go read previous articles and pitch your business individually. Avoid, at all costs, the general press release for the masses.
Rule #3 – Build relationships first
Avoid reaching out only when you have something to share with the world. Invest in building relationships, other than sending sporadic emails or phone calls when you really need them (they might need you too someday, remember that). Go meet journalists at events and meet-ups, get yourself introduced by someone they know well and build a relationship from that moment onward.
Rule #4 – Craft a great story
You might not have a truly unique and amazing product but if you tell the story right, you’ll get some attention. Explain why the journalist you’re reaching out to should care about what you’re doing. Give him or her an angle: if you’re raised funding, specify how much, why, who from, and what for. If you’ve inked a great deal, tell him or her what it means for your business. If you’re releasing a new product, tell him or her how it differs from others. And please, make sure that in the meantime, you avoid common buzzwords such as ‘revolutionary’, ‘award-winning’, ‘ground-breaking’… (well, this list could go on forever).
Rule #5 – Learn how to deliver it
This is just like your pitch. When you get it started it’s pretty simple but as you do it over and over again, you adapt and improve. Do the same with PR. Figure out how you’ll reach out to journalists and then as you move along, test different email subjects, explain things with a different angle, work on the relationship you have with each one of them, etc.
Rule #6 – Do all of the above BEFORE you start pitching to journalists
It’s as simple as that. You shouldn’t do this overnight, PR takes time. But, just before you panic and hire a PR agency to do that for you, remember that no one will know your product like you do, no one will tell the story like you do.
Sincerely, hope this helps if you’re getting your PR strategy started, and if you think we got it all wrong, let us know, we love to talk about the topics we cover.
The post The 6 Rules of PR for Startups appeared first on Lisbon Challenge.
by maria | Feb 10, 2016 | Uncategorized
If you have a startup in tourism you know how meeting the right people and closing significant partnerships is important. You need to be in the right place, at the right time, and that’s just what BTL, the International Tourism Exhibition in Lisbon, will do for you.
All the main players in tourism will be there, from world known hotel chains to famous travel bloggers and music festivals, making BTL the epicentre for tourism related businesses.
However, because Portugal is not only a country of tourism but also entrepreneurship, this year BTL has partnered with Beta-i to have a specific area on Startups & Innovation. Together, we’ll select around 30 startups to showcase at the exhibition and to also pitch their businesses to potential partners.
Apply here until the 18th of February and show your startup to the world.
The post Startups in tourism wanted to showcase at the International Tourism Exhibition appeared first on Lisbon Challenge.
