15 to 17 November

Location: Le Wagon, Lisbon

Build your startup in 54 thrilling hours!

In this 3-day event you’ll meet the very best mentors, investors, co-founders and sponsors and maybe even start that Business!

What is Techstars Startup Weekend?

Techstars Startup Weekend is an exhilarating weekend starting Friday afternoon, where creativity and energy will set the tone. We’ll begin with introductions, pitches, and stimulating brainstorming sessions. From there, teams will be formed, and work will begin!

Teams will collaborate intensely from Friday evening until Sunday, refining ideas and crafting prototypes in preparation for the final pitches. 

Participants will craft functional startups over the weekend, collaborating with peers beyond their usual networks. Expect insightful talks by local leaders and invaluable mentoring from seasoned entrepreneurs.

The teams will pitch their ideas at the end of the three days, and the best one will win! You will leave this weekend feeling more capable than ever to launch that idea you had been sitting on!

Why Participate?

Connect with Like-minded People

Network with aspiring entrepreneurs, potential co-founders, and industry experts. There’s no better place to build valuable connections and find mentors.

Learn from Industry Experts

Receive mentorship from experienced professionals who can guide you through the entrepreneurial journey. Gain insights and knowledge that you can apply to your own startup.

Build Essential Skills

Enhance your capabilities in a hands-on environment. Whether you are a developer, designer, or business enthusiast, you’ll gain practical skills crucial for startup success.

Validate and Transform Your Ideas

Quickly validate your business idea and receive feedback to refine it. Winning teams get support to turn their concepts into reality, with help from investors and mentors.

Connect with Like-minded People

Network with aspiring entrepreneurs, potential co-founders, and industry experts. There’s no better place to build valuable connections and find mentors.

Learn from Industry Experts

Receive mentorship from experienced professionals who can guide you through the entrepreneurial journey. Gain insights and knowledge that you can apply to your own startup.

Build Essential Skills

Enhance your capabilities in a hands-on environment. Whether you are a developer, designer, or business enthusiast, you’ll gain practical skills crucial for startup success.

Validate and Transform Your Ideas

Quickly validate your business idea and receive feedback to refine it. Winning teams get support to turn their concepts into reality, with help from investors and mentors.

What to expect

Nov 15

Meet, Pitch & Team Up

Introduction and Network

Pitch Presentation

Project Shortlist

Building the teams

Nov 16

Learn & Work

Finding a problem

Validation

Building Solutions

Mentoring

Nov 17

Present & Choose

Selling

Pitching 

Evaluation

Celebration

Who Should Attend Startup Weekend?

Aspiring Innovators

 If you have a groundbreaking idea, this is your chance to bring it to life.

Future Entrepreneurs

Curious about what it takes to launch your own business? Discover the entrepreneurial journey here.

Startup Enthusiasts

 Eager to learn more about the startup ecosystem? Join us to gain valuable insights and skills.

Limited amount of tickets!

Ready to join us at the Techstars Startup Weekend Lisbon?

Facilitator

Cosmin Pirvu

Veridion, Yepp Interactive



Cosmin Pirvu is a passionate startup enthusiast with a knack for turning ideas into reality. With years of experience in the startup ecosystem, he has organized and facilitated over 20 Startup Weekends across Europe and Asia, from Aalborg to Jakarta, and Skopje to Bucharest.
His mission? To help aspiring entrepreneurs find their footing and launch their dreams.

Mentors

Lara
Ligeiro

Acceleration Manager @ Fábrica de Startups 

Noah
Lenz

Partner @ Twine

Margarida Partidário

Founder @ Arboreall

Pedro
Rocha

351 Portuguese Startup Association, CEO & Founder @

Rami
Aladdin

Founder @ Twine, French Tech Lisbon

Corrinke
Boon

groundtoplay, Coach, Mentor & Ideation expert

Carolina
Amorim

Associate @ Faber, Exited Founder @ EMOTAI

Bernardo
Tavares

Co-founder & CTO @ Granter.ai, Startup Mentor


Lena
Pishchuk

Marketing and Partnerships Lead @ ULTRA.VC, Founder @ PISHCHA

Sonya Drobychevskaya

eStart, Independent Consultant @ Individual Consultant & Mentor



André
Facote

Skizo

Rui
Gouveia

comOn Group, Tap My Back, Kiss my Score, CEO @ Build Up Labs, entorCruise

João
Rosado

Head of Portfolio @ Unicorn Factory Lisboa & Startup Lisboa, Chapter Director @ Startup Grind Lisbon, Venture Partner @ Wefunder, Invited Professor @ The Lisbon MBA & ISEG MBA

Pedro
Cerdeira

3 Comma Capital SCR, Investors Portugal,




Nuno
Fernandes

CEO & Co-Founder at DIG-IN


Caro
Rossi

ESNA, SXSW, Board Member @ WSA & @ CRP Corp,  IE Business School, and more.

Judges



Maurizio Calcopietro

Managing Partner @ COREangels Atlantic, Angel Investor




Laura
Barbas

VC @ Semapa Next




Maria da Assunção Magalhães

VC @ Semapa Next



Isabel
Neves

Entrepreneur, President @ Business Angels Club Lisboa

Gil
Batista

VC @ Shilling

Meet our Team

Marcelle Sartori

Project Manager @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association

Fernando Jardim

Cofounder & President @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Sales Manager

Elisa Tarzia

Cofounder & VP @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Growth Leader, Speaker

Cíntia Costa

Communication & Community Manager @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Content Strategist & Creator, Marketing Specialist

Joana
Diogo

Project Coordinator @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Marketing Master’s Graduate

Thalita
Araujo

Volunteer @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Cultural Manager, Producer

Sophie
Blank

Volunteer @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Organizational Development Consultant, Coach

Lenz
Gschwendtner

Volunteer @ 351 Portuguese Startup Association, Community builder, Entrepreneur, Mentor & Startup Enthusiast

Our agenda

Friday

6:00pm

Registration

6:30pm

Dinner/Networking

6:45pm

Welcome

7:00pm

Ice-breaker

7:20pm

Pitches

8:30pm

Voting

8:45pm

Team formation

9:30pm

Workshop

10:00pm

Begin work

Saturday

9:00am

Breakfast

9:30am

Announcements

10:00am

Workshop

10:45am

Work

12:00am

Lunch

1:00pm

Mentor sessions

5:00pm

Check-ins

7:30pm

Dinner

8:30pm

Workshop

9:00pm

Announcements

9:30pm

Work

Sunday

9:00am

Breakfast

9:30am

Announcements

10:00am

Work

12:00am

Lunch

1:00pm

Check-ins

2:00pm

Pratice run

3:00pm

Final pitches start

5:00pm

Judges deliberation

5:30pm

Announcing winners

6:15pm

Event wrap-up

07:30pm

Official ending

Can't join us in Lisbon?

Then don't miss out on the Techstars Startup Weekend Porto

11th to 13th October 2024

Need a place to stay?

Contact us at [email protected], making sure to have “Techstars Startup Weekend Lisbon Accommodation” as the subject of the email!

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are interested in entrepreneurship the answer is most likely yes. Whether you are a serial entrepreneur or new to the startup scene, you’ll fit right in as long as you are motivated to build a product or startup and are open to new ideas. We believe that great ideas can come from anywhere.

The event is intended to be a collaborative and inclusive forum for sharing, learning, building, and having fun. We expect each member of the startup community to be inclusive of all people and their ideas at Techstars Startup Weekend and we welcome all, regardless of experience, industry or background.

Apart from the organizing team, mentors, speakers, event volunteers and judges, everyone who participates in the event is expected to participate in all three days. This is important not only to preserve your own learning experience, but also to minimize distractions or disruptions for the team you choose to join. At many Techstars Startup Weekends, a “Sunday Presentation Only” registration option is available for those wishing to only view the teams’ final pitch presentations. We welcome any friends, family or colleagues you would like to invite to watch your final presentation to see all you have accomplished in just one weekend. Please check the registration page of your city’s event website for availability.

Everyone who attends the event as a participant is expected to come to the event without a team and then join and participate with a team at the event. This is important to preserve the Techstars Startup Weekend educational experience. The ideal team consists of members from diverse backgrounds and experiences who collaborate to build a great minimum viable product (MVP) using the Lean Canvas framework. The more people you have on your team to help you do market research and business model development, the quicker you’ll develop an MVP to pitch on Sunday. 

No, but we highly encourage you to. You can pitch an idea you’ve been thinking about for years, or something you think of at the last minute during the event. Please don’t pitch an idea that you’ve already been developing or have been working on outside of Startup Weekend. The point of the event is to learn how to go from ideation to product. 

Pitching provides invaluable practice for public speaking. You won’t regret pitching, but might regret not pitching. 

No! The event is designed to accommodate participants at various stages. You can join a team working on an idea that interests you, contribute your skills and expertise, and collaborate with others to bring the concept to life. This experience allows you to learn.

  • Laptop/Portable Computer
  • Power cord for Laptop
  • Notepad and pen
  • Business cards (or a business card app)
  • Your phone – feel free to take pictures or video of the event 
  • Optional: A second monitor, keyboard, etc…. Whatever helps you to be most productive.
  • Lots of energy!

A key part of every Techstars Startup Weekend is the valuable advice and assistance provided by the event’s speakers and mentors. In the spirit of our motto, “No Talk, All Action,” we try to keep talks short and sweet, focusing on practical issues (i.e. “How to give a persuasive pitch” and “Best approaches to customer validation”) that can actually help you and your team better achieve your weekend goals. Mentors – community experts in various fields ranging from entrepreneurship, software development, marketing, finance, law, and more – dedicate their time to provide advice. In addition to the most valuable resources at the weekend (the people), we’ve put together a list of some useful resources and tools for before, during, and after the weekend. Check out the Tools for Participants section above for more info.

While there are no specific requirements in terms of what teams should have accomplished by Sunday, it’s in your best interest to plan your execution around what you’ll be judged for on Sunday:

  • Customer Validation: did you research your business idea?
  • Execution and Design: what did you build?
  • Business Model: do you have a plan for the future?

As far as presenting goes, some of the most common presentations include any, or a  combination, of the following:

  • Website wireframes or more developed sites
  • Mobile App wireframes to fully functional apps
  • Videos (for product demonstrations for example)
  • Slide decks with product screenshots, embedded videos etc
  • Live product demos
  • Skits

We will be providing a vegetarian option with all of our meals, if you have additional dietary requirements let us know. We are unable to cater for all requirements but please check with us and we will advise.

Proudly brought to you by

Financiado pela União Europeia - NextGenerationEU

Financiado pela União Europeia - NextGenerationEU

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2024 – © 351 Portuguese Startup Association