About Adamastor

A weekly read on Portugal’s startup scene.

The Adamastor ethos personifies the Cape of Good Hope, once feared as the Cape of Storms. It represents the overcoming of fear by venturers and seafarers as they struggled to find a maritime way to India.

We follow the founders, operators, investors, researchers, universities, public programs, and regional communities turning Portuguese ambition into companies. Part digest, part commentary, part ecosystem memory.

Adamastor exists because ecosystems need memory, visibility, critique, and connection.

Editorial

What We Publish

Adamastor Weekly

Since 2017, Carlos Resende has curated a weekly read on Portugal’s startup scene, originally as the Techstars StartUp Digest Portugal. In 2025, that work evolved into Adamastor Weekly. The raises, the launches, the hires, and the stories behind them.

Subscribe to the Weekly

Opinion

Occasional guest pieces from named voices in the ecosystem. Past contributors include André Marquet (Productized), Fernando Fraga (Fx2 Group), and João Silva (Startup Portugal).

Our Beats

What We Cover

Six recurring threads across the Weekly and Opinion.

The ecosystem as a living community: Events, programs, regional builders, and the rituals that make Portuguese entrepreneurship visible week to week.
Decentralization: Guimarães, Fundão, Algarve, Braga, Coimbra, Aveiro. The regional ecosystems building distributed innovation beyond Lisbon and Porto.
Founder craft: Resilience, honest feedback, co-founder selection, and the work of building under pressure.
Capital, research, and early-stage support: Angels, venture studios, Startup Voucher, spin-offs, and the bridges from university research to market.
Policy and European scale: EU Inc, the Digital Enterprise Wallet, defense tech, immigration. The institutional work that lets Portuguese companies grow beyond their borders.
AI and digital transformation: Practical AI in healthcare, operations, and the public sector. Moving beyond demo culture into real business impact.

The Masthead

Who Runs Adamastor

Carlos had been writing a weekly read on Portugal’s startup scene since 2017, first as the Techstars StartUp Digest Portugal. Afonso, organising for Startup Grind Lisbon, kept seeing events scheduled against each other with no central calendar. Malik wanted to build a publication. We started Adamastor together.

Carlos Resende
Carlos has curated Portugal’s weekly startup read since 2017, originally for Techstars StartUp Digest. He’s co-founder of Founder Institute Portugal and an Expert Evaluator for the European Commission, with two decades in startup funding and finance.
Afonso Gonçalves
Afonso is Chapter Director of Startup Grind Lisbon and runs Hackaboa, the local chapter of the global Hacker Network for indie builders. By day he’s a data engineer at Jounce Media, with a Master’s in Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico.
Malik Piara
Malik builds products that foster connection, enable learning, and create more access to opportunities. His work has helped people start companies, get employment at meaningful places, and find a safe harbour amidst a war.

Wider Network

Curated with the Community

Adamastor doesn’t curate in isolation. We work across the Portuguese startup community alongside Founder Institute Portugal, Startup Grind Lisbon, LisboaJS, LisboaUX, Casa do Impacto, and others.

Get in Touch

Pitches, Tips, and Submissions

Editorial: Send story pitches, contributions, and tips to [email protected]. Carlos reads every one.
Events: Organising a meetup, conference, or workshop in Portugal?