A newsletter covering all things startup in Portugal

Olá and Welcome back to your Startup Digest Portugal!!

I always associate Blue Monday with one of my favorite bands, New Order, and their iconic song. But today I want to write about the infamous “most depressing day of the year“. Officially designated on the third Monday of January, it’s a mix of gloomy weather, post-holiday fatigue, bills from Xmas shopping, and abandoned New Year’s resolutions. While scientists laugh at its legitimacy, entrepreneurs might feel like Blue Monday was tailor-made for their existential crises.

If you’re building a startup, every Monday can feel a little blue. You’re juggling funding woes, sleepless nights, and enough pivoting to make anyone dizzy. But here’s the thing —entrepreneurship is the art of thriving in chaos, and there’s always a silver lining, even on the bleakest Monday. Blue Monday may be dubbed the “most depressing day of the year“ but for entrepreneurs, it’s just another day to innovate, pivot, and laugh at life’s ups & downs.

The journey isn’t easy, but it’s infinitely rewarding.

If Blue Monday teaches us anything, it’s that bad days are temporary. Entrepreneurs live by this philosophy. A bad day, week, or even quarter doesn’t define your entire journey. You learn to dust yourself off, tweak your strategy, and keep going.

Resilience is built through experience. The first time you miss payroll, you panic. The second time, you panic slightly less. By the third time, you’ve figured out how to negotiate with vendors and charm your team. Much like getting through Blue Monday requires a mindset shift—acknowledging the funk but not letting it consume you—entrepreneurship demands a perspective that sees failure as part of the process. It’s not the end; it’s a lesson.

So, if you’re an entrepreneur feeling the weight of Blue Monday (or any Monday), take heart. You’re part of a resilient tribe that thrives on challenges. Pour yourself an extra cup of coffee, read your Startup Digest, and keep building.

Remember: behind every gloomy Monday is a brighter Tuesday waiting to be conquered.

• 🔵 SIM = Startups & Investment Matching! Powered by @Startup Portugal, this conference connects startups, entrepreneurs, and investors for two days of networking, insights, and opportunities to grow your business. Tickets are now available. Secure your spot at the best price!

• 🔵 351 Portuguese Startup Association has been fueling the growth of Portugal’s startup ecosystem since 2019. Join 351’s mission by contributing to their fundraiser! The lucky donors will be announced on Jan 23

Week highlights go to:

• 📍 this Wednesday an exclusive webinar for anyone who wants to take their startup to SIMConference 2025 and has questions. “SIM Conference 2025: Perks for Your Startup to Join”, this session will give you all the answers you need

• 📍 Applications are open for APOLLO – The Startup Acceleration Program by JUNITEC

• 📍 Lisbon Tech Fado Dinner - Connect with Tech People & Discover Fado: a unique Dinner Experience to connect from Brain to Soul ✨ Immerse yourself into the heart of Portugal with an exclusive evening of Fado, the traditional Portuguese music that stirs souls. Fiona French Fadista, a non-Portuguese Fado singer who has been in Tech for the last 10 years. It’s the perfect way to experience what makes Lisbon at its finest. Next Jan 23 at Bairro Alto, Lisbon.

Tickets available here

• 📍 NOVA FCT Entrepreneurship Talks starting this Wednesday

• 📍 Faber’s Entrepreneurship Program - deadline soon

Congrats:

• 👏 Productized celebrate 10y of product innovation

• 👏 expressTEC is one of the 12 winning startups in the Dengun Founders Program

• 👏 Productized and WebSummit listed as “meilleures conférences Tech et Produit auxquelles assister en 2025 en Europe” by Le Ticket

• 👏 Ethiack raises a 4M Funding Round

• 👏 Universidade do Minho rank #1 at “Barómetro Inventa 2024 – Patentes (Patents) Made in Portugal”

✍ Quote of the Day

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope

Martin Luther King Jr

📚 🎧 🎥

• 📚 Uma definição de Startup de Portugal para a Europa por João Simões

• 📚 Coliving & Coworking as Bridges Between Nomads and Locals by Kate Shifman

• 📚 Advancing Explainable AI for a Responsible Future by Catarina Silva

• 📚 AI in 2024/2025: A Pragmatic Optimist’s View by Christopher Young

• 📚 2024 Annual Report of the Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute

• 📚 InnovAction Magazine by Altice Labs

• 🎧 Ana Teresa Maia shares her journey with expressTEC

• 🎧 45 Graus com José Maria Pimentel e Pedro Siza Vieira

• 🎥 Andrew Ng Explores The Rise Of AI Agents And Agentic Reasoning

• 🎥 Bitalk: Os segredos sujos do VC c/ David Cruz e Silva

Plan your week 📅 Jan 21>>

Jan 21

Aspiring Female Founders Evening

Aspiring Female Founders Evening is an informal networking event with a professional workshop for starting Female Entrepreneurs. Read more.

How B2C Apps Can Sell to Corporates: Exclusive Live with Anna Sultanova · Expanding a consumer-focused app into the corporate market is a highly effective strategy for sustainable growth, unlocking new opportunities, and maximizing… Read more.

Jan 22

• 🚀 Porto Webflow Drinks & Talks Jan 22 Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to meet and network with other Webflow folks. 👩‍💻 Who Should Attend: * Beginners looking to start their Webflow journey Read more.

AI PitchForce

Register to watch this live pitch event with valuable feedback from a panel of seasoned investors, virtually! Must apply to pitch via e-mail Read more.

Welcome to the 2025 Talks: Empowering Your Journey | Marketing Trends for 2025 opening of the DMK Tribe Community Talk Series!*** Join us as we kick off with an inspiring life experience talk, culmi Read more.

Lisbon Tech Connect | 2025

Meet top tech companies and teams in Lisbon and network with professionals! Read more.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: SIM Conference 2025: Perks for your Startup to join. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Read more.

Empreendedorismo NOVA FCT

NOVA FCT Entrepreneurship Introduction Welcome to one of the largest university entrepreneurship courses in Europe, taking place at NOVA School of Science and Technology - NOVA FCT! During five weeks, about 850 students dive deep into an immersive learning experience, guided by 20 expert professors. Read more.

Jan 23

Tech Fado Dinner - by Fiona French Fadista Have dinner with curated international like-minded tech people into a unique authentic fado set. Get inspired from your brain to your soul. Read more.

AI Break January 23

Join Us for the First AI Break of 2025! Read more.

Gestão Ágil - Transforme equipas, acelere resultados

Fique a perceber como a gestão ágil pode transformar a sua organização, ajudando a alcançar resultados mais rápidos e eficazes. Read more.

Productized 2025 Launch Party: A Decade of Innovation Join the Celebration: 10 Years of Productized!** We’re excited to invite you to our Productized 2025 Launch Party, a special event where we’ll celebrate our 10th Read more.

ULTRA.VC Open Office Hours Prepare your questions about ULTRA.VC Accelerator - we’ve secured an amazing team to answer any of them at our Open Office Hour. Date and Time: 📅 23.01 | ⏰… Read more.

Jan 24

Game Break | January 2025

Game Dev Meet @ Gaming Hub Read more.

RedBridge Club Co-Working Day (members-only): January 2025 Let’s get together for this January 2025 edition of our monthly RedBridge members Co-Working Day and celebrate what the New Year brings! Read more.

Jan 25

Porto.DATA #100 - The special edition (In-Person event) é o nosso evento #100! Para celebrar este momento tão especial, organizamos um dia cheio de apresentações técnicas. ** Read more.

Bitget Meetup Porto

Join Us for the Bitget Meetup in Porto! Read more.

G2PT146 - 146º Geek Girls Portugal - Porto

Let’s start 2025 with the right foot, come meet us at DEUS. Read more.

Jan 28

Sui Community Meet Up - Lisbon · Join Us for the First Sui Community Meetup in Lisbon of 2025! Let’s kick off the new year by building on the success of last year’s inaugural Sui meetup. This… Read more.

***

School of Startups: Pitch Day Jan 29

A showcase of new projects and the best innovations that have emerged from the School of Startups. Read more.

Apply for Lisboa - Welcome to Lisboa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem Why Lisboa is “Europe’s best work-and-play capital”? Read more.

Hangout #36 | My Business Abroad

The monthly Hangout for the Portuguese entrepreneurial ecosystem, where we gather all level players to talk about the community’s challenges Read more.

The Break Jan 30

**Do you believe in life after work? Over here at sitio, we certainly do! It’s time to unwind, relax, and have a blast at “the break”** ENG: Do you believe in life aft Read more.

Coworking Day

Coworking Day… Connect, collaborate, and cowork with like-minded individuals in a shared workspace environment. Read more.

Porto Tech Connect

Welcome to tech event in amazing Porto! Connect with like-minded tech professionals. Read more.

InnoWomen Hackathon 2.0🚀 · Mar 07

• 🌊 Hackathon by the beach? Yes, please! 🌴 Win prizes by solving real-world challenges with no-code and AI. No coding skills needed. Next March, the… Read more.

Promotion from Techstars

Building Startup Communities with Techstars

Join us for an insightful 2-part webinar on January 30 and February 6 as we explore the key principles and actionable strategies for building a thriving startup community.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn directly from Brad Feld, partner at Foundry, co-founder of Techstars, and author of “Startup Communities,” David Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Techstars, and Ryan Spillane, Chief Commercial Officer at Techstars.

Register to attend!

⏳ Local & International Applications

Deadlines coming up soon:

• 🔜 Lisboa Innovation takes startups to the global stage and aims to support and foster the city’s innovation ecosystem by ensuring the free participation of Lisboa’s startups in international programs, propelling the city’s startups onto the global stage. Participation on the following program includes free entries for the team, exhibitor presence, and networking opportunities at one or more of the events. Apply here

• 🔜 Media Open Call 3 AMCC Test Bed, integrada na rede nacional de test beds, é um consórcio formado pelo PCI- Creative Science Park Aveiro Region (PCI), NOS Comunicações e NOS Technology (NOS Group) em parceria com a Universidade de Aveiro (UA), Aveiro Media Competence Center (AMCC) e Google, que consiste num conjunto de infra-estruturas, equipamentos, serviços e conhecimento especializado disponível para as PME e start-ups do setor dos media, para o desenvolvimento e teste de novos produtos e serviços, possibilitando a aceleração do processo Go To Market. Candidaturas aqui

• 🔜 Business Abroad assegura e apoia a presença de startups portuguesas em conferências internacionais de tecnologia, criando assim um impacto mais significativo nas representações fora do nosso país e permitindo-lhes coordenar as suas comunicações com os ecossistemas internacionais e com os meios de comunicação locais. Candidaturas

• 🔜 CESAR Europe is looking for innovative startups to join the Test Bed Program, in partnership with MC Sonae, the largest retail group in Portugal. Startups with solutions for retail and wellness now have an opportunity to develop and test their technologies, with the potential to roll-out through the Test Bed. By joining this pilot, companies gain access to expert support and experience for developing a Proof of Concept (PoC) and advancing their TRL. To participate, the company must have a Portuguese Tax ID (NIF) and SME Certificate.

Know someone who could benefit from this opportunity? Spread the word!

• 🔜 NGI Trust Chain Calling all developers, innovators, researchers, SMEs and entrepreneurs! €1.989.000,00 to employ digital identities, trustworthy data, and already designed novel mechanisms for the ecosystems’ economy, in order to achieve high energy efficiency and optimisation of particular DLTs. We are looking for the most appropriate, relevant and pertinent tradeoffs between the use of technologies, the security of consensus protocols on one side, and the sustainability requirements on the other. A user-centric design, focused on energy efficiency, trustworthiness, and scalability, will guide the development of solutions.

• 🔜 Applications are now open for the 2nd edition of Bloom Your Biz, a program of the Aga Khan Foundation Portugal in partnership with Unicorn Factory Lisboa! This accelerator program supports startups in the creative industries and technology sectors by providing mentorship, specialized training, resources, and a collaborative community. Apply until Jan 26 here

• 🔜 Faber Calling all MSc, Ph.D., and Postdoc students in STEM areas or fields of study!

Are you ready to turn your innovative ideas into the next big thing? 🌟 Join Faber’s Entrepreneurship Program and learn from the real-life experiences of successful entrepreneurs who have turned their research into thriving businesses.

This is a unique opportunity to: - Learn from successful entrepreneurs who’ve been where you are - Discover how to turn academic ambitions into thriving businesses - Receive personalized mentorship - Get the opportunity to intern at a startup. Don’t miss out! The deadline to apply is Jan 31

• 🔜 Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Health! is an exclusive program providing healthcare and wellbeing startups with essential growth skills, internationalization strategies and Google tools & products to help them scale. During the program, we will also connect startups with experts from various Alphabet functions, such as Google Health AI, DeepMind, Fitbit, Verily and others. Who are we looking for: Startups that are using AI to improve healthcare and wellbeing in any way, shape, or form; Seed to Series A startups based in EMEA; *Demonstrated traction, such as a track record of users and revenue.

The program is equity-free and we’ll be accepting applications through Jan 31

• 🔜 STARTUP COMPETITION AT SOUTH SUMMIT MADRID Want to be selected among the 100 most disruptive projects and get the chance to pitch in front of a jury of top investors and corporations in South Summit? Any startup from any country, industry or development stage can apply. Do it now! Until Jan 31

and not so soon: 

• 📌 local.foundation just released a program that grows your founder mindset. The hands-on workshops have a good balance between personal development, tools and practices that help you to become a more resilient founder. Sign up for a weekend here or choose a week long retreat style course here Both will happen in February

• 📌  EIC Service Catalogue to Accelerate Deep-Tech Innovation Exciting opportunity for deeptech innovators! If you’re a deep-tech startup or SME, this is your chance to access up to €60,000 in funding to scale your innovation with specialised services from the EIC Service Catalogue.Take the chance to accelerate your growth and overcome scaling challenges. Apply today and make an impact

• 📌   APOLLO - Junitec is a startup acceleration programme designed by students for students in partnership with Unicorn Factory Lisboa. With our support, students with innovative and disruptive minds have the opportunity to influence and impact society. This year, the programme will be focused on AI startups and HealthTech startups. We offer mentoring, support, training at the cost of NO EQUITY. Applications are open until Feb 12

• 📌   PORTUGAL FINLAB is a communication channel between innovators – new players in the market or incumbent institutions having innovative tech-based financial projects or products – and the Portuguese regulatory authorities. Through it, the Authorities provide guidelines to the Participants on how to navigate and operate in the regulatory system. Apply until Feb 14

• 📌   5.ª edição da Call INNOV-ID, promovida pela Portugal Ventures em parceria com a ANI – Agência Nacional de Inovação e com a colaboração da Startup Portugal. Os projetos e respetivas soluções devem contribuir, de forma direta ou indireta, para um destes eixos: descarbonização da economia; sustentabilidade de processos, produtos e materials;

eficiência e sustentabilidade energética; circularidade da economia. Candidaturas até Mar 02

• 📌   Building a Community and need help to grow? The Product Folks have your back with everything you need, with mentorship, funding, and everything else. Apply here

• 📌   Netmentora Lisboa by Réseau Entreprendre for women entrepreneurs. Take a look @Wom’Energy

• 📌   Baby VC Venture Capital has little to no transparency. It is difficult to know the skills required to do the job and it’s even harder to build a network, especially if you have a non-business background. Baby VC exists to bridge this gap. We want to help people from all backgrounds get the insights and connections that are typically hard to access when you are not an insider. unite young and ambitious talent from diverse backgrounds, offering them opportunities to connect and learn from leading investors and entrepreneurs in the two ecosystems. Apply here

• 📌   Sogrape, in partnership with Beta Capital, is investing in high-potential start-ups that present innovative solutions within the value chain of the wine and beverage sector. Innovators, entrepreneurs, and start-ups are invited to present their projects. Apply to Sogrape Ventures

• 📌   BioHackathon Europe is an annual event that brings together life scientists from around the world. It is organised by ELIXIR Europe, and offers an intense week of hacking, with over 160 participants working on diverse and exciting projects. The goal is to create code that addresses challenges in bioinformatics research. This year at Campus Belloch near Barcelona, with remote access available if you cannot attend in person. Apply here

• 🚩  INOVA Quality HUB, incubadora promovida pelo Instituto Português da Qualidade, I.P. (IPQ), tem por objectivo incentivar a criação de negócios inovadores e o desenvolvimento de startups, através da disseminação de uma cultura empresarial para a Gestão da Qualidade. enfoque nas áreas prioritárias da Saúde, Energia e Ambiente, promovidos por empreendedores individuais, estudantes (mestrandos ou doutorandos), startups e spinoffs de empresas. Apply here

• 🚩  Startup Wise Guys Web3 Accelerator Program: Elevate your Web3 startup to the next level, transform your business, and discover your potential. Apply here

• 🚩  Future Innovators Program is looking for university students who want to develop a problem-solving mindset to join this journey through a 3-stage Innovation Program that takes you from real-world challenges to developing your business idea. The 1st phase - the Online Academy - is available here

• 🚩  The Collider Venture Builder – Call for Technologies: Are you a researcher or part of a research team with promising results? Do you want to bring these results to the market so they can have a positive impact on society? The call for technologies is your chance to be considered for The Collider Venture Builder programme. Apply here

• 🚩  IH Sensor Tech Partnering with the Instituto Hidrográfico from the Portuguese Navy, this open innovation edition drives maritime innovation across five areas: augmented reality software, hydrographic data consolidation, GNSS-denied navigation, real-time data processing and decision-making. Apply here

• 🚩 consolid8 Deep & inclusive social innovation ecosystems

Please submit your event as early as possible so that we can communicate timely

Techstars Startup Digest Portugal newsletter is curated by:

Carlos Resende

• 📭 [email protected]

@ LinkedIn

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