Welcome to our new partner : Startup Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal), an incubator for startups, focused on Tech commerce and Tourism. It is the hotest one in Lisbon, newest hotbed for digital tech entrepreneurship in Europe and next host city for the Web Summit. It was born from the will of citizens, by being one of the most voted idea in Lisbon participative budget, an initiative of the Lisbon Municipality. Founded in 2012, it is a private nonprofit association, which counts on three founding entities: Lisbon Municipality, IAPMEI and the Montepio bank.
We are currently incubating 80 startups and since the beginning of our journey, we have supported more than 200. Our mission is to support the development and growth of the incubated startups, helping them to attract customers, investment, scaling and become global. Startup Lisboa has two buildings with workspaces and also a residence (Casa Startup Lisboa) to welcome foreigners and entrepreneurs from outside of Lisbon, where they can live for maximum 3 months, while settling in the city.
Our incubation model includes the assignment of workspaces with a cost below market value, link to mentors, access to business partners, perks, networking events…
What do startups and companies need to develop their business in Lisboa?
It’s important to be connected to the key players of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, like incubators and accelerators, and have the support of Portuguese lawyers to help with the formalities. It’s very easy and fast to set up a company in Portugal, but nevertheless we advise you to have legal support, including for dealing with visas (in case you want to hire HR from abroad), taxes and regulations and labour legislation.
What are the cultural aspects to consider when setting up a business in Lisboa?
At the risk of generalizing and with significant exceptions we would say: we mix business with pleasure. We value the achievements over the punctuality. We like to have one hour, sometimes an hour and a half for lunch. We start later, and we work until late, as well. We are very tolerant and Lisbon is truly cosmopolitan with a great variety of international cultures/religions. Large immigrant community (former African provinces, Eastern Europe, Brazil).
Is the region open to entrepreneurship?
Yes. Lisbon is a start-up city and an excellent place to create a business, test a product and validate a concept. The main advantages are:
- the relations between cost/quality of life is very satisfactory compared with other European markets.
- the airport is in the city center.
- the quality of human resources.
- mild climate with around 200 days of summer per year and beach located about 20 min from the city center.
The city is extremely safe and you can open a business in just a few hours, thanks to a highly efficient bureaucratic organization. Lisbon (Atlantic Port of Europe) is geographically positioned in a way that allows it to be a gateway to Africa, South America and the USA. English widely spoken. Good broadband.
Do you help international entrepreneurs who wants to expand in Lisboa?
Yes, we accept applications from all over the world and we help international entrepreneurs to launch their businesses here with the help of our partners (lawyers, international business and trade agencies, etc.)
