Get to know Lisbon through these 3 events and meetups
Lisbon is amazing! I love it as a city and enjoy my time here a great deal, having met so many great people and made lifelong friends over the last few years.
There have been many changes here of course, as with any world city it never stays still. Alongside the growth of the economy and the startup ecosystem in Lisbon so the number of events and startup focussed meetups have moved from occasional to plethora. It can often be confusing to know what to do and where to go, particularly if you are new in town.
Here are three of my favourite events for meeting people, learning things and connecting to all the different dimensions of what it means to be an entrepreneurship person in Lisbon. Hope that you enjoy
So, its in with the vested interest first! We’ve been running demo night since March 2016 and it has built up its own community and reach across the entire Portuguese ecosystem. We’ve been proactive in making it a diverse and engaged community with many international as well as local links. The format is a panel discussion followed by a series of startup demos or investor reverse pitches. Themes from MedTech to Social Entrepreneurship. Held on the first Tuesday of each month throughout the year. All welcome. Free to attend. Also streamed live through Introvoke.com if you want to get a sense of things before coming along in person.
Lisbon is one of the cities around the world that is a regular stop off for Digital Nomads. A thriving community has spourned one of the largest and most successful / persistent communities, facebook groups and in person meetups.
There is an energy and an openness about this community which embraces all nationalities and it thrives on diversity and informality. Its many members are transient between locations but transcendant of that dynamic. They are good hosts and proactive participants everywhere they go.
Every week there are co-working get togethers, meetups, seminars to exchange knowledge and many more opportunities that spin off as irregular events between members.
Blessed with an organising tribal council who have chosen to root themselves into Lisbon this is definitely not to be missed when you are in town.
When websummit moved from Dublin to Lisbon it found much more than a bigger venue and some extra infrastructure. It found open arms, and a cultural alignment which made everything sing. After making a 10 year commitment to the city, even more has happened to inculcate the ‘websummit effect’ across the country.
It is now possible to spend the websummit week in Lisbon and not even attend the conference. You can fill your days and evenings with fringe events, embassy gatherings and meetups, as well as the night summit, taking advantage of the energy and the representation of 120+ countries all in the same place at the same time with a fixation of innovation, entrepreneurship and tech.
Yes, there is a lot of hype about websummit, but it is well deserved hype. This conference has provided a catalyst to the Portuguese ecosystem and economy and also created a rhythm to the year when so much opportunity, serendipity and new friendships are born. It’s brought thousands of people to Lisbon and they have brought their thoughts, their currency and their parties with them.
Thanks to some favorable government policies you can also get reasonable priced hotels and airfares even booking last minute (but it is best to book early!). If you have only one chance to visit Lisbon in the next five years you can do worse than to make it a websummit week.
Moving Beyond
When you are moving beyond these three events there are a multitude of sources to find meetups, events and other things going on in the city. Three I find particularly useful are: Meetup.com, Eventbrite and Made of Lisboa.
Additionally, I recommend going to the following places and taking a look around Idea Spaces, Startup Lisboa, Lacs and Nova SBE. Each provides a gateway to a vibrant, diverse community. There are of course overlaps, you will meet some of the same people at the events etc, but that’s one of the joys of Lisbon. It has both scale, and a sense of being a village. #enjoy
#tribe #neverstoplearning #followyourdreams #madeoflisboa
