We are Founders

When it comes to creativity, innovation, trade and business PORTO is the right spot to visit! So, on April 27 Portuguese Erasmus+ students left Lisbon Oriente train station very early in the morning and got ready for a two day field trip in this amazing city located in Northern Portugal. Students visited Founders Founders – an entrepreneurial community of inspiring companies, biz¹ experts and journalists that work together, learn from each other and share difficulties, challenges and solutions.  

How it all started

As almost everything in entrepreneurship, it all started with a need. The 5 founding startups started their path at UPTEC (Science and Technology Park of University of Porto) and, sooner or later, they would have to leave as part of the natural startup cycle. To avoid leaving each one at a time, and eventually end up spread across the city, they decided to find a way to stay together. Being together, working together, sharing difficulties, challenges or solutions and learning from each other, were some of the things they didn’t want to lose by leaving UPTEC.  Although the companies joining Founders Founders are in different evolution stages², they have all passed the startup phase, they have a solid business validation and are growing.  Their values:  GROW BY LEARNING… from founders with diverse business experiences and life stories; LEARN BY SHARING… challenges, solutions and network³; SHARE BY LIVING… with a like-minded community at your company’s doorstep. 

Founders is not an incubator⁴ nor an accelarator⁵. It’s a community of over 250 people across the globe where each member is eager to grow its business and to grow as an individual. Founders Founders creates an environment that amplifies collaboration, knowledge sharing, problem solving and achievements at a global scale. “We were born from the community to be a community. A community is built from people, not from companies. Everyone is here not only to receive from the community, but also to give back.”

¹biz – business

²stage – phase; position

³network – meeting people who might be useful to know in your job; association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information

⁴incubator – organizations setup to nurture startup companies at an early stage

⁵accelerator – business organizations that offer professional services to help accelerate startups (consulting, management coaching, mentoring, financing)

Adapted from:

http://portugalstartups.com/2016/02/founders-founders/

https://www.founders-founders.com/

TRAVEL WITH AN IMPACT! RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Startup Lisboa supports the creation of companies and track their first years of activity. Founded in 2011 by the Lisbon Municipality, Bank Montepio and IAPMEI – Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation IP, it's a private non-profitable association that provides entrepreneurs and companies mentoring, link to strategic partners, access to investment, help with business basics and networking activities.

Lisbon dreams of Europe's Silicon Valley tag

Lisbon is betting that hosting the Web Summit, Europe's largest tech event, will spur the growth of startups and draw foreign investors, helping it compete with the continent's main innovation hubs.

While the crisis hammered the Portuguese economy, it also drove change, pushing people to come up with new ideas for businesses—many of them tech startups.

During the first half of the year the number of new companies that were created was 3.3 times higher than the number of firms that went under, according to government figures.

To fuel the expansion of the startup sector the government lobbied hard to bring the annual Web Summit to Lisbon. The tech expo has been held every year in Dublin since its launch in 2010. Some 50,000 participants and 15,000 companies from around the world are expected to attend the November 8-10 event, nearly double the 27,500 people who attended last year. Lisbon  will host the annual event until at least 2018.

Portugal's secretary of state for industry, João Vasconcelos, said he hoped hosting the event will give rise to a new generation of entrepreneurs.

What makes Lisbon so attractive

It’s no secret anymore that Lisbon is one of Europe’s up and coming places to be for entrepreneurs, startups and investors. As a communications professional working in the tech scene for over a decade, a few things struck me about Lisbon’s budding tech scene.

Why is there such a fascination with Lisbon from the tech community?

First of all, Lisbon is incredibly attractive to anyone who wants to build a business – the city is fertile ground for risk taking and entrepreneurship. In recent years, a new development model has started to unfold, with a clear Lisbon demonstrating a competitive advantage based on knowledge and innovation. The cost of living is much cheaper that in most other capitals in Western Europe. Combined with that – Portugal’s education system is exceptional – making for a fantastic pool of local talent at competitive prices and fluent in English. From developers to UX experts, through to designers, the entire country is packed with an ambitious multilingual and highly qualified youth.

QUESTIONNAIRE about school companies by Ted Time from Portugal

1.     Are you satisfied with your cooperation between members of  your school company? Why?

We are all satisfied with our cooperation because as a team we work really well together, we develop our expert services, we outline strategic advantages and we implement important marketing decisions. As a result, we also won the logo contest and the video contest.

2.     Did you have any problems with running your school companies? How did you cope with them?

At the beginning we had to build our team, we had to think outside the box and learn how to build a small business, in fact it was our first time. Also, we were the only company selling a service, so our major struggle was: how to get profit out of this business.

20 words you need to talk about....

20 words you need to talk about…

Startups and Entrepreneurship

A

Accelerator – Business organizations that offer professional services to help accelerate startups (consulting, management coaching, mentoring, financing). They are very similar to incubators but they can take an equity stake in the company they host.

TED TIME - PORTUGUESE SCHOOL COMPANY

Our Vision – To be the first school company in Setúbal city to provide a service that will make the experience of studying abroad a memorable and valuable experience for Erasmus students.

Our Mission – To bring about happiness and well-being to our clients during their Erasmus study period in Setúbal by promoting experiences that will enrich their body and mind.

Our Values – Our values include Happiness, Youth and Well-being. Studying abroad is a unique experience and to overcome the first obstacles in a new city we are strongly committed to make your stay a happier and more satisfying experience with the help of a young team. 

Lisboa 2015 European Capital of Entrepreneurship

2015 is over… and it was an inspiring year for our capital city. In the 107th meeting of the EU Regions Committee, Lisbon received the award of European Entrepreneurial City.

Christmas Wishes

Dear readers! The coordinators from Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Poland with their students would like to wish you all the best for the coming Christmas! We wish you the new 2016 to be filled with your dreams coming true, friends and health! 

All the best,

Project Coordinators

After the meeting in Poland..

On 11/12, Portuguese students, who took part in the first Erasmus+ mobility to Poland, were encouraged to disseminate the project “On the Road to Entrepreneurship” to different members of our school community. The main aims of the session were: to share students’ experience with their peers; to present the project activities and products developed so far and spread the word about Erasmus+. At the end of the session, many students found inspiration to embrace new Erasmus+ opportunities in the future.

Some News from Portugal!

On December 3rd, Portuguese Erasmus+ students attended a session where they had the chance to learn more about entrepreneurship. Two guests speakers were invited to share their experience and to take them through the main steps to set up and run a company. Bearing in mind that starting a business is hard work, students were all thrilled about the idea of running their own company at the end of this session.

1st teachers' meeting in Setubal, Portugal.

Teachers during the meeting

From 18th to 21st September the very first meeting of the project "On the road to entrepreneurship" took place. The participants that took part in this event were form the partner countries: Poland, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Cyprus and Belgium. During the meeting the teachers managed to discuss important for the project aspects, such as: the dates of the meetings, the monitoring and the dissemination of the project, the importance of set goals, products and many more. The meeting started with enthusiasm and lots of joy towards the coming two years!