“With the ‘open door’ approach”: Startup Madeira is not an island

With a strong focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, Startup Madeira has been significantly boosting the local ecosystem. We spoke to Carlos Soares Lopes, CEO of Startup Madeira, to find out what sets this incubator apart and what challenges lie ahead in supporting the region’s startups.

This content is available in Portuguese.

– How did Startup Madeira come about? What kind of projects do you incubate?

Startup Madeira is the entity responsible for boosting entrepreneurship and innovation in Madeira and has the support of the Regional Government in this mission. This incubator, located next to the University of Madeira and certified by the European network EBN as a BIC – Business Innovation Center, brings together the experience of a team that has been working with entrepreneurship, innovation, knowledge transfer and support for the business fabric since 1997.

The new brand – Startup Madeira, presented in 2016, brought youth, timeliness, challenges and a direct relationship with Startup Portugal and the National Incubator Network. Support for startups has been evident in the portfolio of companies and projects incubated, with IoT, energy, augmented reality, web solutions, mobility, social and environmental impact, sustainability, health and well-being, creative industries, big data or cybersecurity being some of the areas most explored by our entrepreneurs.

– What does your incubation model consist of?

We provide a number of suitably equipped physical spaces, as well as administrative support, mentoring and a range of consultancy services. The incubator’s main objective is to provide the necessary conditions for companies to be leveraged and for them to enter the market in a stable way and with a significant reduction in risk.

In addition to the traditional services of physical incubation, coworking and virtual offices, our incubator develops a set of programs to support the ecosystem. In addition to entrepreneurship projects in schools, ideation and acceleration programs, hackathons, themed conferences and workshops, we also provide our entrepreneurs with contact with local, national and international partners.

In recent years, directly for international startups, we have developed an acceleration program in the area of tourism and leisure – Madeira Startup Retreat, with the support of Turismo de Portugal. We recently presented an acceleration program in the area of video game development – Gaming Startup Retreat, an initiative developed with the support of the PRR and the eGamesLab consortium, as part of the mobilizing agendas.

– Can you tell us the story of a startup that made a difference in the incubator? And where has incubating with you made a difference?

There have been many projects and entrepreneurs who have made a mark on the incubator during its 27 years of existence, in different areas, stages of growth and economic, social, cultural and environmental impact. Awaiba and WalkMe are two examples that summarize the type of projects and entrepreneurs we have supported.

Awaiba started in 2004, with 2 employees in the incubator, while they were carrying out an R&D project for the world’s smallest digital camera, which is currently used in medical endoscopy equipment. This team grew to half a hundred employees, centralizing development in Madeira and marketing and sales in Germany, reaching several clients around the world.

WalkMe Mobile Solutions was born out of a university project by three young people who were studying for a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Madeira. Between 2014 and 2022 they were in our incubator, developing different phases of projects, from a mobile application about levadas in Madeira to new solutions in the area of mobile games. Currently operating worldwide, they have more than 40 million downloads in 12 languages.

– Failure is also part of the journey. What have you learned most from something that didn’t go well?

Some projects don’t go ahead due to a lack of clients, market, funding or an unsuitable business model. But there’s something that’s more important than all this: the team has to be in tune with each other in order for the project to develop. We’ve seen fantastic projects that didn’t have the right team and simple projects with determined entrepreneurs who were able to listen and adapt… those who develop these skills are much more likely to win, even if they have to change and adapt the initial project.

– What is your incubator’s differentiating factor? In other words, what is unique about you that enhances the success of the startups you incubate?

The fact that we are located in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, that we have a broad vision of the ecosystem, that we have developed strong links with national and international partners and networks, and that we are an experienced and stable team are our main differentiating elements.

As facilitators of contacts and connector points with local, national and international entities, we dynamically, up-to-dately and progressively streamline the local ecosystem, bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, investors, the curious and the creative around this theme, who contribute to enhancing our region as a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation, knowledge and excellence.

In total, there are around 26 regional, national and international partners with whom we work regularly, from incubators, accelerators, associations, research centers, investors and venture capital funds. These partners make it possible to expand knowledge, tools and opportunities for our entrepreneurs and startups.

– Community is one of the factors that distinguishes an incubator from an office center. How do you look after yours and what plans do you have to make it more cohesive and fertile?

Not only do we constantly monitor our incubator community, using the “open door” methodology, but throughout the year we organize moments for local and international entrepreneurs in the ecosystem to come together and socialize, such as “happy-friday” and networking sessions, as well as publicizing opportunities to take part in conferences, themed sessions, fairs and other moments that add value to entrepreneurs. Our plans are to continue creating moments for sharing knowledge, networking and socializing, whenever possible, convenient and enriching.

– What are the main challenges for incubation in your specific context?

As we operate on an island, our biggest challenges are the size of the market, attracting and retaining talent and context costs. However, we believe that new technologies are now making it possible to overcome many barriers that previously existed and that will allow our economy to diversify. At a time when remote working is becoming more accepted, it is also the right time to invest in entrepreneurship, innovation and support for new start-ups that can operate from Madeira to the world.

– Do you want to share any news with us? Any events or initiatives that we should all keep in our agendas?

We recently went to Brazil for the world final of the GameJamPlus competition, in June, to accompany the Madeiran team 10.10 with the game meowsterchef, which won the competition as the best European game.

For more information on these initiatives and other events, you can visit our website www.startupmadeira.eu and follow our social networks.

ABOUT #INCUBXDISCOVERIES

#IncubXdiscoveries is Startup Portugal’s monthly feature that will help you discover Portuguese incubators. What projects they incubate, how they manage their community and what success stories they’ve had and future projects are some of the topics covered in these interviews.

If you’d like to find out more about Startup Madeira, either because you’d like to see your project incubated in this region or because you’d like to establish a partnership, contact the Startup Portugal team at incubadoras@startupportugal.com.