Toolkit

Entrepreneurship has its challenges. At Startup Portugal, we have the experience and knowledge of the most common ones and how to face them. Our resources are deeply researched, practical and definitive guides for several ecosystem actors.

Startup Portugal is a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in Portugal. Check here to learn more about who we are and what we do.

Registering a company can be done online or in-person at an Empresa na Hora counter at a local Registry office. You can set up an appointment for this service via their website.

Portugal has various investment and funding opportunities open to local and international entrepreneurs. Check our blog article on this matter.

Startup Visa is a residence visa for entrepreneurs, aiming to attract Portugal investment, talent, and innovation capacity. By investing and creating qualified employment, entrepreneurs can integrate a startup incubator in Portugal and benefit from all the incentives and support of the Startup Portugal Program.

Tech Visa is a certification program addressed to companies that wish to attract highly qualified and specialized staff to Portugal, nationals from countries not included in the Schengen area. If you are a highly qualified worker and want to work in Portugal, find here the list of certified companies.

Startup Portugal selects the best young startups to represent Portugal at Web Summit through the Road to Web Summit Program. If you are looking for startups to invest in, we invite you to look at the 2023 participants here.

To find other startups in Portugal, you can turn to the Dealroom dashboard. This dashboard is a living directory of all the actors in our startup ecosystem. You will be able to discover and explore startups in various sectors, regions, and stages of growth and receive the necessary information to contact them.

Dealroom is a living directory of all the actors in our startup ecosystem.

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Would you like help or more info? Contact us with your issue; we can exchange emails and have a meeting in Lisbon or online.

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Glossary of the Entrepreneur

All Portuguese people know that “it’s by talking that we understand each other!” and this is also our motto at Startup Portugal. For this, we all need to be sure of the meaning of each term used in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Let’s do it? Find our glossary below, which is in constant update. Is there any definition you would like to see listed? Send us an email to contact@startupportugal.com

Accelerators are organizations that promote fixed-term programs for selected companies to which they provide training, monitoring, and mentoring to management teams providing contacts with experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels, and executives who provide them and prepare them for accelerated growth of their activity and for new phases of capitalization.

An angel investor invests their money in early-stage or startup companies in exchange for equity ownership. They may invest alone or as part of a larger group of investors known as angel networks or syndicates.

Building a company without external funding. It involves relying on personal savings and the operating revenue generated, allowing founders to reduce dilution and have greater control of their business.

Rate that analyzes the amount of money that a company is spending on a given period of time.

An alternative way of funding a project or venture is by raising money from a large number of people, typically via an online platform.

Solutions created with the expressed objective of providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges

A digital nomad is a person who performs their job remotely, and it’s not tied to a fixed location or office. They often travel or live in different locations, prioritizing flexibility, and work-life balance.

A startup at the beginning of its life cycle, already constituted, with validated solution or with clear business model

Community of stakeholders that promote the entrepreneurship from local to an international level, for instance: entrepreneurs, digital nomads, investors, incubators, the academia, public bodies and private entities.

An exit strategy is tactic executed by a founder to liquidate a position in a startup. It can be done through three different strategies: a merger with another company, an aquisition or an IPO (Initial Public Offering).

(Source: CB Insights, Investopedia)

The term “3F’s” typically refers to three sources of early-stage funding for startups: friends, family, and fools. It includes individuals investing in a startup due to a personal relationship with the entrepreneur or founder, family members of the entrepreneur, or individuals who invest in a startup typically due to a belief in the entrepreneur or a personal interest in the product or service.

Incubators are organizations that provide support to new & developing businesses during a period through both tangible assets (for example, space and access to equipment) and intangible ones (for example, direct or indirect business or technical mentorship or services and access to networks of potential clients, partners, and investors).

The development of innovative solutions to solve a major social problem, usually linked to the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations.

A company privately evaluated over 1B$ whose business is to solve a major societal problem.

A startup valued at more than one billion dollars, based in Portugal or having a Portuguese founder

The return on investment is a ratio between net income and investment. ROI is often used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare with several different investments.

The ability of a company to grow and expand in a efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable way. Scalable startups grow rapidly and efficiently. These are often technology-driven and have adopted a repeatable processes.

Startup already in a state of maturity, with sustained sales, an international strategy and / or invested by venture capital, presenting conditions or potential for accelerated growth

Business person that starts a number of different businesses.

A Startup firstly born from a department/area within another company or university

Company with less than 10 years, with an innovative and digital based business that can scale easily. The legal definition of a Startup is being debated in the Portuguese Parliament and can be found here (in Portuguese)

Amount of time a startup has to operate before running out of funds.
In other words, how long can the startup survive holding income and expenses constant and without the injection of capital.

A Startup valued at 1 Billion US Dollars or more in an investment round

A simple statement that clearly communicates the product or service benefit you promise to deliver to your customers. It’s ultimately what makes your product attractive to your ideal customer. It expresses what your business does better than anyone else and why someone should do business with you or buy your product.

Venture Capital Funds are financial assets, regulated and supervised by the CMVM (Portuguese Securities Market Commission), without legal personality, belonging to holders of participation units, managed by a management company, and usually invest for a limited period of time, in companies with high potential development, with the aim of valuing its assets.

A Startup with a woman on the leadership or as a founder with an executive role