Road 2 Web Summit
Start your journey to the Web Summit: Applications now open!
Road 2 Web Summit is a joint initiative by Startup Portugal and Web Summit to select the best young startups to represent Portugal at the biggest tech event in the world, Web Summit, scheduled for November 13th to 16th in Lisbon.
To support this participation, and in addition to an immediate 50% discount on the value of Web Summit’s ALPHA program for startups, the programme also provides intensive preparation in a bootcamp that includes learnings on:
- Which goals to set for the event
- How to pitch
- How to approach investors
- How the event will work
- How to navigate the app.
For the 2023 edition, a total of 125 startups will be selected, including 25 startups with projects focused on impact and social inclusion or founded by underrepresented ethnicities and other social minorities (The selection process for this special cohort will be conducted in collaboration with specific partners operating in these fields).
In addition to the benefits listed above, the Road 2 Web Summit startups will also have the chance to win three financial prizes in the following categories:
- Most promising startup – € 15.000,00
- Startup with the best performance in the bootcamp and conference – € 5.000,00
- Startup with the highest contribution to impact and social inclusion – € 5.000,00
The application period ends on September 20th. Check the eligibility criteria below and submit your application asap!
Disclaimer: Startup Portugal and Web Summit are unable to refund and thus accept in the program companies that have already acquired Alpha program access for Web Summit 2023.
1. The Road 2 Web Summit programme aims to support Portuguese technology-focused startups and entrepreneurs who develop projects with high growth potential, and who bet on innovative and unique products or services.
2. Candidates must be Portugal-based legal entities formed within the last 10 years that are developing technology-focused projects.
3. There is no limit to the area, vertical or field of presentation of the project.
4. Persons related to the staff of the promoters or partners of the initiative are excluded.
1. The startup must, at a minimum, be launched and live with its own working website.
2. The startup must have a developed brand – at minimum, a logo in EPS format.
3. The startup must have its own unique software product or solutions, or must be working on its own connected hardware devices, or have an innovative business model, easily scalable, and digitally-based.
4. Consultancies, agencies, developers, marketing/advertising agencies and public companies are not eligible to apply.
5. Startups must be an independent company and not a subsidiary of a larger organization.
6. The startup must have a valid Portuguese VAT (NIPC) number.
7. To submit the application, startups must be registered in Startup Portugal’s Dealroom database and grant permission for Startup Portugal to use the provided data to update the registration on the Dealroom platform.
8. Priority will be given to startups that have never participated in the Road 2 Web Summit program.
1. Applications will be evaluated by a joint team from Startup Portugal and Web Summit’s startup team.
2. The projects to be presented may correspond to a new product or service, or a new application of an existing product or service.
3. Startups will need to undergo a video interview as part of the selection process. It will assess numerous criteria, including the team, product, traction, investment and roadmap, and the startup’s expectations for the event.
APPLY HERE!
Read the full Terms & Conditions of R2WS 2023.
APPLY NOW!
The application period ends on September 20th.
About Web Summit
In the words of Inc Magazine “Web Summit is the largest technology conference in the world”. Forbes says Web Summit is “the best tech conference on the planet”, Bloomberg calls it “Davos for geeks”, Politico “the Olympics of tech”, and the Guardian “Glastonbury for geeks”.
More about Web Summit at websummit.com
We spent one year developing the product for drones, namely location, and then at the end of that time we realized that we had to pivot and try to figure out where we could apply our technology. And that is where Web Summit helped us a lot. Receiving all that feedback was very important for us to shift to the product we have now.
José Valente
Azitek
The Road 2 Web Summit program helped us meet people with different ideas and that was great. In terms of scalability, participating in the Web Summit is always beneficial for any new company as it helps them reach new markets and customers. From this point of view, it helped us a lot.
Hélder Loio
Buildtoo
Unlike other startups whose goal was to raise investment, for us, Road 2 Web Summit was very useful for marketing and notoriety purposes. We had the opportunity to appear on the news, and I think this had a strong influence from the press office of Startup Portugal. This opened the door for strategic partnerships, some of which we are deepening right now, and that may lead to larger projects or perhaps new shareholders.
Carlos Magalhães
Wegho
Vawlt participated in Road 2 Web Summit, promoted by Startup Portugal, which allowed us to access the Web Summit at a reduced cost. Sometimes it seems like an insignificant detail, but in fact, in the life of a startup, it makes a big difference.
But above all, the major advantage we found in attending Road to Web Summit was that we could share it with other national startups and exchange synergies, challenges, different stages, and conversations between us all.
Bruno Santos Amaro
Vawlt Technologies
Startup Portugal, namely through Road 2 Web Summit, helped us get in touch with international contacts, which led to many crucial opportunities we wouldn’t have reached otherwise. In that sense, it undoubtedly helped us.
Joana Pinto & Gonçalo Chambel
Clynx