Web Summit is a Monster. A big beautiful Monster. Its big and incredible and terrifying. If you are like me, then you’ve found yourself scrolling down and down through the endless list of speakers, summits, parties, gathering and drinks and felt a little overwhelmed.
Well fear not! This is not a list of all the events of Web Summit in Lisbon, this is a much smaller, cuter, easier to handle list. I want to show you the nicer side-events. These are less about learning how self driving cars will hack our social media bubble, replacing APIs, launching us into a new age of VR Porn and a very confused IoTs! No, this is curated list of side-events that are more interested in networking with specific groups. So sit back and feel comforted in the knowledge that, no matter how much you plan, you can’t possibly go to everything and that’s ok.
7th November
Lisbon Startup Tour– 09:00 – 13:00
The Lisbon Startup scene has been growing and if you want to see where the action happens and the meet the people pushing the frontier of the Lisbon ecosystem, then this is one to go for. Let’s take the first edition of Web Summit in Lisbon to showcase our startups to the world. Meet the best startups in town – register here to attend and get your own copy of the book Startup Guide Lisbon.
The Uniplaces office in Lisbon was considered by Inc was one of the coolest startup offices.
Ladies Night 18:30 – 21:30
Are you strong, independent and don’t need no man? Then Woman, I’m calling you out!
This is an informal event between female founders, investors, journalists and startup/corporate employees. This is a great chance to make friends, talk business and swap tips on how to best tackle Web Summit in Lisbon. This is a women-only event and I have it on good authority that donning a dress is not the only requirement.
Ex-YU Meetup 19:30 – 21:30
Ćao you ex-Yugoslavians! Fancy a drink and some fun with some people from your part of the world? Well here’s your chance. The purpose of this event is to gather people from Ex-YU countries to exchange ideas, network and have fun.
Meetup with Sendgrid 16:00 – 20:00
Sendgrid is one of the fastest growing companies from the US, and they’re coming to Lisbon for the Web Summit. Attend this meetup at Beta-i and learn from Sendgrid’s VP, Paul Ford. Beers are on us.
8th November
Biohacking Breakfast 08:30 – 10:00
Web Summit in Lisbon is bound to be exhausting, if you want some help getting through the week then this might be the event for you. At this breakfast you will learn how to self-hack with techniques and technology to optimize your health and performance. Everyone wants to be a hacker- maybe this is your way to do it!
Dutch Rooftop Drinks 17:30 – 20:00
A number of Dutch tech companies have organised a mixer for the Dutch community- they chose a rooftop bar presumably because no indoor bar had high enough ceilings for the average Dutchie. Come on by enjoy a Biertje and Kroket!
Beta-i Meetup with Techstars 19:00 – 20:00
The verb “Networking” seems to have two meanings – the first is what you tell your boss when she asks you about the latest conference, the second meaning is to party. This event caters to both meanings: first there is a meetup with Beta-i and Techstars, two leading tech accelerators. After 20:00 the gloves come off and the disco balls come out with an all out party until the wee hours of the morn.
Beta-i Tradiio Live 19:00 – 02:00
Beta-i Tradiio Live will gather 1000 entrepreneurs, investors and executives at the TimeOut Market.
Techfugees 18:30 – 20:30
Techfugees Portugal is part of an international network made of engineers, designers, social entrepreneurs and NGOs dedicated to working together and sharing learnings to come up with tech solutions to help refugees from their first journey to their arrival and societal integration. Techcrunch editor at large and Techfugees founder, Mike Butcher, will share what has been achieved to date, and officially launch the Portuguse chapter of Techfugees.
9th November
Technology and You: Who is Really in Control? 18:00 – 19:30
During Web Summit, I am sure you will be surrounded by the most pro-tech people you will ever meet. This event provides a necessary counter balance to all this pro-tech propaganda by helping us to re-evaluate our relationship with technology.
Taking it to the USA 18:00 – 20:00
If the USA is the land of opportunity, then startups are the ones pushing the new frontier out in the Wild West. This event is for startups looking to move to and excel in the land of the brave. Held in Microsoft Portugal’s Accelerator Hub The Reactor, this workshop is run by industry pros who have seen it all.
Lisbon has been compared to San Francisco and this bridge is just a coincidence – or not.
AWS Startup Day 18:00 – 20:30
Amazon is a giant, if fact, they don’t get much bigger. Amazon wants to teach startups how they can use Amazon Web Services to keep IT costs down when scaling up. So come down and learn for the best.
Pixels Campfire 19:00 – 02:00
Ok, so by now maybe you have been to a couple Beta-i events and you feel like you’re starting to get to know the ecosystem but have you heard of Pixels Camp? Bright Pixel is a venture builder studio – it incubates startups in the heart of the city in Chiado. Get over there and learn about one of the biggest hackathons in Europe.
10th November
Product Hunt Meetup 17:30 – 19:30
Product Hunt is a leading destination for Product discovery. Founder, Ryan Hoover, is hosting a meetup to give launchers, startups and investors to mingle and meet. Registration for this one has ended but Paddy Cosgrave told us to Hack Web Summit in Lisbon, and who are we to disobey the great Cosgrave.
The so called Pink Street will be the epicentre of all the parties on the Web Summit week.
Music Tech Drinks 19:30 – 22:30
One of the major themes of Web Summit is music and as a result, a lot of music bosses are going to here such as Hans-Holger Albrecht (Deezer), Marian Goodell (Burning Man), Eric Wahlforss (Soundcloud), Jason Flom (Lava Records), Seth Farbman (Spotify) alongside musicians such as Ne-Yo, Tinie Tempah, Ja Rule and many others. With this many pros in the house, it would be criminal if there was no party! This is an other invitation only event- we’ll let you do what you like with that information…
So there you have you have it: just a nice short list of 13 events you should go to in three and half days. See, not every thing about Web Summit has to be absurdly long and scary. Short and cute!
See you at Web Summit. And if you need a place to get work done our office will be open to the community. Meaning there’s free wifi, plenty of desks, warm coffee, cold beer, 1 dog and 2 fish in a bowl, and more than 30 crazy booming startups for you to meet. Register here to let us know you’re coming.
