Moyupi knows you’ve been there. You remember having a billion ideas going through your mind at all moments, with just a thin layer between the real and the imaginary world. Eventually you started growing up and the world introduced you to all the rules, paradigms and behaviors you’re supposed to follow for the rest of your life.
But there was a before.. a before where there were no barriers, where almost everything could become possible. Where you had a different perspective about everything and you took notice of all the little things the grown-ups missed. Where you created characters and heroes in parallel universes and where every object could become something else entirely.
Imagination is the beginning of Creation and Creation was and is the key to a better future, for a more fulfilling life and to a higher level of performance at work.
From all the drawings and stories created, imagine how a child would feel if they saw one of their characters come to life. Their own hero with whom they could play – an exciting promise that not even videogames can presently match in a world that is becoming increasingly virtual.
MOYUPI makes a child’s dream come true by converting their drawings into real-life toys, through 3D-printing technology.
Juan Medina is the founder and together with Pedro Garcia, they’re working hard on their own dream fuelled by the touching reactions they witness when a child sees their toy for the very first time. They designed a platform where parents can submit their child’s drawings and Moyupi then works with a network of freelancers that includes designers, owners of 3D printers and painters to make all this happen.
At Lisbon Challenge, the initial two-week bootcamp ends today and it’s great to see how much they have improved – they had so much feedback to absorb from all the workshops, mentors and other startups. It’s helped them in this phase which includes testing and adapting their business model, the packaging, a partnership strategy and how to approach the international market.
You can also be a part of this dream as it becomes a reality by joining their community and reaching out to Juan and Pedro on their Website and Facebook.
Nossinvento, one of the teams from the UAW (United at Work) program, just launched this week the beta version of their platform, Coolture.
“Fostering Intergenerational Entrepreneurship” was the motto for the UAW program, designed by Beta-i’s Innovation team and promoted by Santa Casa da Misericórdia together with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Beta-i, INATEL, ACIDI, ISCTE and Employment and Professional Training Institute, among others partners.
The objective was to promote intergenerational entrepreneurship through the creation of new companies developed by qualified young and senior participants, working side by side.
Coolture
Nossinvento, one of the Alumni, worked on an online platform that works as a marketplace to promote cultural and leisure events. The promoters can share their events and manage them while the users can consult them in an easy and customizable way.
António Marques, Filipe Magalhães, Higino Cruz and João Perdigão are the four founders of a two-generation team that saw the opportunity to create a platform that channels all the information in events spread across different cultural agendas, blogs, social networks and search engines. By developing an easier access to all that information Coolture will contribute to increase the audience in each event and thereby raise the revenue of the promoters.
After several months of hard work and several iterations based on user feedback their beta version has been launched and is now ready to be tested and used by you on www.coolture.pt
Next time you want to go to the theatre, see the lineup for a music festival or join the next marathon you already know where to go – and don’t forget to give them your opinion and feedback.
The year is 2016 A.C., Europe lives and breathes Innovation and one small Capital with a new Generation of indomitable Entrepreneurs is rising and saying “Present” between the Continent’s Main Tech Hubs. Tech.eu was the last one to take a deep dive into the Lisbon Startup Scene.
Recently the adventures of all these stakeholders involved in putting Lisbon’s Startup Scene on the map have been featured around the world across several media outlets due to their desirable magic potion. A potion that mixes ingredients such as high quality talent, disruptive ideas, great weather and an addictive quality of life.
This time Tech.eu, one of the main sources of European technology news, was the one to take a deep dive and witness by themselves everything that is happening on the Westernmost corner of the European continent.
Robin Wauters, Co-founder and Editor-in-chief talked with “all the shakers and movers to get a sense of what the buzz is all about”.
I won’t give away spoilers but here at Beta-i we were excited to see all the hard work of the last few years recognized by all the stakeholders in the Lisbon Startup Scene, including some of our partners. We were also proud to see references to some of our initiatives such as the Lisbon Challenge accelerator and the Lisbon Investment Summit, happening in June.
There’s still a lot of work to be done and a long way to go, but it seems we’re on the right track. We’re writing our own travel journal here at Rethink, so keep up with all the everyday news and achievements.
Can you imagine Gordon Ramsay evaluating Startups? One thing is for sure – it would be entertaining – even though those being judged would most probably rather relive past encounters with the most obnoxious of investors or jury members. But what is the correlation between a Chef and a CEO? Between cooking and entrepreneurship? How important is timing?
Timing
In the startup world, we constantly seek out different experiences, shared by blogposts, podcasts, books and conferences – to apply those learnings to our own adventure in order to increase our odds of success. What was their recipe? Which key mixed ingredients will prevail? How can we create our own secret sauce?
It could very well be 250g of a great idea topped with an inspiring vision, 200g of a determined roadmap, 175g of a spicy business model, 100g of funding and of course, a hell of a team that executes at a high level.
But timing is also a key factor. If you’re in a cooking competition – let’s imagine a MasterChefesque kind of show – and you undercook your dish, you’ll fall behind your peers whilst overcooking will ensure an abrupt end to your dream.
In Startups, timing is determinantas well – a factor that can influence failure or success. Too soon and your potential customers might not be ready for you, too late and you may very well lose your advantage to your competitors.
Even with a great idea, a strong business model, a kickass team and enough funding, you can still miss the mark – whether as a result of lacking the right technological resources or having your hands tied by the state of the industry – differing cultural, social and political contexts. Timing can be a make-it-or-break-it moment.
You could be addressing a market demand or creating a new one, but always make sure you research extensively and test your product as soon as possible. You may unfortunately find that people don’t need your product or that in fact, it isn’t the right time, well before the right conditions are in place and the demand arises.
For example the boom of the sharing economy and the fall of certain social barriers in the last few years created the perfect timing for some startups to launch and become key players.
Chris Dixon, blogger and partner at Andreseen Horrowitz, says that the right answer to “why will I succeed where others failed?” isn’t if you’re “better or smarter” but instead what explanation you give to why you’re in the right timing.
More great advice comes from Chris in that he believes that “one way to mitigate timing risk is to manage your cash accordingly. If you are trying to ride existing trends you should ramp up aggressively. If you are betting on emerging trends it is better to keep your burn low and runway long. This takes discipline and patience but is also the way you hit it really big.”
There are plenty of issues that make the path of a Startup unpredictable and no one can promise you a highway to success. However, one of the most important steps in the life of most startups is joining a high level accelerator, where beyond crucial guidance, you can validate your idea, market and timing together with some of the most influential entrepreneurs, investors and experts around.
Bill Gross, entrepreneur, investor and founder of the Idealab Incubator shares his opinion on timing, looking at some of their most and least successful startups – guess what the key factor was.
Speaking of timing and accelerators, this Spring edition of Lisbon Challenge just started last week so make sure you keep up with everything that’s happening.
What’s your opinion on timing?
And remember, as a great philosopher once said: “It’s a big bad world full of twists and turns and people have a way of blinking and missing the moment. The moment that could of changed everything.” Ok, maybe it was just Hank Moody from Californication, but still..
Most Startups need angel investors or VCs to succeed and when they’re struggling to raise money there’s often a gap between the stage at which the founders think they are (investment-readiness) and what VCs are looking for to invest.
Boris Golden has a strong background as an entrepreneur and is now a Principal in Partech, a venture capital firm that invests in Internet and information technology companies at seed, venture and growth stages. He’s also a mentor, focused on product, strategy, business model, go-to-market and growth.
Having been on both sides of the table and acknowledging that the roles or goals of a Vc are usually misunderstood he did a presentation to create a better understanding between entrepreneurs and investors.
He covers How VCs typically think, Entrepreneur disappointments, Why go (or not) with a VC, What VCs are looking for, Pitching to VCs and other relevant topics.
But there was a before.. a before where there were no barriers, where almost everything could become possible. Where you had a different perspective about everything and you took notice of all the little things the grown-ups missed. Where you created characters and heroes in parallel universes and where every object could become something else entirely.
But timing is also a key factor. If you’re in a cooking competition – let’s imagine a MasterChefesque kind of show – and you undercook your dish, you’ll fall behind your peers whilst overcooking will ensure an abrupt end to your dream.
where others failed?” isn’t if you’re “better or smarter” but instead what explanation you give to why you’re in the right timing.