by silvia | Mar 20, 2019 | Corporates, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
Smart Open Lisboa continues to unite the biggest players in different sectors in Lisbon with the most innovative startups to create a better user experience of the city for Lisbon’s citizens. Rethink spoke with Guillermo Campoamor, CEO of Meep, to get to know their work in the program and the future of mobility.
Meep App
Meep App is a multimodal journey planner that combines all modes of transportation available in a city into a single app. With Meep, users can plan, book and pay for rides, eliminating the need to use more than one application.
Through the app, customers can choose the best way to reach their destination, according to their own priorities: being able to choose between the cheapest, the faster or the greener routes.
Meep’s App
SOL Mobility Piloting
For their SOL Mobility pilot, Meep partnered up with Carris, Emel (specifically Gira, the bike sharing component) and CML (Câmara de Lisboa) to aggregate all transportation resources into a single app. Lisbon locals and tourists would be able to plan their daily routes using bicycles and buses. The Meep app would display real-time information for both the bus stops and bike stations so users will have the opportunity to combine both modes of transport in a single route, based on their preferences. Through this pilot, they hoped to improve the mobility ecosystem, making public transportation more attractive and increasing the accessibility of the city by creating routes that no one has previously provided.
RT: What were your goals in joining SOL Mobility?
GC: Our primary goal with SOL Mobility was to create a feasible pilot in Lisbon that would become a successful product deployment, integrating all transport operators in the city. We recognized that the participating partners in the program are key players in the mobility ecosystem who could, therefore, help us establish a network in Lisbon, and make it possible to deploy Meep as efficiently as possible. A very important component to our goal was to be able to adapt Meep to the local market. Thanks to the insights and mentorship we received through SOL Mobility, we managed to quickly adjust certain features within Meep to accommodate the unique characteristics of the city like creating a custom button through which users can apply their monthly pass.
RT: How was developing the pilot along with the partners?
GC: Developing the pilot with the partners added a valuable perspective to our experience in deploying Meep. We were able to observe and learn from the developments along the path to launch, especially changes and needs in integrations. For example, at the beginning, Carris and Gira were the first to jump onboard as principal partners, while Camara de Lisboa joined as an observer. As we made progress and our positive impact on the city spread, other partners outside the SOL mobility program like ecooltra and emov joined the platform. We also saw some partners, who had expressed interest from the start, have to opt out due to technical difficulties.
RT: What is the impact you believe an app like Meep can bring to the city of Lisbon?
GC: All features of Meep aim to improve city life and travel by decreasing the use of private cars and making transport more accessible, user-friendly and ecological. Through more efficient, integrated travel, Meep will reduce travel costs and conserve much-needed time for Lisbon residents. Further, by creating previously unexplored routes, remote areas will become more connected and therefore more livable. Meep will also make life easier and more mobile with in-app ticketing and payments – the next step in deployment. As we continue to develop, we hope the platform will serve as a mobility marketplace within which users can interact with the information in the platform and with each other, giving the city of Lisbon the most accurate and updated user behavior and data with which it will better serve the people.
RT: Are there any first results of success you can share?
GC: Thus far, we have seen Meep users in Lisbon use the app to create endless combinations of different transport modes between buses, bikes, motorcycles, metro (Gira) and scooters. We are growing fast, and more and more people are choosing Meep as their preferred transportation app. Since our recent launch in November, we have more than a thousand active users per week. For now, they are mostly younger techies who want a better way to move around.
RT: What are the next goals for Meep?
GC: Next goals for Meep in Lisbon are to add kick-scooters to the platform and to progressively integrate payments for current operators.
We are also actively increasing the area that Meep covers in Lisbon so that we can connect to other municipalities. We believe this is important for current and potential Lisbon Meep users because many of them commute back and forth on a regular basis.
We are excited to see how the app progresses in the city, and how we can use the data to advance city living and tourism.
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Mobility as a Service
Meep believes they are an integrating part of a new business model – Mobility as a Service – that is rising to meet the new challenges of mobility in the cities.
The pressure of population growth, pollution, and traffic in the cities demand that we re-think how transportation services are currently provided and used, to streamline one of the most important parts of city living: getting around.
We can’t wait to see where Meep and Lisbon’s mobility solutions go next, and we’re also very excited about the startups on SOL Housing, the new vertical of Smart Open Lisboa, that kicked its Bootcamp this week – read about it here.
by silvia | Mar 18, 2019 | Corporates, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
Smart Open Lisboa (SOL) is an ambitious initiative that aims to involve startups and their innovative solutions in contributing towards a better, smarter and more efficient city. Its third edition gains steam, as the Bootcamp phase of SOL Housing kicks off today in Lisbon. The Housing vertical is dedicated exclusively to solutions for smart cities focused on the value chain of the commercial and residential real estate.
The Bootcamp will happen between 18 and 22 of March, in Beta-i’s headquarters and it brings 19 selected startups from the applicants batch to meet the program partners.
The chosen startups are Alfredo AI, Bead, Buildtoo, Doinn, Enerbrain, Heptasense, Howz, idatase,Lumen Cache, MClimate, Meazon, Mycroft Mind, Nice Visions, Nudge Portugal, Onegrid, Parquery, Proximi.io, Trustbill e WearHealth Team.
You can read more about them here.
Started in 2016, Smart Open Lisboa, now in the SOL Housing vertical, is turning the city of Lisbon into a laboratory of experimentation, with utilities and companies working with startups to solve problems and make the citizens’ lives easier.
The program is backed by the city hall (CML) and it partners up with several major players in the market. Together they are making Lisbon an entrepreneurial city, making an investment into upgrading city life.
Read about the partners of the program here.
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by silvia | Mar 15, 2019 | Corporates, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
When starting your own business or growing your own startup KPIs tracking is one of the most important tools you can use to keep your growth on track and measure the viability of your business. We’ll walk you through the traditional and news ways of doing it.
CAC:LTV Ratio
Traditionally, the CAC:LTV Ratio is the most used KPI. This important KPI measures the sustainability of your company. This ratio can be broken down into two metrics:
-
CAC: Client Acquisition Cost
In a nutshell, this metric indicates how much money your company spends to acquire a new single customer (through marketing, advertising, sales, including salaries and overhead).
Essentially, the lowest the CAC, the better, so a high CAC can mean flaws in your sales process, and a growing CAC can be a sign of trouble (as your CAC is expected to reduce with time as you build your brand), but it depends on the situation: it’s not a problem if you’ve introduced a new product or service with much higher margins. Essentially, following your CAC can help you optimize your return on investment.
- LTV: Customer Lifetime Value
This metric measures how long a customer or user remains a client, on average, determining how much business value will derive from each customer.
Combining these two metrics into the CAC:LTV ratio, you get an indicator of the sustainability of a company. For a business to be successful, it must be able to drive more income from its customers, than the money it invests to bring them onboard, and to actually deliver the product/service the customer is receiving.
Although the CAC:LTV ratio has been traditionally used by investors and venture capitalists as a measure of growth and viability, there’s a new more viable KPI that was introduced by Social Capital and is used by Venture City and also by our own team in Lisbon Challenge by Beta-i – the Quick Ratio.
The Quick Ratio
The Quick Ratio is a shortcut metric to define where the product stands in terms of growth. It combines growth, retention and churn into one number that describes how efficiently your product is growing.
Essentially it’s the ratio between the new and resurrected clients over the clients lost in that month. Simply, if a Quick Ratio is >1 the number of users is growing and if it is <1 the number of users is declining.
It’s important to always see the number of lost clients in relation to the acquisition and retention of clients because it can tell you important information to base your next steps on. A company with a high retention rate doesn’t need to make a big effort in sales to keep growing steadily (as opposed to a company with a lower retention rate that would need a bigger client acquisition to keep growing at the same rate).
provided by The Venture City
A lower retention rate means you need to put efforts into bettering your product, and a low acquisition rate might mean you need to rethink your marketing strategy.
The only way to have a high ratio is to keep both acquisition and retention high – that means your product has a healthy life.
The advantage of using the quick ratio is that you can apply it for your product even when you don’t have paying customers yet, or apply it to several parts of the business in order to understand its challenges.
As Eduardo Sette Camara, Lisbon Challenge by Beta-i’s Head of Acceleration put it:
In a gross simplification, sustainable revenue and growth is the end result of capturing value through a great product/service delivery. But if you want to go to the core of what drives that growth, slice up the problem and variables, and really understand what sticks, applying the quick ratio calculation to more and more granular information can deliver those insights. It’s about trying to understand cause and effect.
This is why most VCs are looking into this metric as a way of evaluating the companies they want to invest in – and so should you.
by silvia | Mar 14, 2019 | Startups, Uncategorized
When your startup is looking for investment there are a lot of things you should consider. We break down the steps to take to meet investors the right way.
1. Look for the Right Investors
This is easily the most important part of the process. If all you need is money, then a bank is the easiest way to go. If you’re looking for an investor that means you’re looking for a long-term business partner. When looking for investors, take the time to consider what kind of investor you are looking for:
- Sector: Are you looking for an investor that focuses on your particular sector of business?
- Investment patterns: What type of investments does the investor usually make? Seed, or series A/B? Does it match the phase your startup is in, or what you’re looking in the future?
- Region: Are you a global startup, or are you focusing on a region? Is the investor also focused on a particular region?
- Are you looking for someone with experience and contacts in a particular sector that you want to reach?
This will help you have a better understanding of what kind of investor you’ll need and how do you know if you’re a match.
2. Do some healthy stalking
After you considered and defined all the point in the previous step, it’s time to look for people who fit your criteria and preferences. Don’t be lazy and do your research! Do not approach investors randomly – research their past ventures and investment portfolio, and try to understand if they are a good fit with your company.
Approach leaders and connections within the sector you’re working on and ask for recommendations.
3. Network
This one is pretty simple – to meet investors you need to be where they are! Join the same events, participate in roundtables and join conversations about the industry.
Certain events, like the Lisbon Investment Summit, happening in Lisbon on June 5-6th, are the perfect setting to join discussions and meet the right people.
Don’t forget the 6 degrees of separation – meet as many people as you can and engage in conversations with them. You might meet someone who can introduce you to an investor that might be a great match.
4. Be considerate of the person
Most investors won’t take cold emails, so make sure to get an introduction within your network. Also, don’t spring your business plan on them – take the time to get to know them and understand what they usually work on and what are they looking for at the time. Make you sure you are bringing something valuable to the table.
5. Build a relationship
Let’s be real: no one invests in a complete stranger. You have to understand that an investor is investing as much in you as in the business. So make sure to let them know you are a reliable person, who accomplishes what he sets out to do. After initial contact, if there’s interest, keep them posted on your work and the results of the business.
Keep joining the conversations the sector is having and show that you are an expert in what you do.
In the end, it’s important to realize that there must be a match between the interests and goals of the entrepreneur and the investor. Don’t be shy to say what you want from them (mentorship? introductions?), and what you can offer in return. None of you should ask for something they’re not willing to bring themselves – it should be an equal partnership that is mutually beneficial.
by silvia | Mar 12, 2019 | Corporates, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
Blockchain is a technology with the ability to disrupt several industries (we wrote about it in our 5 Fintech Trends of 2019). It has several uses, and the technology aims to create a secure, transparent, decentralized payments system. It’s most popular use is to create cryptocurrencies.
The problem with cryptocurrencies
We all have heard the stories about people who became millionaires by investing in bitcoin, and also the stories of it losing its value just a few weeks later.
This happens because cryptocurrencies’ value is centered around speculation, so they fluctuate on a daily basis, which makes them unreliable as a currency.
Stabecoins aims to help in this regard – having the benefits of cryptocurrencies – transparency, security, privacy, simplicity) but without the volatility that comes with it.
What are stablecoins
Just like other cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are digital money that aims to mimic traditional stable currencies.
How? Well, just like other currencies, stablecoins are collateralized to the value of an underlying asset (which can vary). In general, there are 4 types:
- Fiat-collateralized Stablecoins: These coins are backed by fiat currencies (like USD, EUR or GBP), which means that as long as that country’s economy stays stable, so is the currency.
- Commodity-collateralized stablecoins: These coins are backed by other commodities like gold and other precious metals, oil, and even real estate. They have the potential to value overtime and make investing in gold or real estate achievable for everyone.
- Crypto-collateralized stablecoins: These are stablecoins backed by other cryptocurrencies. They are very decentralized because everything runs on the blockchain and enjoy more liquidity. They have not gained much tractio mostly because of its complexity.
- Non-collateralized stablecoins: These coins use an algorithmically governed approach to control the stablecoin supply. This is the most decentralized and independent form of stablecoin, as it isn’t collateralized to any other asset. However, it requires continual growth to be successful.
(Read more about the different types of stablecoins here.)
How can stablecoins help in the real world
Although complex in its structure, stablecoins can be a reality and bring a lot of advantages to users.
They can be used as a day to day currency, enabling digital payments everywhere and reducing the risks of cash use.
It can streamline recurring payments and P2P payments, making it easier for employers to have employees working remotely from all over the world.
Stablecoins can also be useful in diminishing inequality and helping developing countries around the world – the money sent by migrant workers to their families can now reach them in a faster way, with much lower fees, and without the stress of volatility of current cryptocurrencies.
It can also protect citizens in case of a crash of the local currency and hyperinflation.
Where is the future going
With all its advantages, there are still some setbacks for stablecoins: fiat-backed stablecoins are managed by a single entity, which means there is a need for a regular transparent audit of its reserve, to guarantee that the entity is actually backing up their stablecoins with real fiat.
It’s also constrained by the same regulations as fiat-currency, which means conversion is less efficient, and it has less liquidity.
There’s also the chance that the asset backing the currency crashes (be it fiat or other cryptocurrencies).
Stablecoins are still in the beginnings of its development and it’s still far from a mature level. However, its stability and advantages are certainly the reasons it might help cryptocurrencies come to the mainstream.
by silvia | Mar 11, 2019 | Corporates, Startups, Uncategorized
The Bootcamp for Smart Open Lisboa, Housing vertical, is starting next week. As the anticipation grows, we can finally meet all the startups that are coming for the Bootcamp.
Selection based on matching
After the applications phase, a selection of startups does a session of online pitching – showing their projects to the partners of the program and explaining how they can respond to the challenges.
The startups selected for the Bootcamp are the ones that can best respond to the challenges presented by the program and can better match their teams and technologies with the business goals of the partners.
The challenges faced
This vertical of Smart Open Lisboa – SOL Housing – focused on challenges faced in residential and commercial buildings, ranging from management of buildings, data processing and customer experience, to more sustainable solutions for management and new business models (like co-living).
Startups joining SOL Housing Bootcamp
Click “+” to know more about what they do and where they’re from!
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[item title=”Alfredo AI”]
Alfredo was designed to bring transparency to the market. It consists of an Artificial Intelligence model, which enables in-depth quantitative analysis of the property market.
Country: Portugal
Website: alfredo.pt
[/item]
[item title=”Bead”]
BEAD is an IoT company developing innovative, sustainable and energy-efficient digital building solutions through infrastructure integrations and our analytics & AI platform.
Country: Germany
Website: enbead.com
[/item]
[item title=”Buildtoo”]
Construction project management software for project managers and investors/owners in a cloud system that provides real-time access to all project information.
Country: Portugal
Website: buildtoo.com
[/item]
[item title=”DOINN”]
Doinn is an online platform where short term rentals hosts and property managers can automatically schedule and buy services such as housekeeping and laundry, provided by high-quality and professional companies.
Country: Portugal
Website: doinn.co
[/item]
[item title=”Enerbrain”]
The Enerbrain system is a “plug&play” kit that can be easily installed in every building to fine-tune energy usage in real time without any drastic changes or replacements to the existing HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) system.
Country: Italy
Website: enerbrain.com
[/item]
[item title=”Heptasense”]
Heptasense is an Artificial Intelligence software that is able to recognize any threat on video and send an alert is sent to the security teams, in real-time, to act on it, and without compromising privacy.
Country: Portugal
Website: heptasense.com
[/item]
[item title=”Howz”]
Howz measures the use of electricity in elderly people’s homes to build a pattern of daily behaviour and then identify unusual activity and notify the family.
Country: United Kingdom
Website: howz.com
[/item]
[item title=”Idatase”]
Idatase developed NetLume, an innovation platform that solves the key problem of the “human factor” for successful IoT initiatives by integrating domain experts and business into the IoT domain.
Country: Germany
Website: idatase.de
[/item]
[item title=”Lumen Cache”]
LumenCache shrinks Smart Grid features bringing them down the individual power loads inside buildings. It adds a secure, wired communication layer to the power distribution enabling every installed or plugged device to have a reliable foundation of energy management and safety.
Country: China
Website: lumencache.com
[/item]
[item title=”MClimate”]
MClimate is an IoT company which changes the way people use the appliances they already have, connecting to heating and cooling devices and allowing the customer to control 70% of their electricity bill – turning any home into a smart home.
Country: Bulgaria
Website: mclimate.eu
[/item]
[item title=”Meazon”]
Meazon creates an inflection point in energy efficiency & digitization services by providing cost efficient & reliable energy submetering.
Country: Greece
Website: meazon.com
[/item]
[item title=”Mycroft Mind”]
Mycroft Mind developed a DeepGrid platform that collects and processes data from smart metering and smart grid infrastructures, maximizing the analytics and insights to existing sensor networks.
Country: Czech Republic
Website: mycroftmind.com[/item]
[item title=”Nice Visions”]
Nice Visions makes customizable solar facade tiles for sensitive urban areas, combining solar cells and sustainable energy production and merging it with aesthetics.
Country: Slovakia
Website: hello.nicevisions.com
[/item]
[item title=”Nudge Portugal”]
Interventions that consist in small changes in the context of decision-making that influence economic behavior in a predictable and automatic way.
Country: Portugal
Website: nudgeportugal.com
[/item]
[item title=”Onegrid”]
ONEGRID is an energy management platform that eliminates electric energy waste, which reduces the electric energy bill in up to 40%.
Country: Brazil
Website: onegrid.co
[/item]
[item title=”Parquery”]
Via innovative computer vision and deep learning algorithms, Parquery analyses images to detect objects from any camera and to provide real-time information to mobility operators in the smart city.
Country: Switzerland
Website: parquery.com
[/item]
[item title=”Proximi.io”]
Proximi.io is the only technology-agnostic platform that combines all indoor and outdoor mobile positioning under a shared ecosystem, combining together not only all the technologies but also all the different use cases for location data.
Country: Finland
Website: proximi.io
[/item]
[item title=”Trustbill”]
Trustbill is an app that manages utility bills for European families, by identifying the best value deal for each family given their consumption pattern and switching them to it, thus helping families reduce their monthly household costs.
Country: Portugal
Website: trustbill.pt [/item]
[item title=”WearHealth”]
Wear health uses off-the-shelf wearable and IoT devices from partners and proprietary cognitive technologies to build an intelligent system that can detect, prevent and predict safety and health risks of workers.
Country: Germany
Website: wearhealth.com
[/item]
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