Rui Brás Fernandes, CTO at Cisco Portugal, writes about how all the startups and developers can make the most of Cisco’s tools and resources to foster innovation and bring new solutions to the table. As one of the founding partners of the Smart Open Lisboa these technologies will be available for the teams participating in this project that aims to redefine and improve the city life in Lisbon.
Digital transformation is here. With less than 1 percent of things in the physical world connected to the Internet, there is an incredible opportunity to connect the unconnected, creating vast opportunities for the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform businesses and industries by re-inventing business processes, operational efficiencies and customer service innovations.
No company can do it alone. We need to grow an ecosystem of digital transformation solutions and partners, but this depends on everyone’s participation. On our side, Cisco aims to be at the forefront of innovation and we can best do that by discovering the next generation of startups that will partner with us.
Let’s look at the picture:
Cisco is an innovation engine, with more than 170 acquisitions over 30 years plus an annual investment of 5,9B$ in internal R&D.
Cisco is, and has always been, looking into market transitions and disruptive technologies that impact the world.
While the world is becoming more collaborative, more dynamic and more open, Cisco is also opening its traditional Network world to this new paradigm
Technologies like Cloud, SDN, Big Data and Analytics provide new tools to develop solutions and applications based on traditional or new business models and Cisco is making these tools available and “consumable”.
So, what do we have to offer you?
Following this commitment to innovation, in 2014 Cisco launched an initiative called DevNet to make a shift to this new world. DevNet is Cisco’s developer and innovation program, where we give developers the learning and coding resources needed to develop with Cisco platforms and APIs.
DevNet Learning Labs are free, self-paced labs that help people learn coding 101 (with REST, JSON, XML, and python) or networking 101 as well as deep dive into Cisco APIs ranging from collaboration to software-defined networking and work with open source. You have to register to use the Learning Labs, but all the Learning Labs are free.
The DevNet Sandbox is a place for developers to code on real Cisco kit, ranging from live networks to contact centers. Jump in and code on real kit!
DevNet Labs is a place to showcase DevNet Innovations made by Cisco and by DevNet developers. Take a look at the innovations that exist, or submit your own innovation.
Cisco is one of SOL founding members and will be looking for disruptive ventures that harness the power of the intelligent network in the Four Challenge areas by developing synergies with the Cisco solutions such as:
[fusion_text]After 9 intensive weeks, the Protechting Startup Accelerator program, designed by Fosun and Fidelidade and powered by Beta-i ended last thursday with an impressive Pitch Day. In the event that took place at the Fidelidade HQ in Lisbon, the teams presented their projects to the Jury, representatives from Fidelidade, Fosun and Beta-i as well as investors, the media and other invited guests. EctoSense won the main prize of 10.000€ and LifeSymb and CleenBeen will join them in a Roadshow to China where they’ll have the chance to meet some of the world’s most influential investors.
Bootcamp Done, What’s Next on the Lisbon Challenge Accelerator?
Until the day comes when we can learn new skills by uploading them directly into our brain, just like in The Matrix, learning processes will always take time. Speaking of intensive learning processes the Lisbon Challenge Accelerator Bootcamp ended last Friday and now it’s time for the next phase of the acceleration program, for four weeks, where execution is the keyword: We saw each Startup presenting their plan of «attack» for the next month. Of course mentors and experts will always be available to guide you, however don’t expect any kind of babysitting – in the end it’s your planning and execution that will decide everything.
To excel in execution, you can be sure planning is a basic need. In this early-stage of a Startup, it always seems there are a thousand things per day to focus on and most of them in the same level of relevance. Without a plan any team can easily get lost in the way, so here’s how you can make the most of this Startup Accelerator.
5 Things to Revisit and Better Prepare for the Challenge Ahead
Vision – Have your vision clearly stated: it’s your ultimate goal and the one that will allow to see the big picture when dealing with the upcoming barriers.
Set your Goals – If you set goals for everything you do, not only you’ll be highly motivated to achieve them but also you can measure performance and detect what needs improvement.
Roadmap: Essential. This will help you to continuously be aware of your focus. You have to bring to life your MVP as soon as possible and work on it so a more general roadmap should be wrapped around your Product Roadmap. Since it’s not easy to know how detailed this one should be, depending on the number of techies on the team between other factors here’s an insightful article on How Detailed Should Your Startup’s Product Road Map Beby Andrew Cohen, Founder & Ceo of Brainscape and Startup Mentor at Techstars.
Decision Making – You shouldn’t rush on hard decisions nor let your emotions guide them, but at the speed you should be progressing you can’t lose too much time overthinking every single decision. Here’s a Decision-making Framework made by Adeo Ressi, Founder & Ceo of the Founder Institute, that will allow you to save time whilst assuring that you’re not making your choices based on impulse.
Priorities – This is another tough challenge. Between all the feedback you’ll be receiving from everybody you’ll talk to and all the ideas for your product that will constantly pop up your head, you have to find a way to prioritize them. Alex Iskold, Investor and Managing Director of TechStars in NYC, tells you how in Use Action and Idea Lists to Prioritize Tasks and Get Things Done
And last, but not least..
Productivity – With so much work to do, even the most focused entrepreneurs can sometimes get lost. On the other hand, maybe working 20/7 can burn you out in less than a month (missing the amazing final day at Lisbon Challenge accelerator) so here’s How to Hack Productivity with tips from 65 Startup Founders collected by Founders Grid on how they deal with Productivity and manage the minimum balance between working hard and having the basic time to rest and unwind.
Make the most of this opportunity
Beyond these guidelines, don’t forget to use all the resources and people that you have available at the Lisbon Challenge Startup Accelerator. Try toget as much feedback as possible, and if you ever feel a conflict between two opposite given opinions, there’s nothing better than getting those two persons to talk.
There will be also an incredible number of persons crossing every day the same working space as you – mentors, speakers, investors, other startups – so leave your shyness aside and don’t miss the chance to network, a lot of opportunities might come up from the people you meet along the way.
Luck is pointed as the number one reason for success by numerous founders, but behind that ability to get lucky there’s always an incredible amount of hard work, so Good Work & Good Luck.
Yesterday was the big day – 3 Winners and one Key Announcement in Insurance
“It won’t be an easy decision” – Since the beginning of the program, we started to see that all the determination and hard work from every team wasn’t going to help the final Jury choose the winners. In these last two weeks, as we were getting closer to the final day, our expectations grew with every pitch: pilot tests were really close to implementation, group tests inside and outside Fidelidade delivered great feedback, deals were being made and an impressive collaboration ensued between these Startups, Fidelidade/Fosun and Beta-i, propelling innovation that ultimately brings great value to our daily routines.
All this expectation was surpassed as the audience listened attentively to the final pitches – these Startups didn’t just participate in the program, they absorbed all the advice they received and turned their 2-months of hard work into a set of impressively crafted pitches.
At 7h30PM the tough decision was made and…
The three grand winners were finally announced
EctoSense won the main prize of 10.000€ and LifeSymb and CleenBeen will join them in a Roadshow to China where they’ll have the chance to meet some of the world’s most influential investors. See at the end of this blogpost how each one of these Startups is bringing innovation to our daily lives.
We’d like to congratulate the winners and all the other amazing teams that proved to be headed in the right direction with their projects and mindsets. We would also like to give a big shout out to Fidelidade & Fosun and to all the sponsors involved – this great experience was only possible thanks to everyone that believed that there is immense value when the corporate world and Startups work together.
We also have another big announcement to make…
The Second edition of Protechting was announced
If this year’s edition is anything to go by, the second edition is poised to create great startups with products and services that will help shape the way in the insurance industry.
The Winners
Ectosense leverages mobile technology to measure and analyze the user’s sleep quality in their home environment and to provide high quality insights into sleep disorders.
CleenBeen Technologies aims to resolve one of the most predominant problems found today in hospital environments: bacterial/superbug and MRSA infections.
LifeSymb is a high-tech startup in the mobile health sector. The first product of the company is a software that uses multiple sensors, such as 3D depth cameras and accelerometers, to analyse a person’s posture and movements in order to provide automatic health recommendations.
“Hey, here’s your mic, soon as he finishes you can take the stage” – Boom, this is it, you’re just 5 minutes away from your time to pitch.
You feel your sweaty forehead, shaking hands and your stomach feels like its spinning at the speed of light in a washing machine. While you realize that all the work, effort and sacrifices you’ve done are now depending on a 5 min-pitch, that Exit sign in the back somehow begins to stand out, almost sinfully attractive to you.
You hear the audience clap after the last speaker and without realizing it, your body is already walking towards the stage. Time to take a deep breath and go for it.
Even though there are certain universally accepted steps to follow to create a good pitch, pitching is more of an art than a science. Naturally your main focus is on how to structure the pitch – how will you present the problem and the solution? Among all the things that seem relevant, which ones really need to be included?
The internet is packed with pitching tips about everything you should include but soon as you have all the info structured and while you’re practicing countless times you should also pay attention to other, often forgotten, techniques that can help you deliver a great pitch.
Your aptitude to tell stories, your posture and the tone of your voice, your speech rate and your ability to create a connection with the audience through empathy are just a few examples of other different factors that can have a huge impact on the way you engage with the audience and the way they can understand your message clearly.
So here are 3 great Ted Talks that will help you to deliver a pitch that everyone will carefully listen to and will not forget
How to Speak so That People Want to Listen by Julian Treasure
Have you ever felt like you’re talking, but nobody is listening? Here’s Julian Treasure to help you fix that. As a sound expert demonstrates some useful vocal exercises and shares tips on how to speak with empathy, he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.
Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are by Amy Cuddy
Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.
The Clues to a Great Story by Andrew Stanton
Filmmaker Andrew Stanton (“Toy Story,” “WALL-E”) shares what he knows about storytelling — starting at the end and working back to the beginning.
