Final call for OPO Startup Week, in Porto, on 24 May

Porto is looking for a full-time position in the lively European Startup scene.

In case you didn’t know, OPO is the airport code for Porto International Airport, a 1-3 hour flight from anywhere in the European Union, a city which is pretty well-covered by Ryanair, among many other airlines. This was the inspiration for the startup event in question; its name being OPO Startup Week (Update – March 2023: The website seems to be out of use, and we therefore deactivated the original link).

We went to meet the entrepreneurs behind the event, to understand what will happen from 24-31 May, and what our readers can gain from attending.

When did you have the idea to start the OPO Startup Week and why?

The idea for OPO Startup Week came up in a meeting between some of the organisers. We were talking about the startup scene in Porto and Braga and the lack of national and international promotion these ecosystems face. Then, we realised that it would be very interesting to create an 8-day event in the north of Portugal that would celebrate our startup community. A place where people could find meetups, hackathons, workshops, conferences, debates, parties, drinks and good people. From this original idea, OPO Startup Week evolved to more than 30 events in 5 cities that have been made possible with the help of more than 60 people and organisations.

What are the main goals you have for this event of events?

Above all, we want to bring the community together, strengthen the ties in the OPO startup community and foster its growth by inviting new people and ideas to join. As a by-product, we want people to hear about the best startups in the region, both nationally and internationally.

What events would you like to highlight for our readers?

We have events for all tastes and targets. Some examples:

• Usability Fix Lunch: An event to get immediate honest feedback on how user-friendly your products are. There is a free lunch afterwards, but just for testers.
• Braga Startup Tour: Students from the University of Minho will visit startups get to know and experience their reality. The founders will share their experiences, successes and difficulties and present their business.
• Padawan Capital – A founders’ guide to fundraising: An evening of talks, panels, and personal conversations about fundraising strategies with Portuguese investors and entrepreneurs. Speakers will share genuine stories about successful (and less than successful) capital raises, industry best practices, common misconceptions, evolving trends, and other essential learnings from the field.
• Pitch Fix Night: Test your pitch and get peer-to-peer feedback.
• PUB Summit: Join Porto’s leading startups, investors, community builders and more for an evening of drinks, chat and networking.

On top of the many excellent English speakers here, what makes Porto different or better than other cities for developing a Startup community?

Porto is a cheap place to live, with good weather, a great university that is very involved in the startup scene and a community that is growing and becoming more and more supportive.

What do you think Porto is missing for it to become an European level Startup community?

Porto still lacks a strong investment culture. While Porto has the biggest Business Angels Association in the country, it’s very difficult to find a match between what investors are looking for and entrepreneurs are able to offer. This situation is improving but is still far from ideal.

Sounds like a lot of work is still needed. Just last week someone was telling me “Porto is a place where you can buy a startup with a product on beta for the price of hiring a team back home for a month”. I guess we’ll have to check that at OPO Startup Week, either by showing up or by helping crowdfund the promotion.

By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!

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