Road to START Summit - Startup Pitch Competition & Networking

2027-02-26 · 17:00:00 · Lisbon

AIhub by Unicorn Factory Lisboa

AIhub by Unicorn Factory Lisboa

Held at AIhub by Unicorn Factory Lisboa, this pitch night offers startup founders the chance to win a ticket to START Summit in St. Gallen to compete for substantial investment.

Road to START Summit (RTSS) Pitch Competition organized by START Lisbon at AIhub by Unicorn Factory Lisboa, featuring pitch competition and networking.

Founder brief

Who should attend

Early-stage founders across general sectors looking for international exposure, VC connections, and a route into major European pitch stages should attend. Entrepreneurs seeking to test their traction in front of Portuguese and European venture capitalists will benefit from the format.

What happens

Check-in and opening mingling start at 17:00, followed by welcoming remarks from START Lisbon and Unicorn Factory. Two dedicated pitching sessions run alongside keynote speeches, jury introductions, a midway break, and an announcement of the winner before concluding with an extended networking session until 22:00.

Who's in the room

Judges include venture capitalists Assunção Magalhães from Semapa Next, Martinho Correia de Matos from Bynd Venture Capital, Nuno Serafim from 3 Comma Capital, and Habyt founder Luca Bovone. Keynote presentations feature Ward Analytics founder Luis Parra and MAR Studio founder Mariana Barbosa.

How to prepare

Refine a concise, high-impact pitch deck that clearly outlines your market size, business model, and unit economics. Founders presenting should rehearse their timing strictly, while attendees should plan conversation points relevant to the venture firms on the jury to take full advantage of the networking blocks.

Organizer: BU Venture Capital Group

Register

At a glance

Tickets
Free
Prizes
Ticket to the prestigious START Summit in St. Gallen to compete for a €500,000 investment from b2venture and CHF 10,000 equity-free
Sectors
General

Agenda

  1. 17:00 -17:45 · Check In & Networking
  2. 17:45-17:50 · Opening remarks by START Lisbon
  3. 17:50-17:55 · Welcome by Unicorn Factory
  4. 17:55-18:00 · Keynote Speaker
  5. 18:00-18:06 · Introduction of Jury and pitch competition process
  6. 18:06-18:46 · Startups pitching
  7. 18:46-19:15 · Break
  8. 19:15-19:55 · Startups pitching
  9. 19:55-20:10 · Keynote Speaker
  10. 20:10-20:30 · Winner Announcement
  11. 20:30-22:00 · Networking

Speakers, judges and hosts

  • Assunção Magalhães — VC Investor, Semapa Next (Judge)
  • Luca Bovone — Founder & CEO, Habyt (Judge)
  • Martinho Correia de Matos — VC Investor, Bynd Venture Capital (Judge)
  • Nuno Serafim — Managing Partner, 3 Comma Capital (Judge)
  • Luis Parra — Founder, Ward Analytics (Speaker)
  • Mariana Barbosa — Founder, MAR Studio (Speaker)

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