The ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal Venture Competition is an annual global initiative aimed at international tech-based ventures, focusing on four application tracks: life sciences, sustainable energy, information technology, and consumer products. It supports aspiring entrepreneurs by providing funding, access to MIT's ecosystem, and extensive training, leading to significant startup launches and job creation. The competition emphasizes selecting teams with strong value propositions and aims to enable substantial company valuation increases for startups.

1. ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal Venture Competition
A different Global Innovation &
Entrepreneurship initiative
Gonçalo Amorim
MPP-IEI Program Director
ISCTE-IUL Business School
© ISCTE-IUL, 2011 – All rights reserved
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
1
L UI- E T C SI
1

2. L UI- E T C SI
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
r of r et n e C x a d u A
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C

3. In a nutshell:
•
International tech-based venture competition
•
Held once a year, 3rd ed. Launched March'12
•
4 Market-application tracks:
1. Lifesciences
2. Sustainable Energy & Transportation systems
3. Information Technology and the Web
4. Consumer Products and Services
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI 23

4. ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal Venture Competition
What is it?
•An innovation & entrepreneurship, tech-based Venture
competition
For whom? Teams with a dream:-
• Would-be Entrepreneurs
• Innovators (Start-up's / Spin-off's under 5y and <2,5M€)
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

5. ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal Venture Competition
Our results thus far (18 months):
•
80% of semifinalist's have launched start-ups
following e-teams I
•
69% of semifinalist's raised funding, €6.0M (over
50% from venture capital)
•
72 new, highly qualified jobs created.
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
5
L UI- E T C SI
5

6. ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal Venture Competition
Our fundamental principles:
1- It's all about people, the right people for the
right job
2- Time is money, and (the right) money can buy
you time
3- If you don't know what you don't know you
scare knowlegeable people away
4- Finalist's may be off to an easier start, but are
most often not garranteed successes
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
6
L UI- E T C SI
6

7. ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal Venture Competition
Our Goals:
•
Identify and reward projects at an seed/early stage
with a clear global value proposition
•
Enable a 10x to 20x pre-money valuation within first
years of venture
•
Connect global Innovators to global Investors
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
7
L UI- E T C SI
7

8. L UI- E T C SI
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
r of r et n e C x a d u A
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
in financial support per edition
Up to €1 million
ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition

9. Caixa Empreender+ Awards
- Track finalists
Selection phase: 100k€
Venture phase: 100k€*
– Total: 200k€
- Grand finalist
Selection phase: 200k€
Venture phase: 200k€*
Total: 400k€
- Expert Coaching (20 start-ups/year)
- Access MIT eco-system (12 Start-ups/year)
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

10. ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition
Finalists can double their
awards
How?
Meet milestones and goals within first 2
years.
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

11. Ultimate goal for teams:
Increase company value from 10 to 20x in the first 3 years
Minimum pre-money valuation of €2 million
Get ready to raise VC money (series A), €2 - 5 million
range
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

12. ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition
We're not reinventing
the wheel
• 33.600 companies founded by living MIT
alumni
(76% alive, employing 3.3M)
• Annual revenues of $2 trillion (~10x the GDP
of Portugal)!
• Annual R&D CAPEX: $650M (54% privately
sponsored); USD 2B/year budget
• 500+ patents/y (280+ filed/y)
• $90M license revenue ('08)
• 72 MIT Nobel Prize winners (7 current faculty
members)
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

13. Positioning our venture competition
Training / Start-Up accelerators:
– CoHitec (COTEC), GSI (Leadership), Y-Combinator (Stanford),
TED-x, TechStars (USA), Seedcamp (UK), Start-up Lisboa (PT)
• Competitions:
Ideas: eg. Jovem Engenheiro, I2P, Startup Weekend, Poli-
Empreende, EDP University Challenge, ArriscaC, iUP25, start-up
pirates,
Business Plans: ANJE (PT), EDP Richard Branson (PT), BES
Inovação (PT), MIT100k (USA)...
Venture competiitons: ISCTE-IUL MIT-Portugal (PT), Mass
Challenge (Boston/USA), IBM SmartCamp (USA), Vodafone
Mobile Clicks (UK), TT Ventures (IT)...
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

14. Unique aspects: in what we do?
What's unique
• Our Target: “Start” where Business Plan competitions
end
• Our Tools: 200+ hours of training and coaching in Go-to-
Market strategies with entrepreneurs, during Selection
• Our Focus: Execution, global leverage via International
catalyst ecosystem, during Venture
...designed to foster strong bonds with international
investors.
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

15. ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition
In 2010 & 2011, 155 brave
teams submitted
Involving 600+ aspiring globalpreneurs
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

16. Some numbers (2011 submissions):
- Increasing quality applications, thanks to our TTO's colleagues
- Applicants from 6 countries: Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Spain,
UK, USA (13,2% Int. submissions)
- 46.7% already incorporated start-ups!
- 48.3% from IT&Web
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

17. Unique aspects:
So, how do we do we go about building
global innovators?
March to
November
95 Selection
20 Semi- €0.5M to 4
Applications Stage
finalists Finalists
(2010)
Teams work on
€0.5M upon Venture
Award
execution Stage
Milestones
Up to 5
years
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

18. L UI- E T C SI
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
r of r et n e C x a d u A
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
teams:
Selection as a
Unique aspects: learning process for

19. 3rd edition (ongoing):- key dates
March 15th Submission period opens
May 31st Deadline for project's submission
July 2nd 20 Semi-finalists' announcement
July 16-19th e-teams Crash Course I
November 13th Track Finals event
November 21-23th e-teams Crash Course II
28th February 2013 Grand Finale event
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
19
L UI- E T C SI

20. What is the jury looking for?
Strong & clear Value Propositions: some hints
1. Team: members and fit?
2. How big is the problem you are trying to solve?
3. What is the underlying technology and uniqueness?
4. What makes your product / or service innovative (€)?
5. Market: Is there an opportunity for global impact?
6. What is your business model and entry strategy?
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
20
L UI- E T C SI
20

21. Track Finalists (2011 ed.):
Lifesciences E&T IT&Web P&S
ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition
Evaluated by over 40 International
Judges
4 Finalists selected, with access to €500.000
Focus on Execution to double award
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

22. 4 Honorable Mentions granted (2011 ed.),
Lifesciences E&T IT&Web P&S
With access to,
– Privileged track mechanism to venture financing
– Access to MIT catalysts
– Access to MIT ecosystem (invitation only)
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

23. Track Finalists (2010 ed.):
Lifesciences E&T IT&Web P&S
ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition
Evaluated by 36 International
Judges
4 Finalists selected, with access to €500.000
Focus on Execution to double award
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

24. 4 Honorable Mentions granted (2010 ed.):
Lifesciences E&T IT&Web P&S
With access to,
– Privileged track mechanism to venture financing
– Access to MIT catalysts
– Access to MIT ecosystem (invitation only)
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

25. ISCTE-IUL MITPortugal Venture Competition
Spotlight our ventures (2010 ed.)
TV, Radio, Press support
10+ TV interviews, 70+ press articles, 350+ web
citations
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

26. Thanks for your attention!
Gonçalo Amorim
Program Director, MPP-IEI
goncalo.amorim@iscte.pt
Catarina Madeira
Operations Coordinator, MPP-IEI
catarina.madeira@iscte.pt
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C
r of r et n e C x a d u A
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
L UI- E T C SI

27. 27
27 L UI- E T C SI
pi h s r u e n e r p e rt n E
r of r et n e C x a d u A
0 1 0 2 - 9 0 0 2 t h gi r y p o C