Five years ago, when I was coming to Portugal to study, I started looking for media publications in English that specifically focused on startups. I wanted to apply for a job based on my background as a startup journalist.
Surprisingly, I could find none. News about Portugal’s startup ecosystem was being published as part of the broader coverage in other Portuguese and English media outlets.
Fast forward to now, and such a dedicated publication in English is still non-existent—both in print and online. This type of news continues to be featured in publications such as EU-Startups and Sifted, shared by startups, incubators, VCs, and nonprofits, and occasionally picked up by local media as part of broader business coverage.
While there’s certainly value in this, it gives me the impression of fragmentation that doesn’t align with the sense of the close-knit community Portugal is trying to build and convey to the world.
Based on my experience trying to create such a publication—both independently and in collaboration with other media outlets—as well as my conversations with players in the Portuguese startup scene, the main barrier is financial.
While Portugal’s startup ecosystem is growing rapidly, it is still a relatively small—though by no means insignificant—market in Europe. As such, launching a publication of this kind is not seen as financially lucrative.
I fully appreciate the importance of profitability in such ventures. However, I believe this kind of investment should be viewed not just as a commercial opportunity, but also as an intellectual one with long-term ROI.
I can’t help but wonder how much more united, self-reliant, and credible the Portuguese startup ecosystem could become if there were a media publication that brought together all relevant news and resources—big or small.
I envision it as a place for sharing visa and policy updates, major announcements, and celebrating achievements. Such an intellectual asset could also serve as a valuable platform for Portuguese and international experts to share their views through opinion pieces and thought leadership articles—highlighting successes, identifying challenges, and proposing solutions—thereby contributing to the ecosystem’s evolution.
To me, it would be an expanded version of a great initiative by Carlos Resende, who brings his extensive entrepreneurship expertise to many roles, including co-founding the Portuguese chapter of the Founder Institute—the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator.
Resende curates the Techstars Startup Digest Portugal newsletter, which is the closest thing I’ve seen to the kind of startup news source I’m talking about. While he’s doing an admirable job covering all things startup in Portugal, such an initiative cannot be a one-man show.
Resende himself agrees that such a publication could be “a powerful next step” for Portugal’s ecosystem.
“I think Startup Digest Portugal has helped build community and keep founders informed, but a dedicated media platform could go further: deep dives, founder stories, ecosystem analysis, investigative pieces, opinion columns—a true mirror and amplifier for what’s happening on the ground. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about and have been contacted about by some players in the ecosystem with similar ideas,” he said in his comments to me.
With Unicorn Factory Lisboa—a flagship initiative to position Lisbon, the host city of Web Summit, as a leading innovation hub in Europe—and many other projects across the country, it’s time for stakeholders to consider investing in a flagship startup publication as well.
I know for a fact that there’s no shortage of media and business experts who, along with entrepreneurial figures like Resende, can build an incredible, independent publication in English—the true language of startups. And by replicating the successful strategies of even smaller markets around the world, they can keep its heart beating both financially and intellectually, creating jobs while enriching and reflecting the vibrancy of Portugal as a sought-after startup hub.
Featured image: Carlos Resende, co-founder of the Portuguese chapter of the Founder Institute and curator of Techstars Startup Digest Portugal. (Photo source: Carlos Resende/LinkedIn)
Portugal Startup News 