The Blog

Finally! It’s here! We’re happy to announce what you all have been waiting for… the go-to competition for startups in Portugal!

This year we’re teaming up with the great team at Startup Pirates to bring together the best startups in Portugal and give them the international projection and momentum they need and deserve. If you think your just-born or about-to-be-born company is up for the challenge then read further.

How does it work?

• You submit your startup through our online form. (Deadline: 3rd of June)
• Out of all submitted startups our team will select 8 startups that will have the chance to attend SWITCH.
• During the first day of SWITCH Conference (15th of June) you’ll present your company for 8-minutes without questions from the jury.
• The jury will then select 3 startups that will have a chance to present again for 10 minutes and then answer questions during up to 10 minutes.
• The winner will be selected and announced.

Prizes

• Free ticket to all selected startups. (non-selected startups get 30% discount);
• Ability to present your project at SWITCH main stage with livestream to thousands of people around the globe.
• Recording and nice pos-production of your talk so you can use in your website and in future competitions / fundraising.
• 5 minutes of Q&A with the audience.
• Offers by our partners to be updated soon

More reasons to be there

• Presence of top entrepreneurs, investors and mentors from Portugal, rest of Europe and the US.
• Influencers and bloggers on sight (trust us, our speaker lineup is great!)
• A huge promotion platform.
• A huge tech-savvy audience ready to give feedback on your product.
• Press coverage (national and international).
• Incredible offers by our partners and sponsors!

Please note:

• Everything will be in English. Your pitch, evaluation, etc. We’re looking for national and international startups that are ready to take the international market by storm.
• The 2nd and 3rd top startups will have a small Q&A on stage with our curator.
• The startups must have a technological-base or be somehow related with the tech space.
• Deadline: 3rd of June

Next Steps

• Register your startup in this form. (Deadline: 3rd of June)
• Wait for feedback from our team.
• Keep an eye on this page for juri, prizes, and other details.

The team behind SWITCH is proud to announce the first speakers of a stunning lineup that yet again will on stage at the 3rd edition of SWITCH Conference.

For a couple of months now we’ve kept quite. Is not that we’ve stopped, is just that we’ve been too busy preparing some of the details that we’re going to unveil in the following weeks about the program and surprises for the 3rd edition of SWITCH. Under the theme “Connecting the Dots” 30 speakers, from all over the world, will take the stage and share their experiences with 400 attendees.

The first speakers announced today are just a tiny fraction of what’s to come but already show how committed we are in showcasing a great lineup. From Andrew Keen and Kevin Hartz, that will both join us from Silicon Valley, to Roxanne Varza and Elizabeth Varley – SWITCH program will be a delicate balance between inspiration, new ideas and personal stories.

Connecting the Dots is the perfect theme for this edition. In a world that is getting connected by technology, this year’s edition will explore how human and virtual connection can co-exist and how wiring the world is provoking disruptions around in the planet in different areas.

SWITCH is a conference on its third edition. Organized by a team of young volunteers, is focused on gathering bright minds to discuss and share ideas. WIRED UK recently named it one of the TOP 10 Tech Events in Europe. This year the conference takes place in Europe’s City of the Year – Lisbon – on the 15th and 16th of June.