About this Event
Startup Summit Lisbon 2026 brings together founders, investors, innovators, operators, and startup teams for two high-energy summit days at Unicorn Factory Lisboa, with curated side events taking place across Lisbon throughout the week.
Built for people who want more than passive attendance, Startup Summit is designed to create real momentum through high-value content, meaningful networking, startup visibility, and investor access.
Expect talks, panels, firesides, workshops, networking sessions, startup booths, and community experiencesdesigned to help the right people meet, learn, and create opportunities.
Attendees can expect:
- Insights from founders, investors, and operators
- Networking designed to lead to real connections
- Access to ambitious startups, ecosystem players, and decision-makers
- A vibrant startup expo and showcase environment
- Side events and social experiences across Lisbon
Whether you are building a startup, investing in the ecosystem, growing your network, or looking for your next opportunity, Startup Summit Lisbon is where ambitious people come together to connect and move things forward.
Join us in Lisbon and be part of the energy, conversations, and opportunities shaping what comes next.
🚀 Why Attend Startup Summit Lisbon?
Because the right room can change everything.
Startup Summit Lisbon brings together founders, investors, operators, and innovators for two high-energy summit days designed to create real momentum.
This is where ambitious people come to meet the right people, hear the right ideas, and open the right doors.
If you want more than just another event badge, this is where to show up.
🤝 Networking that actually leads somewhere
Meet founders, investors, startup teams, and ecosystem players through experiences built for connection — from speed networking and app-based 1:1 meetings to roundtables, lunches, receptions, and social events across Lisbon.
💡 Insights from people building real companies
Hear from 150+ speakers across keynotes, panels, firesides, and focused sessions covering fundraising, AI, growth, product, hiring, scaling, regulation, and founder resilience.
📈 Opportunities you can act on
This is the kind of event where one conversation can lead to an investor intro, a future customer, a strategic partner, a new hire, or your next big move.
🌍 A high-density startup crowd
With 2,000+ attendees, 200+ startup booths, 3 stages, and people from 40+ countries, Startup Summit Lisbon brings together a serious concentration of ambitious people building, backing, and growing modern companies.
🌆 More than a conference
The experience does not stop when the sessions end. Expect side events and city experiences including the Founder Social, Closing Party, VIP Sunset Cruise, rooftop gatherings, pub crawl, morning runs, bike ride, and surf camp.
👀 Be in the room where things happen
If you want to stay close to what is next, meet the people shaping it, and be part of the energy instead of hearing about it afterwards, this is the room to be in.
Come for the insight. Come for the people. Come for the opportunities.
Leave with stronger connections, better perspective, and real momentum.
🔥 What to Expect
Startup Summit Lisbon 2026 is more than a startup conference. It is where founders, investors, operators, and innovators come together for high-value content, meaningful networking, and real opportunity.
🎤 Content that matters
Expect keynotes, panels, firesides, and focused sessions on fundraising, AI, product, growth, hiring, scaling, investor strategy, and founder resilience.
🤝 Networking built in
From speed networking and 1:1 meetings to roundtables, lunches, investor office hours, and social events, the summit is designed to help the right people connect.
🚀 Startup discovery
Explore 200+ startup booths, meet ambitious founders and teams, and discover the products and companies people will be talking about next.
🌍 An international crowd
Join 2,000+ attendees from 40+ countries across 3 stages at one of Lisbon’s most exciting startup events.
🌅 Beyond the venue
The experience continues across Lisbon with selected side events, social gatherings, and premium experiences that make networking more natural and memorable.
Come ready to learn, connect, and be in the room where things happen.
🎟️ Choose Your Pass
All passes include access to the summit talks. The difference is how much networking, visibility, and premium access you want around the event.
🚀 General Pass
For attendees who want to join the summit, hear the talks, explore the expo, and be part of the energy.
Includes:
- access to summit talks
- access to the expo and startup showcase
- access to public networking areas
🤝 Founder Pass
For founders who want stronger networking and more meaningful connections during the summit.
Includes:
- everything in General Pass
- founder-focused networking
- speed networking
- access to the Founder Social
🏢 Startup Booth Package
For startups that want visibility and a stronger presence at the event.
Includes:
- startup exhibition booth
- 2 summit passes
- pitching eligibility
- access to the Founder Social
- startup visibility in front of founders, investors, and partners
💼 Investor Pass
For angels, VCs, family offices, and capital ecosystem players who want better access to founders and startup deal flow.
Includes:
- access to summit talks
- investor-focused networking
- speed networking with founders
- access to the Founder Social
👑 VIP Experience Pass
For guests who want a more elevated and premium summit experience.
Includes:
- access to summit talks
- priority check-in
- reserved seating for selected moments
- premium networking access
- VIP Sunset Cruise
Startup Summit is an independently organised event. Any references to third-party names, brands, or organisations are for identification purposes only and do not imply affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement, or partnership.
September 16
🕑: 07:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Welcome Drinks- Speakers/Investors/VIP
Info: Informal welcome at Beato Innovation District. No stage, no programme — just a great place to meet your people before it all starts. Music, drinks, and good conversations. Runs until midnight.
September 17
🕑: 07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Morning Run - Self-organising · meets at venue entrance · free · back by 08:30
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Doors Open
Info: Registration · expo floor · food trucks open · check-in
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Welcome to Startup Summit 2026- Unicorn Stage
Info: Opening Keynote - Unicorn Stage
🕑: 10:20 AM - 10:45 AM
From Zero to Series A: What Nobody Tells You
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 10:20 AM - 10:50 AM
The LP Perspective: Where Capital is Moving in 2026
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 10:55 AM - 11:20 AM
The Fundraising Meta-Game: What VCs Actually Look For
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 10:55 AM
One Insight That Changed Everything
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 11:20 AM - 11:40 AM
One Decision That Changed My Trajectory
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
AI or Die: How Operators Are Rebuilding Their Stack
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 11:50 AM - 12:15 PM
Conviction Investing: Backing Founders Before Traction
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 12:30 PM - 12:50 PM
The Bet I Almost Didn't Make
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 12:30 PM - 12:55 PM
The Thing I Wish Someone Had Told Me at the Start
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Lunch Break
Info: Food trucks · Beer Hall · Praça Café · Mexican restaurant · Outdoor and indoor seating throughout
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:25 PM
How I Rebuilt My Entire Business With AI
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:25 PM
When Investors Say No: Turning Rejection Into a Roadmap
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 02:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Roundtables + Investor Office Hours
Info: Topic roundtables · 10 people max · Investor slots via app · Bar open · Runs all afternoon
🕑: 02:35 PM - 02:50 PM
Failure, Then Growth: The Session Nobody Wants to Give
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 02:35 PM - 03:10 PM
Investors Tell You Exactly What They Want
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 03:00 PM - 03:30 PM
GTM Without a Budget: Growth Tactics That Actually Work
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 03:20 PM - 03:50 PM
Pricing Power: How Startups Win on Value, Not Cost
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 03:40 PM - 03:55 PM
The Uncomfortable Truth About Product-Market Fit
Info: Unicorn Stage- Intimate Keynote
🕑: 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Live Podcast Recording
Info: Unicorn Stage, more details to be announced on our website www.startupsummit.io
🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Built in Europe, Backed Globally: What It Really Takes
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 04:40 PM - 05:10 PM
The Future of Work: Building Teams That Don't Need an Office
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 05:20 PM - 05:45 PM
Capital Allocation in Uncertainty: A Founder-Investor Conversation
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 06:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Founder Social
Info: Wristbanded entry · two arrival waves · bar · ends 22:00
Founder Pass
Startup Booth
Investor Pass
🕑: 06:30 PM - 08:00 PM
VIP Sunset Cruise
Info: VIP SUNSET CRUISE · TAGUS RIVER / VIP tickets only
🕑: 08:00 PM - 12:00 AM
SPEAKERS DINNER · WATERFRONT RESTAURANT
Info: Speakers Dinner
Invite only · CEO-hosted
🕑: 08:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Lisbon Pub Crawl
Info: Departs venue · 3–4 bars · ends around midnight
September 18
🕑: 07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Morning Run- Self-organising · free · all welcome
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Doors Open
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:05 AM
Portuguese Unicorn Conversation
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 09:55 AM - 10:25 AM
Fund II Lessons: What We Got Wrong and Why It Didn't Matter
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 10:10 AM - 10:35 AM
What I Built With AI: A Founder's Honest Account
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 10:35 AM - 11:00 AM
The Operator's Playbook: Scaling Without Losing the Culture
Info: Impact
🕑: 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
The Pivot That Saved the Company
Info: Unicorn Stage - Intimate Keynote
🕑: 11:10 AM - 11:35 AM
Hardware Meets Software: The New Frontier of Deep Tech
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 11:10 AM - 11:30 AM
The Moment I Almost Quit — And Why I Didn't
Info: Impact Stage - Intimate Keynote
🕑: 11:40 AM - 12:05 PM
Secondaries & Liquidity: The Hidden Part of the Market
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM
Regulation as a Moat: How Smart Founders Win in Tight Markets
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 12:15 PM - 12:35 PM
From Side Project to Series A: The Accidental Founder
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Lunch
Info: Lunch
🕑: 12:30 PM - 12:50 PM
Building Deep Tech in Europe: Patient Capital Wins
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 12:40 PM - 12:55 PM
The Exit Nobody Talks About: Inside an Acqui-hire
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:25 PM
What It Takes to Build a Category-Defining Company
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:30 PM
How I Replaced Three Tools With One AI Agent
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 02:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Roundtables + Investor Office Hours
Info: Topic roundtables · 10 people max · Investor slots via app · Bar open · Runs all afternoon
🕑: 02:35 PM - 02:55 PM
Selling Your Company: What the Deal Room Really Looks Like
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 02:40 PM - 03:05 PM
The CFO Conversation: When and How to Hire Your Finance Lead
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Hiring Your First 10: Culture Before Process
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 03:15 PM - 03:40 PM
Backing Deep Tech: Patience, Capital and Conviction
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 03:45 PM - 04:16 PM
Backing Deep Tech: Patience, Capital and Conviction
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 03:50 PM - 04:15 PM
Founder Mental Health: The Conversation the Industry Keeps Avoiding
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 04:25 PM - 04:50 PM
What Comes After Product-Market Fit
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 04:25 PM - 04:55 PM
The Global Startup: Building From Day One for International Markets
Info: Impact Stage
🕑: 05:00 PM - 05:25 PM
What I'd Tell My Day One Self: Founders in Conversation
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 05:05 PM - 05:45 PM
The Mission Continues- Closing Ceremony
Info: Unicorn Stage
🕑: 06:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Closing Party
Info: Summit closing night · bar · ends ~22:00
Founder Pass
Startup Booth
Investor Pass
VIP Pass
🕑: 08:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Lisbon Pub Crawl
Info: Departs venue · 3–4 bars · ends around midnight
September 19
🕑: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
BIKE RIDE TO BELÉM
Info: Explore Lisbon on two wheels. Follow the Tagus riverside path all the way to Belém, stop for coffee and a pastel de nata, and ride back through one of Europe's most beautiful waterfronts.~8km route · Returns by midday · Route map provided
~€10–15
Bike hire included · Available to all ticket holders · Book post-purchase
Booking opens closer to the event
🕑: 10:00 AM - 04:00 PM
SURF CAMP
Info: Spend Saturday morning in the Atlantic at Costa da Caparica, one of Lisbon's best surf beaches. Professional instruction, boards, and wetsuits provided. No experience needed. ~30 min from Lisbon · Returns early afternoon · All levels welcome
~€45
Includes instruction, board and wetsuit · Available to all ticket holders · Book post-purchase
Booking opens closer to the even
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Unicorn Factory Lisboa, 143 Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, Lisboa, Portugal
EUR 49.00 to EUR 249.00
