2nd Entrepreneur Week - Marinha Grande, May 2nd to 6th 2006

Following the mission of promoting the innovation and Entrepreneurship the Business Incubator OPEN, in cooperation with Centimfe, Rede IDT and Marinha Grande and Porto de Mós Town Halls organized the second edition of the Entrepreneurship Week which took place between 2nd and 6th of May in Marinha Grande and Porto de Mós.

With this WEEK, it was intended to contribute for the promotion and spreading of the theme - Entrepreneurship - being covered various target groups, from the youngsters to young entrepreneurs, entreprisers and investors, having structuralized the event program in a way that each day was dedicated to a specific thematic:

Thus, under the motto “I am Young and Entrepreneur” and in the belief that the entrepreneurial spirit is taught and can be stimulated since very early age, took place the awareness workshop about entrepreneurship: “Young Entrepreneurship - Ideas in Movement”, with activities eminently practical, capable to induce the creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit of the young, pupils of some Intermediate and Professional schools of the Region. To the young the challenge was launched to develop ideas of an innovative product, environmental friendly and with market potential. The presented ideas have demonstrated the creative capacity of the young participants and the activity constituted a pleasant moment for everyone.

To the Opening Supper of the event was invited the entrepreneur Pedro Pissara, Executive President of the BIOTECNOL, that pass on to the guests present, his vision of what is being entrepreneur in Portugal, the difficulties and the chances, telling his successful enterprising experience in a demanding and competitive sector as the Biotechnology and raising the importance of the new projects to be thought to a global scale.   The speaker still emphasized his conviction that the competitiveness of the Portuguese companies must have to pass necessarily for a strong pledge in the innovation, the knowledge and the perseverance of the Entrepreneurs.

With one very special meaning for OPEN, in the start of day 4, the Cartoon Designer Miguel (Pedro Miguel Veloso) make the signature and public presentation of the Panel “O Fazer”. This cartoon is a reproduction in great format of one, that by happy and significant coincidence, was published in the Magazine “A Publica” of the journal PUBLICO, in the Sunday that preceded the official inauguration of the Building OPEN.  

Not only for the happy coincidence, but mainly for the important message that contains, cartoon was adoptee for OPEN as emblematic, translating the spirit that must guide the true entrepreneurs, deserving, as such, particular prominence in the main entrance of the building of the Incubator.

Under the motto “Ideas I have… and Capital? And Investors? ”, the following day had for object to present new enterprising projects, as in technological areas as in traditional sectors, looking for to promote the contact between entrepreneurs and investors.

Accordingly, the “Entrepreneurs Project’s exhibition”  had place at OPEN, with 15 projects of diverse Universities of the country, ADI, IAPMEI-ICEP and other incubators, beyond the projects in pre-incubation at OPEN. The promoters had the chance to display its projects, products and prototypes, and in an informal way, discuss them with potential financial partners and business angels.  

Up today we assist to a bigger involvement and increasing interest, of Venture Capital and Business Angels to the investment in growing companies. The promoters of these enterprise projects disclose many times gaps on the preparation level of the respective Business Plans and in the form as they approach the potential investors. In a way to increase the effectiveness of the approach by the promoters to Venture Capital the Workshop of this day was “How to sell a Project to a VC”, by the Portuguese VC PME Investmentos, that reveals  extremely stimulus and enlightening for the present entrepreneurs.

Another source of the Entrepreneurship in prominence was Micro- Entrepreneurship, throughout the presentation in a workshop of some cases of innovative enterprising projects in traditional sectors as the agro-alimentary products, wines, and cheeses. It brings the opportunity to argue the Entrepreneurship in these traditional areas, revisiting them according to modern logics, where design, the quality and new concepts of promotion and distribution are factors of leverage of new chances of company’s establishment.   

The idea was clear that the Entrepreneurship and the innovation are not exclusive of the technological sectors and Portugal and our Region must use the potential and the chances they have in its natural products and its artefacts. This workshop has the active participation and the support of the ICEP.

In a second approach to the importance of the dynamics of a regional business angels club, was promoted a Dinner where was argued the role of business angels while “godfathers” of new and high potential business projects, promoted by entrepreneurs with no management experience and weak financial resources. 

The Dinner had the presence of Mr Trigo da Roza, CEO of the recent created Portuguese Business Angels,Association, that emphasized, beyond the financial support to the emergent projects in a less tempting phase for the VC, the role of the Business Angels in the “cherishing” of the new promoters, based in its experience and accumulated knowledge.   This occasion intended to touch the local enterprise community for a more active role in the incentive and stimulation to the new entrepreneurs.

In the event’s program, still as a chance to debate the questions related with the Entrepreneurship from the Universities and other Knowledge Centres, in a Meeting with a panel of specialists in these thematic and where the interventions had allowed to fit the Entrepreneurship, the innovation and the investigation made for the pupils and labour groups, in the direction to improve its results through the creation of innovative companies .

This week ended with the “Young Entrepreneur Day”, where pupils of several schools of the Region had the chance to put in practice its enterprising capacity, in a fair carried through in the Municipal Garden of Porto de Mós. This initiative had the participation of a group of animation students from EPAMG and the performance of the Youthful Orchestras of Marinha Grande and Amieirinha, within the logic of cooperation and development of opportunities also in the area of the cultural activities, which OPEN wants to develop in the next future.

Summing up the result of this week can be considered highly positive. It was indeed a week where the Entrepreneurship was in the lead, being certain that the second edition strengthened the effect of the previous edition and will come to be repeated in OPEN’s future initiatives, in a process predicted to be growing in the next times.  

The Entrepreneurship Week will continue to become fulfilled itself annually between the end of April and the start of May.