Web Summit. "There was no shortage of people showing curiosity as they passed by our stand."

After the Web Summit, there's always the post-Web Summit phase. And Inês Neto, coordinator of the Innovation Office at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa), knows both phases well. “It's very important that, after the event, contacts established during the Web Summit are activated, because these contacts could lead to future partners, investors, or clients!” says the head of the Innovation Office. For the leaders of the PureTinker innovation project and the startups KeepIT and Delox, the future has already begun to take shape based on what they did during the Web Summit. These three initiatives started at Ciências ULisboa – and all now maintain the hope that a phone call or email will bring them new perspectives for the future.

“It was a fruitful Web Summit, despite being a very large event that focuses heavily on technology and computer science and not so much on these playful areas or those involving mechanical devices. And that's why we faced the challenge of finding, through the Web Summit app, more people who have similar interests or who want to learn about our project,” comments Daniel Valente Matias, a doctoral student conducting research at the Centre for Theoretical and Computational Physics.

From his experience at Web Summit, Daniel Valente Matias remembers a demonstration of curiosity from a brand representative who admitted that the PureTinker project prototypes could also be useful in the furniture industry. “There were plenty of people showing curiosity when they passed by our stand,” exclaims the young researcher.

The PureTinker project is being developed at Ciências ULisboa with the aim of creating a new class of playful devices that pull the head with different types of folds. The project was present at Web Summit, securing a space within the booth reserved by the ULisboa at the well-known technology and entrepreneurship event, but it wasn't the only project linked to Ciências ULisboa to be present. The startup KeepIT, which aims to store energy with an innovative system that uses compressed air, also had a presence at the booth reserved by ULisboa – and it was there that it unleashed its business potential, with the various contacts established.

“The participation of projects linked to Ciências ULisboa resulted from a challenge launched by the Rectorate to several Faculties of the University of Lisbon. Each of the selected projects was thus able to have a space for networking and to validate business ideas with peers, or simply to gather feedback from those who have been in the market longer,” describes Inês Neto, also highlighting another factor: “The projects may not be very advanced and still be presented at the Web Summit. It depends on each one's strategy.”

For the startup KeepIT, its presence at the University of Lisbon's exhibition space also represented an opportunity to learn about trends and styles: “Web Summit is a good place to showcase what we're doing. Being able to communicate and attract attention at this type of event is a good indicator,” emphasizes João Silva, Director of the Technology Area at KeepIT.

After securing initial support and investment, the spin-off, which began as a project developed by João Silva during his master's and doctoral studies at CIÊNCIAS ULisboa, maintains its expectations for the future, while managing operations from the Tec Labs incubator: “Compressed air systems have a reputation for being inefficient, but we managed to create a solution with 80% efficiency. Which is very good for a compressed air device! Our expectation is to contribute to the decarbonization of the electricity grid,” says João Silva.

In contrast, Delox had its own booth at the Web Summit. And the outcome was undoubtedly positive, recalls Luana Boavista, Product Manager of the startup specializing in the development of decontamination devices. “Surprisingly, this Web Summit was more fruitful than other editions. It seems there has been a change in mindset, and people seem more interested in projects involving equipment, not just software. We made many contacts that may prove useful in the future.” The post-Web Summit period is not over yet.