Since 4 September I have been working remotely seeing first-hand what makes each city unique and how the key stakeholders of a startup community function there. The inspiration for this through the power of social media. My regular posts on LinkedIn garnered hundreds of shares and comments and led to new opportunities, such as the invitation to meet the Head of Science and Innovation at Split University (my first month’s destination city). In this article, I report back on my months lived in Split, in Croatia, Valencia in Spain, and Lisbon in Portugal and my personal experiences of startups and innovation in those cities.

Split, Croatia

Population size: 161,312

Number of universities: 1

Being a fairly small European city, there is not as much innovation and startup activity as Valencia and Lisbon. However, speaking to the Head of Science and Innovation, Nikola Balic, and the Head of Technology Transfer, Ivana Vuka at the University of Split - the city’s only university - there is clear motivation to increase this activity. 

Whilst Split is lacking the support that other major European cities enjoy, the desire to encourage entrepreneurship is palpable. Surprisingly, the main barriers to this are a general low belief in the startup ecosystem and a lack of accessible funding. Often, young people are encouraged to find employment rather than setting up their own business, which among many is still considered an unreliable source of income and too risky to execute. 

Funding from the local government is limited, meaning many startups are reliant on EU funding and grants, which are competitive. However, with the help in particular from the University, numbers of incubators are increasingly providing more assistance and access to those all-important connections and funding opportunities. The University set up the SPINIT incubator for the incubation of startups in early phase, and supports the Student Business incubator at the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, and the PICS pre-incubation space at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture alongside Split Dalamatia County.

However, despite lower levels of funding compared to other cities, the innovation and technology that is being developed in Split is fascinating. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the creators at a “fireside chat” that Nikola and Ivana hosted with me. Naturally, given my background, the theme was about IP, and the level of engagement alone demonstrated that a bubbling startup ecosystem is solidifying. I had a particularly insightful follow-up meeting with Dot Your Spot’s co-founder, Sime Jozipovic, who is looking to revolutionise the hospitality sector with the various arms of tech innovation they are creating.

Valencia, Spain

Population size: 835,000

Number of universities: 8

Valencia is Spain’s third largest city behind Madrid and Barcelona and is already a hive of startup activity. The region of Valencia is home to around 900 startups, growing by an estimated 100 every year.

I lived there in October, so was lucky enough to attend Valencia’s fifth annual Valencia Digital Summit. An event with more than 12,000 attendees, four stages with talks across two days, and stands and opportunities for startups to pitch and showcase their companies, the event was a true demonstration of the importance and value of Valencia’s startup ecosystem. According to one of the talks, only 25% of companies in Valencia have more than 10 employees, which further highlights Valencia’s thriving startup environment.

Support is ample for startups that choose to base themselves in Valencia. With more than 13 incubators, 20 accelerators and over 100 tech events a year, there is plenty of skill-focused support and opportunities to grow a professional network. There are also good funding opportunities available with many VCs and investors interested in Spanish-based startups. It was clear from the talks at the Valencia Digital Summit that Spain is highly regarded by investors as a good place to make their investments, with many investors speaking of Spain’s good spirit, strong universities (Valencia itself has 8), and a very international mindset from the off – particularly the links it typically shares with Latin America. Because of this, Spain is attracting a lot of international talent, diversifying the skill set for startups.

In terms of where we are seeing the investments made, according to one talk, 9.5% of companies are classified as technology with most investment going into these such companies. 

So all-in-all, with the ample support along with the pleasant climate and low cost of living more generally, Valencia is a great place to base a startup.

Lisbon, Portugal

Population size: 2,972,000

Number of universities: 31

As the capital city of Portugal, I am sure it is no surprise that the startup ecosystem is booming in Lisbon. Every year, the city hosts one of tech’s leading events, Web Summit, which this year had over 71,000 attendees. While tech companies are still big recipients of funding in Lisbon, healthcare companies also form a noticeable part of the ecosystem here. As is also prominent in the UK right now, digital therapeutics has taken off in Lisbon (and Portugal generally). 

During my visit, I met with David Magboulé, founder of Lab to Market, who has a history of working in big healthcare companies, but now focuses on the SME scene, utilising his corporate experience to help emerging talent. He invited me to a monthly event run by “Start-up Portugal”, just one of many organisations and events that are prominent in Lisbon nurturing the startup ecosystem. We discussed some of the challenges healthcare companies face in Lisbon, one of which being the difficulties of scaling up lab-based research to a commercial product – the inspiration behind David’s decision to found Lab to Market. Using his past experiences in large healthcare companies, he helps startups to overcome said difficulties. 

Lisbon has many accelerators and incubators supporting startups on their journey.  There are also many and various events ongoing – big ones such as Web Summit, as well as regular small “hang outs” within the community which offer a more intimate setting for like-minded people. 

Similar to Spain, there is a lot of interest from investors and VCs in Portuguese companies providing funding opportunities – in 2021 alone, €1 billion was invested into Portuguese startups. Additionally, the Portuguese and Lisbon governments have invested a lot of energy and resources into developing Portugal’s industry. For example, the Non-Habitual Tax Residency is an initiative where people working in key industries – such as tech – are taxed at a flat 20 percent, and not taxed at all on income from outside Portugal.

Overall, it has been a great experience expanding my horizons and seeing first-hand other startup ecosystems in Europe, while building my professional network across seas.