Startup Lisboa is an incubator based in downtown Lisbon that offers work & residence spaces to welcome startups from all over the world. Founded in 2012, by the Lisbon Municipality, Montepio Bank and IAPMEI – Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, it’s a private non-profit association that provides physical and virtual incubation. Its support structure offers mentoring, link to strategic partners, access to investment/funding, networking activities and a community based on knowledge and sharing.

In this regard, I was invited to participate in Startup Lisboa’s Rocket Program #3: a 12-week experience intended to accelerate the founders’ knowledge of the most relevant topics for a startup, ranging from leadership, growth to fundraising. And to get an investor’s money, one needs to sell not only a business idea, but a dream! A vision! And that’s where storytelling comes into play.

Therefore, I was invited to give a masterclass on “The Power of a Story” to Startup Lisboa’s community of 35 cohorts. The goals were to share why stories work; why stories should be a key element of startups’ branding strategy; and how stories help them communicate their product or service effectively in a business pitch.