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Portuguese Entrepreneurs Develop their Business Models in the United States

4th edition of inRes – CMU Portugal Program’s Business Acceleration Initiative Portuguese Entrepreneurs Develop their Business Models in the United States
As part of the second phase of the 2017 edition of inRes – Entrepreneurship in Residence – a business acceleration initiative offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program (CMU Portugal) – three teams of Portuguese entrepreneurs just arrived at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to participate in an immersion period lasting seven weeks, until October 29. Caterpillar Math, Connect Robotics, and WESENSS are the teams participating in this fourth edition of the inRes program.

Funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, inRes is now giving the participating teams the opportunity to benefit from the amenities at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, for six weeks, at the Pittsburgh campus. Afterward, a week-long visit at CMU’s Silicon Valley campus is scheduled, for an intensive phase of business model validation, fine-tuning of technology solutions, and contacts with companies and investors.

For the WESENSS team, “the opportunity to personally contact different stakeholders, on a daily basis, and establish a close and trusting relationship with them is something that no other program provides.” Rui Rosas and Duarte Dias, team representatives, “expect to return from the inRes program with a better understanding of stakeholders’ expectations and needs, and with the definition of a sustainable business model and market strategy”. The team is working on developing a solution that monitors vital signs for first responders, such as firefighters, rescuers and police, allowing them to increase their operational efficiency and reduce their health risks.

Together with WESENSS, also Caterpillar Math – a digital games team that aims to develop player’s math skills – and Connect Robotics – a drone delivery service, which includes standalone air traffic management technology for drones – have already participated in the first phase of inRes which took place in Porto and Lisbon, between June and August, during which several workshops were conducted by a team of experienced mentors.

For João Claro, the national director of the CMU Portugal Program and coordinator of inRes, “with its unique and innovative format in Portugal, inRes allows teams to contact specialists, mentors, clients and investors, which is often vital for their success, and this is an advantage that all participants have acknowledged.”

September 2017