News: InRes

AddVolt – WeTruck
Strengthening Customer Research in the U.S.

AddVolt team has been accelerating in Pittsburgh and at CMU, in the scope of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program, offered by the CMU Portugal Program, funded by FCT. In 27 days of immersion in the U.S., Bruno Azevedo and Ricardo Soares, among other experiences, had the opportunity to visit and meet the leadership of numerous companies in different sectors related with their market.One of the most enthusiastic meetings they had was “with the CEO of a company that works in the transport field, and that knows very well the refrigerator systems,” they said adding that “the highlights and advices he gave us are very important, and furthermore he has shown his availability to connect us to transport companies here in Pittsburgh.” As next steps, the AddVolt team has been scheduling interviews with different companies to enhance and strengthen the customer research process.

CMU Portugal: How do you comment on the last two weeks?
Bruno Azevedo and Ricardo Soares [BA and RS]: During the last two weeks we have been through a lot regarding lectures in CMU, Duquesne University and Catalyst Connection. For sure, the Essentials of Innovation Management in Manufacturing course that started on the week of October 15 is one of the most important courses for the group and specifically for WeTruck. The topic of product development and manufacturing planning and management is a key point in our business. The workshops regarding communication and financial skills were very important for us as well, and the workshops are led normally with real examples given from experienced lecturers.

CMU Portugal: What were the main challenges and achievements? BA and RS: The main challenge is without any doubt reaching out contacts for meetings. A lot of work is being done in that part and since we are not an established company in the U.S., the job gets even harder. However, we could reach some important contacts here. We believe the main achievements in contacts were in first place the visit to a company of wind turbines, with a very interesting concept where our technology fits their needs. In second place, we visited two companies here in Pittsburgh, which design and manufacture an important component in our system. We have met with them and we believe that a contract supply can be born from this. In third place, we met a CEO of a company that works in the transport field who knows very well the refrigerator systems. The highlights and advice from him are very important to consider, furthermore he has shown his availability to connect us to transport companies here in Pittsburgh.

CMU Portugal: We know that you also have been participating in some cultural and social events in Pittsburgh, namely visits to the Steelers stadium, Andy Warhol Museum, among others. How do you comment on this cultural part of the agenda?
BA and RS: We have visit the Steelers Stadium during the Three River Venture Fair, and we know we will be able to watch a game at the Stadium, it will be for sure a cultural experience. The Andy Warhol Museum was very interesting as well, Andy has done a huge art job during his time, and we actually didn’t know he was from Pittsburgh. All of the cultural events are very interesting and important to absorb other kinds of knowledge and mainly to activate creativity. But combining our work here with the work we have still to do in Portugal, and integrate it with the rest of the members there is not easy and most of the times we have to spend more time working.

October 2014

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CMU Portugal Presents inRes To Entrepreneurs

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inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

CMU: A Fascinating Atmosphere and Entrepreneurship Mentality

Rui José and Miguel Corais, from the DISPLR team, have their office at Project Olympus in Pittsburgh since October 1, in the scope of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program . Since then, they have been participating in several conferences, workshops and strategic meetings. One of the moments they highlighted was the talk with Denis Meinert, CFO of Duolingo, and at a different level the presence at the workshop on Financial Modelling. This team also stressed the “fascinating” atmosphere and “entrepreneurship mentality” at CMU. “We are learning a lot, but we are also learning the value of what we have to share with others,” they stated. The expectations for the next weeks are extremely high.

CMU Portugal: What were the most important moments so far?
Rui José and Miguel Corais [RJ and MC]: We would highlight two moments this week. One was the talk with Denis Meinert, CFO of Duolingo, who discussed the importance of having a financial advisor in startups. He told us about his experience with the startup world and which financial information startups must present to investors. He had a lot of interesting stories to tell us about other startups he helped in the past. This talk gave us a whole new perspective of what being a CFO really means. Another interesting moment was the workshop about Financial Modelling where Phil Compton, CFO / CoFounder of the cyber security company Malcovery Security, talked about the basics of mapping financial projections and understanding how to incorporate assumptions, and discussed key terms such as burn rate, cash runway and EBITDA.

CMU Portugal: How do you describe your office at Project Olympus?
[RJ and MC]: Project Olympus is our base in Pittsburgh. This is an incubator with a nice work space that allows us to share experiences with other startups. It also gives credibility and grants access to a rich network of connections. Kit Needham, the person in charge of Project Olympus, has been particularly helpful in getting us in touch with relevant contacts.

CMU Portugal: In what sense do you feel that this immersion is important for you as professionals and for your project? [RJ and MC]: Above all, the CMU atmosphere is absolutely fascinating, with so much going on all the time. The entrepreneurship mentality at CMU, the contacts we are adding to our network, the impact that workshops and seminars with successfully startups will have on our knowledge will help us to be better entrepreneurs and to build new know-how to make our startups successful. We are learning a lot, but we are also learning the value of what we have to share with others.

CMU Portugal: What are the main expectations for the next weeks?
[RJ and MC]: The expectations are high. We expect to contact with companies from areas like digital marketing, games and digital signage that can help our project, and we also hope to learn more about entrepreneurship and techniques that can help our startup evolve.

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inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

inRes Program: An Outstanding Experience for Followprice

left to right: Gonçalo Mendes, Dave Mawhinney and Vasco Moreira

After 14 days in Pittsburg for the immersion period of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program, Vasco Moreira and Gonçalo Mendes, members of the Followprice team, are sure of one thing about the inRes Program: it is a “huge opportunity”. “After 14 days, we can say that every day was outstanding and none of them will be forgotten,” they state. The Followprice team also stresses the opportunity to improve their project, the atmosphere at Project Olympus, the mentoring and the teachers as valuable assets. They hope that this opportunity to interact with US consumers will help them to improve their product.

CMU Portugal: What were the most important moments on these two weeks, and why?
Vasco Moreira and Gonçalo Mendes [VM and GM]: The opportunity to be in Pittsburgh is great. Rogério Carapuça – CEO at Novabase – told us at the dinner sponsored by the CMU Portugal Program that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. We only need to know whether we are prepared or not because we are convinced that this is the opportunity. After 14 days, we can say that every day was outstanding and none of them will be forgotten. Of all these fantastic moments, we can highlight the “Launch CMU” and the “3 Rivers Fair Venture”.

CMU Portugal: How do you describe your office at Project Olympus?
[VM and GM]: Project Olympus is a very nice space, it is comfortable and has all the resources required for any startup to perform adequately. Furthermore, we have the opportunity to contact with other Pittsburgh and International startups.

CMU Portugal: In what sense do you feel that this immersion is important for you as professionals and for your project? [VM and GM]: As professionals this is a unique opportunity to learn in one of the best universities in the world. We also have the opportunity to improve our project and to take it to a higher level by being mentored by top professionals at CMU. The mentoring from top professionals allows us to improve and elevate our project.

CMU Portugal: What are the main expectations for the next weeks?

[VM and GM]: While we are here, we want to learn as much as we can in the workshops and classes taught by top level teachers. We also want to interact with US customers. This gives us a unique perspective of how our product may focus on the needs of our clients. We are also organizing a “focus group” at CMU to help us discover consumer needs and their perception of Followprice.

October, 2014

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CMU Portugal Presents inRes To Entrepreneurs

_______

inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

Xhockware – youbeep Team Stresses Promising Results Of the First Days of Immersion

The first days of the Xhockware – youbeep team in Pittsburgh, as part of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program , were so full of different and promising activities that the two members of the team are now looking forward to seeing how the next weeks will go. João Paulo Rodrigues, CEO, and David Sobrinho, CMO, stressed the LaunchCMU event as the most interesting moment so far, as it showcases entrepreneurship, cutting-edge research and innovations from students, alumni, faculty and staff at CMU, while bringing together the investment community, regional business leaders and CMU alumni. Last week, October 6 to 10, the Xhockware – youbeep team attended the Three Rivers Fair, and had the opportunity to pitch their project. Their biggest hope is to “establish relevant contacts within the greater Pittsburgh area,” they highlight.

CMU Portugal: What were the most important moments these weeks, and why? João Paulo Rodrigues and David Sobrinho [JPR and DS]: We have been in Pittsburgh for only four days, but we have had already the opportunity to carry out a lot of different activities. The activities we were involved in make us feel that we are already part of the community, with people acknowledging our presence. The LaunchCMU event provided us with interesting contacts. The results from this week are already so promising, that we are waiting with anticipation for what will happen over the next weeks.

CMU Portugal: How do you describe your office at Project Olympus?
JPR and DS: Project Olympus is a cozy space in a great location close to campus, and we believe that it will be an important asset in supporting our business development while in Pittsburgh.

CMU Portugal: In what sense do you feel that this immersion is important for you, as professionals, and for your project?
JPR and DS: We are expecting that the time we will be in Pittsburgh, with the support of the CMU Portugal Team, will provide us with meaningful contacts, to validate the business proposition, and hopefully able to generate actual business.

CMU Portugal: What are the main expectations for the next weeks?
JPR and DS: Over the next weeks our expectations are to establish relevant contacts within the greater Pittsburgh area.

October 2014

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_______

inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

 

After four days in Pittsburg for the immersion period of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program, the Addvolt – WeTruck team already has an award in its portfolio. They won the 60-second Elevator Pitch competition in a Techstars/Sprint Accelerator presentation session at Carnegie Mellon University, an event the team was not even scheduled to participate in. The motivation for the upcoming events is now greater than ever. Working in an entrepreneurial environment with startups at Project Olympus, Ricardo Soares and Bruno Azevedo hope to be “better-prepared professionals and entrepreneurs” by the end of this experience. “One of the most important aspects is the direct access to contacts of transport companies and companies in the energy sector that can help us to better understand the needs and problems of this market in order to develop the company’s strategy for the future,” they stress.

CMU Portugal: What were the most important moments this week, and why?
Ricardo Soares and Bruno Azevedo [RS and BA]: One of the most defining moments of this week was the Techstars Elevator Pitch competition. Gonçalo raised his hand and said that four Portuguese teams would be interested in jumping in and pitching as well. Then pitching our project without even knowing that we would be eligible to win, and afterwards actually winning, was without any doubt, a defining moment. LaunchCMU was another very interesting event since we had the opportunity to talk about the project with different people, receive important feedback, and make contacts. This represents a small demonstration of what we expect to be the next weeks here in the USA.

CMU Portugal: How do you describe your office at Project Olympus?RS and BA: Project Olympus is a space located very close to the CMU campus where we have conditions to work in an entrepreneurial environment shared with other startups which will allow us to share experiences and visions about our project while working there.

CMU Portugal: In what sense do you feel that this immersion is important for you, as professionals, and for your project?

RS and BA: The workshops and seminars we are going to participate in during the immersion, as well as the network we are accessing, will certainly add to our skills and knowledge, making us better-prepared professionals and entrepreneurs. One of the most important aspects is the direct access to contacts of transport companies and companies in the energy sector that can help us better understand the needs and problems of this market in order to develop the company’s strategy for the future.

CMU Portugal: What are the main expectations for the next weeks?

RS and BA: Considering the experiences we have been through this week and the contacts we have made to follow up during the next weeks, our expectations for the next weeks are very high and certainly we will have much more going on. We are expecting to access key contacts in transport companies that will allow us to better understand our costumers in order to deliver a better WeTruck product.

October 2014

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CMU Portugal Presents inRes To Entrepreneurs

_______

inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

 

The 2014 inRes teams began their immersion in Pittsburgh on October 1, 2014, and have since then their agenda filled with workshops, participations in multiple events, as well as meetings with several stakeholders of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program. Two of the biggest moments of the first week in Pittsburgh were the unexpected participation in an Elevator Pitch competition hosted at a presentation of the Techstars/Sprint Accelerator at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and the LaunchCMU Demo & Poster Session. The week was off to an excellent start with one of the portuguese projects, WeTruck, getting the first place in the 60-second Elevator Pitch Competition.

The week started with a tour of CMU’s campus, followed by a welcome luncheon with the core team of the inRes initiative and the Portuguese team members: Rui José and Miguel Corais (Displr), João Paulo Rodrigues and David Sobrinho (Xhockware – Youbeep), Gonçalo Mendes and Vasco Moreira (Followprice), and Ricardo Soares and Bruno Azevedo (addvolt – WeTruck). In the afternoon the teams attended Innovation Palooza, an event to celebrate and showcase innovation at Carnegie Mellon, featuring lightning talks from leading industry experts, demonstrations of emerging innovations from a variety of companies, CMU faculty and students, and an “Impact-a-Thon” where student teams spent a few days innovating solutions to a current social challenge.
João Claro, national director of the CMU Portugal Program, is highly impressed with the commitment and the enthusiasm that the inRes teams are showing at Carnegie Mellon. “The spirit and the willingness of the teams are impressive. For example, just a couple of days after arriving, all the teams jumped at an unexpected opportunity to participate in a pitch competition taking place at CMU.” During the competition, when a first participant failed to show up, one of the Portuguese entrepreneurs immediately spoke up and challenged the organizers to let four willing Portuguese teams in the audience use any available slots to pitch. The audacity and sense of opportunity were very much appreciated by the organizers, who in fact allowed all four teams to participate. At the end “we had a surprise: WeTruck was selected as the winner of the competition”, explained João Claro. This event was held on October 2, 2014.
The participation in LaunchCMU, a technology startup and research showcase, was a big success as well. Subra Suresh, president of CMU, recognized startups produced by the university’s award-winning faculty in the past year and expressed pride in the legacy of entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon. More than 1,000 companies trace their roots to CMU, creating jobs across the United States and internationally, with the highest concentrations in Pittsburgh, Silicon Valley and India. The participation of the Portuguese inRes teams in LaunchCMU’s Demo & Poster Session, with a space for roll-ups and flyers, provided them an opportunity to present their products and businesses. The event gathered CMU startups, venture capitalists, investment experts, faculty and alumni, and was held at the Jared L. Cohon University Center on October 3, 2014.
During their eight weeks in Pittsburgh, the inRes teams will be headquartered at Project Olympus, an initiative of the School of Computer Science at CMU that works collaboratively with all members of the university’s innovation ecosystem, to provide startup advice, micro-grants, incubator space, and connections for faculty and students across campus and with the wider regional, national and global business communities.
This week, as part of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program the four teams will have the opportunity to participate in the Three Rivers Venture fair, on October 7 and 8, 2014. Additionally, they will participate in several workshops on topics such as Financial Modeling, How to Shop for a Lawyer, Linkedin and Facebook for Business to Business Sales, among others.October, 2014

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InRes Teams Start Immersion Adventure in Pittsburgh

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CMU Portugal Presents inRes To Entrepreneurs

_______

inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

InRes Teams Start Immersion Adventure in Pittsburgh
On October 1, 2014, the four teams of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program will set foot on U.S. soil, namely in Pittsburgh, to begin the final stretch of their immersion adventure. For eight weeks, the Portuguese entrepreneurial teams – DISPLR, Followprice, Xhockware and WeTruck – will undergo an immersion period in which they will have the unique opportunity to access global networks of entrepreneurs, partners, potential clients and investors.

While in Pittsburgh, the inRes teams will settle their office at Project Olympus, an initiative of the School of Computer Science at CMU that works collaboratively with all members of the university’s innovation ecosystem. Olympus provides startup advice, micro-grants, incubator space, and connections for faculty and students across campus and with the wider regional, national and global business communities.

The agenda of the immersion will be focused on three streams of work: Orientation and Follow-up, where the teams will meet with and receive feedback from the core team both in Pittsburgh and in Portugal; Networking and Business Development, which will give the teams the opportunity to participate in networking events and establish contacts; and Training Program, in which the teams will work on key aspects of business development, entrepreneurship and high-tech startup management. The inRes teams will participate, right from the beginning, in several workshops organized by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC), and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA).

In week one, after a tour to the CMU Campus, the teams will get to meet faculty members, researchers, dual degree master and doctoral students, alumni and visiting faculty related to the CMU Portugal Program. As part of the networking and business development moments, the teams will be exposed, right from the beginning, to several entrepreneurial events. On October 3, the inRes teams will be at LaunchCMU – A Technology Startup and Research Showcase to participate in the demo and poster session, and in showcase talks. In week two, between October 7 and 8, the inRes teams will attend the 3 Rivers Venture Fair, an annual event to foster the commercialization of promising technology innovations through investment. One of the highlights of this event is the University Technology Schowcase, in which Xhockware will have the opportunity to pitch their startup.

The training program will focus on different aspects of entrepreneurship, such as managing startups, fundraising, financial models, the power of social networks, raising capital, innovation management, communication, business plans, intellectual property, agile product development or pitches. Other topics to be addressed during the intensive immersion include pitching to customers, customer development, executing and selling, budgeting, personal management, hiring and developing a team, building and leading a board, and establishing a corporation.

The training program is anchored on the CONNECTS series, organised every year by CIE to “enhance the experiential education of any individual interested in starting a company,” as stated on the website of the initiative. Some of the events the inRes teams will attend are organized in the scope of the NSF I-Corps Site at CMU, which builds upon Carnegie Mellon’s demonstrated strengths in combining technology and entrepreneurship, in broadening participation for underrepresented groups and in collaborating with regional stakeholders.

The immersion period will finish with the presence at the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week at Carnegie Mellon University, which celebrates the innovative culture at CMU.

The core team of experts involved in the program includes Tara Branstad and Reed McManigle, associate director and senior manager of CMU’s Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC), respectively; Dave Mawhinney, co-director of CMU’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and director of the i6 Agile Innovation System; Suzi Pegg, vice-president of global marketing at Pittsburgh Regional Alliance; as well as João Claro, national director of the CMU Portugal Program.

September 2014

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inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal. inRes is a new initiative promoted by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program, funded by the FCT (Portuguese funding agency) and supported by the Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas (CRUP), in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and UTEN Portugal.

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Portuguese inRes Teams in LaunchCMU
During the immersion period in Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, in the U.S., the inRes teams DISPLR, Followprice, Xhockware and WeTruck will have the unique opportunity to actively participate in LaunchCMU – A Technology Startup and Research Showcase, which exhibits entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University–cutting-edge research and innovations from students, alumni, faculty and staff–while bringing together the investment community, regional business leaders, and CMU alumni. The event will be held on October 3 rd , 2014.

The schedule generally includes featured presentations and pitches, an entrepreneurship Demo & Poster session, tours of CMU research centers, and a networking reception. More information available at: http://www.cmu.edu/cie/launch-cmu/.

September 2014

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inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program. inRes has a preparation period in Portugal, followed by a six to seven-week immersion in Pittsburgh, in the U.S..

inRes is coordinated by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and supported by the Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas (CRUP), in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, UTEN Portugal and INESC TEC.

DISPLR, Followprice, WeTruck and Xhockware are the four startups selected to be part of the 2014 edition of the inRes Program a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program. inRes will provide a training period in Portugal, followed by a six-week structured immersion period in Pittsburgh, in the U.S., anchored at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

The four entrepreneurial teams were chosen through a competitive selection process, which included a personal interview with each of the 14 teams that submitted an application. After a careful analysis, the evaluation panel selected four solid projects that aim to commercialize products and services in the area of ICT. “The four teams selected presented business ideas focused on technological solutions that can be competitive and add value to businesses and end-users,” stated João Claro, national director of the CMU Portugal Program.

João Claro is confident that “inRes will help strengthen and consolidate the management skills of entrepreneurial teams leading technology-based startups, by exposing them to highly competitive international environments.” According to the national director, this initiative is “a natural step for the CMU Portugal Program,” which has helped create 10 startups in seven years of partnership between Portuguese universities and research institutions, companies and CMU.

Projects and Teams

The four inRes teams and projects that are participating in the first edition of inRes 2014 are the following:

DISPLR (www.displr.com) is a spinoff from the Universidade do Minho, which introduces a new social media service, inspired by the concept of open display networks, that aims to reshape the role of digital public displays as a situated communications medium. The inRes team in composed by Rui José, researcher at the Universidade do Minho and co-founder of DISPLR, and Miguel Corais, chief business development officer at DISPLR.

Followprice (https://followprice.co) is a startup, supported by Portugal Telecom’s Bluestart program, which provides an advanced digital marketing tool for e-commerce stores. This tool allows clients to track their favorite products and price changes. Gonçalo Mendes and Vasco Moreira, both chief marketing officers, are the inRes team members.

WeTruck – Empower Trucks (www.wetruck.pt), currently pre-incubated at UPTEC, is developing an innovative system to recover energy in refrigeration trucks. The inRes team in composed by Bruno Azevedo Costa, financial manager, and José Ricardo Soares, project manager.

Xhockware (www.xhockware.com) is a startup incubated at UPTEC, whose main focus is to create innovative retail solutions. Its goal is to solve the most common complaints about grocery/supermarket shopping in a natural way, increasing the quality of the experience for consumers and saving money to retailers. The inRes team in composed by João Paulo Rodrigues, CEO, and David Sobrinho, chief marketing officer, of Xhockware.

The Teams Expectations more

The Workshops

inRes started with a kick-off workshop, held on June 12, 2014, at Instituto Superior Técnico of the Universidade de Lisboa (IST-UL), in Portugal. The day started with introductions and insights on the CMU Portugal Program and inRes, presented by João Claro. In the afternoon, the inRes teams pitched their value propositions to the group, and received feedback. The workshop finished with an introduction to the Business Model Canvas and the Customer Discovery process. Value propositions, pitching and market research were the main topics discussed on the second workshop, which took place on June 19 and 20, 2014, at INESC TEC, in Porto, Portugal. João Claro also covered topics in strategic and financial assessment, aiming at better preparing the teams for their immersion period in the U.S.. On June 19, the inRes teams had one-on-one meetings with João Claro and Sara Brandão, executive director of the CMU Portugal Program, and on Friday with Tara Branstad and Reed McManigle, from CMU’s Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC), through videoconference. During this two-day workshop, the teams gave improved pitches, incorporating earlier feedback. The workshop finished with a seminar on market research by Tara Branstad. The next workshops are scheduled for July 17 and 18, 2014, with the presence in Portugal of Dave Mawhinney, from CMU’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), and for September, with the presence of Suzi Pegg, from Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA). inRes teams will start their six-week immersion period on October, 2014.

July 2014

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inRes, short for “in Residence,” is a very early stage acceleration program for entrepreneurial teams working in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in Portugal, offered by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.