Regulation

As a way to honour the work and legacy of João Vasconcelos, the first Executive Director of Startup Lisboa, Unicorn Factory Lisboa has decided to establish a merit award in his name. This award aims to annually recognize an entrepreneur or a team of entrepreneurs from a project based and/or with significant operations in Portugal. The award seeks to distinguish individuals or teams who stand out for their leadership abilities and the performance/progress of their project throughout the year.

This year marks the sixth edition of the João Vasconcelos Award – Entrepreneur of the Year, an initiative aligned with the Entrepreneurship Awards by Unicorn Factory Lisboa.

Article 1 – Scope

The João Vasconcelos Award aims to reward entrepreneurs of a project developed in Portugal who stand out for their performance in the phase of creation and/or expansion of their businesses.

Article 2 – Objetives

It also has the following objectives:

• Foster and promote an entrepreneurial and initiative-driven spirit;
• Foster and promote innovation;
• Value entrepreneurs according to the business potential and leadership profile.

Article 3 – Recipients

All entrepreneurs or teams of entrepreneurs who have their project based and/or with significant operations in Portugal and are founders of a startup, having notably excelled in the process of creating or expanding these ventures, are eligible to apply or be nominated for the João Vasconcelos Award.

A startup is defined as an innovative company that incorporates technology, with a highly scalable business model and has been formally established for less than 10 years.

Article 4 – Application process

1. Applications and nominations must be submitted through dedicated forms available on the Unicorn Factory Lisboa website:  https://unicornfactorylisboa.com/for-founders/entrepreneurship-wards/  ;
2. The nomination period runs from August 5th to September 5th, 2024 (including, until 23:59h), and the application period is from August 5th to September 8th, 2024 (including, until 23:59h);
3. The organization reserves the right to unilaterally extend the nomination and/or application submission period, with notice posted on the Unicorn Factory Lisboa website;
4. All nominees will be contacted, and they will be asked to confirm their intention to be candidates for the João Vasconcelos Award;
5. If the nominees wish to proceed with their applications, they must complete the application form available on the Unicorn Factory Lisboa’s website: https://unicornfactorylisboa.com/for-founders/entrepreneurship-wards/ , by the application deadline;
6. Each entrepreneur or team of entrepreneurs can only be the subject of one application;
7. The entrepreneur or team of entrepreneurs must be the founder of the project being presented or nominated within the scope of this initiative.

Article 5 – Avaliação de candidatura

1. Applications will undergo a preliminary review to verify the formal eligibility conditions of the entrepreneurs.
2. Eligible applications will undergo one or more phases of pre-selection, with the aim of selecting the entrepreneurs who will advance to the final phase;
3. This assessment is based on the information provided in the application form and will be conducted by Unicorn Factory Lisboa representatives and/or those appointed by it;
4. Applications that do not meet the conditions outlined in Article 3, or that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation, will be notified by email that they will not proceed for assessment;
5. Following these preliminary stages, the finalist entrepreneurs will undergo a public jury session aimed at selecting the winner and presenting the award;
6. This jury session will consist of a 5-minute presentation that should be supported by digital or other materials that the entrepreneurs deem relevant. This session will consider the following criteria:

1. Vision and strategy in the development and expansion of the startup
2. Individual contribution to the national entrepreneurial ecosystem
3. Leadership and team management
4. Growth achieved by the startup in the last year (September 2023 to August 2024)
5. International penetration/expansion plan of the startup
6. The startup having won any distinction/award in the last year
7. Scalability of the business model

1. The jury mentioned in the previous point will be announced in due course and will be composed of members from Unicorn Factory Lisboa and from the national entrepreneurial community;
2. This session will take place on October 1st as part of the Entrepreneurship Awards;
3. Unicorn Factory Lisboa will make every effort to ensure the selection of a winner; however, it reserves the right not to award the prize.

Article 6 – Best Pitch

In parallel with the João Vasconcelos Award, a prize will also be awarded for the Best Pitch, aimed at recognizing the merit of the presentation given by the Candidates as specified in Article 5(f) of this Regulation. The actual award and its amount will be determined by deliberation of Unicorn Factory Lisboa and the jury members;

Article 7 – Confidentiality

Unicorn Factory Lisboa and the jury members undertake to maintain confidentiality regarding the content of all information they have access to under this initiative, including intellectual and industrial property, even after its conclusion, except to the extent strictly necessary for the execution of this initiative and for the purposes of disclosure and promotion of the program.

Article 8 – Data protection

The protection of the privacy and personal data of the applicants is of great importance to Unicorn Factory Lisboa. By registering for this initiative through the completion of the application form, you are accepting the Privacy Policy of Unicorn Factory Lisboa, which can be reviewed on our website at www.startuplisboa.com/privacypolicy.

Article 9 – Final provisions

1. Due to unpredictable reasons, Unicorn Factory Lisboa reserves the right to modify this Regulation, informing the participating entrepreneurs of such changes;
2. Matters not covered by or contemplated in this Regulation will be subject to decision by the Management of Unicorn Factory Lisboa;
3. Participation in this initiative implies the explicit acceptance, by the candidates, of the terms and conditions outlined in this regulation.