15 tips for making the most of Web Summit Lisbon, in person or from afar
I have been returning to the event since 2017. Before another edition begins, I have gathered some recommendations for turning these days into good conversations, learning, and next steps.
My first Web Summit Lisbon was in 2017. Since then, I have attended almost every edition in Lisbon, every edition in Rio de Janeiro, and the first edition in Qatar.
It is interesting to return to an event like this at different points in life. The challenges change, as do the people you seek out and the questions you bring to conversations. A presentation that once felt distant can take on a different meaning when you are facing that problem in your own company.
I am very excited about the 2026 edition, taking place from November 9 to 12. This year, I will be hosting the PITCH competition and the Startup Showcase stage. I am also accompanying the iFood team as they organize a gathering with the foodtech ecosystem here in Lisbon. Web Summit schedule.
Before heading to the event, I stopped to put together 15 tips. Some are about choosing where to focus your attention. Others address what to do with a conversation once it ends.
If you are in Lisbon, I hope they help you make the most of the next few days. If you are following from afar, several can also guide your content choices and the connections you start building from where you are.
1. Choose a question to bring to the event
Which decision would you like to make better after this week?
It might be understanding how to sell in another market, discovering where to apply AI in your product, or evaluating a business hypothesis. A concrete question helps you choose talks, seek out people, and recognize when a conversation deserves more time.
2. Define three possible outcomes for the week
A short list helps give you direction. Finding potential partners, hearing from five people who experience your customer's problem, or leaving with a hypothesis to test are all possible outcomes.
Choose things that also depend on your own initiative. An investment or contract may take months. Starting a well-prepared conversation is within your reach now.
3. Build a schedule that leaves room for conversation
It is easy to fill every time slot with interesting sessions. The problem arises when a good conversation starts and you have to cut it short to cross the venue.
Choose a few important commitments and leave space between them. Allow for walking, queues, and the time it takes to find someone. Your schedule needs to fit your actual day.
4. Use the app to find people with context
Update your profile and explain simply what you do and what you are looking for. Research participants, companies, and sessions before walking around without direction.
When proposing a meeting, explain why the conversation makes sense. A shared problem or a specific experience creates a better starting point. The app lets you organize your schedule and request meetings with connections. Official app guide.
5. Prepare an introduction that leaves room for questions
Can you explain your work in a few sentences?
Say who you help, which problem you solve, and why you are at the event. Then let the other person join the conversation. If they show interest, go deeper. That first explanation needs to make sense to someone who has just met you.
6. Look beyond the best-known name on the program
A talk by someone you follow can be valuable. It is also worth seeking out people solving a problem similar to yours, even if you do not know their names yet.
Read session descriptions. Look for implementation experiences, strategy changes, difficulties, and decisions. Often, that is where you find something you can apply when you return.
7. Watch pitches as someone studying a business
I will be hosting PITCH and Startup Showcase, two spaces I enjoy following because of the direct contact with people building companies.
Observe how each founder explains the problem, presents evidence, and answers questions. Try to identify what became clear and what you would still need to understand before making a decision. This exercise helps improve how you present your own business.
8. Ask what happened in practice
When someone presents an interesting result, try to understand the path.
What did the team try first? How long did it take? What had to change? Which part still requires manual work? Questions like these help reveal the conditions that made the result possible and what it would take to reproduce it in another context.
9. Talk to people whose reality differs from yours
Meeting Brazilians and familiar faces is a good part of the experience. Also reserve time to hear from founders in other countries, professionals in different sectors, and companies at other stages.
A difficulty you consider inevitable may already have been solved differently in another market. And a solution that works here may encounter limits you were not aware of.
10. Look for gatherings around a shared problem
Coffee meetings, industry gatherings, and smaller conversations allow you to explore subjects that move quickly on stage.
The gathering I am accompanying with the iFood team and the foodtech ecosystem aims to bring together people facing related challenges. A common subject makes it easier to move beyond introductions and understand where collaboration is possible.
When choosing side events, check registration, access, and travel time.
11. Help a conversation continue
Perhaps you know someone who can answer the question you just heard. Perhaps you have useful material or can introduce two people with related interests.
Do it when there is a real connection. Before sharing someone's contact details, agree on the introduction. A network's usefulness shows up in these small acts of attention to what someone else is trying to build.
12. Record the reason for each connection
After a conversation, note the person's name, the subject, and the next step you agreed on.
“Send the integration example” is more useful than simply saving a contact. This record preserves context as the days start to blend together and helps you follow up in a way the other person recognizes.
13. If you are far away, build your own track
Choose two or three themes and use the schedule to identify who is discussing each one.
Follow Web Summit's official channel and the content made available. Also look for presentations, articles, and interviews by participants who catch your attention. Set aside time to watch and take notes, as you would for an in-person session. Official Web Summit channel.
14. Turn what you followed into a contribution
A good question or an analysis can start a conversation even from a distance.
If a presentation connects with something you are building, explain that connection when commenting or reaching out. Add an example, a specific question, or an experience. That context gives the conversation a reason to happen.
15. End each day by choosing what to do next
Before going to bed, review your notes. Which conversation needs a follow-up? Which idea deserves a test? What did you hear that changed your mind?
Choose a few next steps and set dates. When you return to your routine, you will have something more concrete than a list of links and contacts to organize.
What I want to take from this edition
Since 2017, my reasons for returning have changed. Today, being close to builders, hearing about problems in other markets, and helping people meet are important parts of the experience.
This week, the PITCH and Startup Showcase stages will bring me close to stories just beginning and founders trying to explain why their solutions deserve attention. I want to follow that with curiosity and bring back lessons that make sense for people building businesses in Brazil.
I will share content here and on NewHack's channels throughout the event. If you are in Lisbon, I hope we meet. If you are following from afar, I will try to bring some of this week's conversations and questions to you.