15 tips to make the most of Web Summit Lisbon, up close or from afar

Originally published on NewHack, on November 8, 2026.

I've been returning to the event since 2017. Before starting another edition, I put together a few recommendations to turn these days into good conversations, learning, and next steps.

My first time at Web Summit Lisbon was in 2017. Since then, I've attended almost every edition in Lisbon, every edition in Rio de Janeiro, and the first edition in Qatar.

It's interesting to return to an event like this at different moments in life. The challenges change, as do the people you look for and the questions you bring to conversations. A presentation that once seemed distant can take on a different meaning when you're living that problem in your own company.

I'm very excited about the 2026 edition, happening November 9 to 12. This year, I'll be hosting the PITCH competition and the Startup Showcase stage. I'm also joining the iFood (Brazil's dominant food delivery platform) team in organizing a meetup with the foodtech ecosystem here in Lisbon. Web Summit schedule.

Before heading to the event, I paused to put together 15 tips. Some are about choosing more carefully where to put your attention. Others deal with what to do with a conversation after it ends.

If you're in Lisbon, I hope they help you make the most of the coming days. If you're following from afar, several of them can also guide your choice of content and the connections you start building from here.

1. Choose a question to bring to the event

What decision would you like to make better after this week?

It could be understanding how to sell in another market, figuring out where to apply AI in your product, or testing a business hypothesis. A concrete question helps you choose talks, look for people, and recognize when a conversation deserves more time.

2. Define three possible outcomes for the week

A short list helps give direction. Finding potential partners, hearing from five people who live 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 can take months. Starting a well-prepared conversation is within your reach right now.

3. Build a schedule that allows for conversation

It's easy to fill every time slot with interesting sessions. The problem comes when a good conversation starts and you have to cut it short to cross the event.

Choose a few important commitments and leave room between them. Consider travel time, lines, 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're looking for. Search for attendees, companies, and sessions before wandering around without direction.

When proposing a meeting, say why that 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 opens space for questions

Can you explain your work in a few sentences?

Say who you help, what problem you solve, and why you're at the event. Then let the other person join the conversation. If they show interest, you go deeper. This first explanation needs to be understandable to someone who just met you.

6. Go beyond the best-known name on the schedule

A talk from someone you follow can be very valuable. It's also worth seeking out people solving a problem similar to yours, even if you don't yet know their name.

Read the session descriptions. Look for implementation experiences, strategy changes, difficulties, and decisions. That's often where you'll find something you can apply when you get back.

7. Watch the pitches like someone studying a business

I'll be hosting PITCH and the Startup Showcase, two spaces I enjoy following for the direct contact with the people building.

Watch how each founder explains the problem, presents evidence, and answers questions. Try to identify what was clear and what you'd still need to understand to make a decision. This exercise helps improve how you present your own business.

8. Ask what actually happened in practice

When someone presents an interesting result, try to understand the path that got them there.

What did the team try first? How long did it take? What needed to change? Which part still requires manual work? Questions like these help you recognize the conditions that made that result possible, and what it would take to reproduce it in another context.

9. Talk to people living a different reality from yours

Meeting fellow Brazilians and familiar faces is a good part of the experience. Also set aside time to hear from founders from other countries, professionals from different sectors, and companies at other stages.

A difficulty you consider inevitable may already have been solved in a different way in another market. And a solution that works here may run into limits you didn't know about yet.

10. Look for meetups built around a shared problem

Coffee chats, sector meetups, and smaller conversations let you dig deeper into topics that go by quickly on stage.

The meetup I'm joining with the iFood team and the foodtech ecosystem has exactly this purpose: bringing together people who face related challenges. When there's a shared subject, it's easier to move past the initial introduction and understand where there's room for collaboration.

When choosing side events, check registration, access, and travel time.

11. Help a conversation keep going

Maybe you know someone who can answer the question you just heard. Maybe you have useful material, or you can introduce two people with similar interests.

Do this when there's a real connection. Before sharing someone's contact, agree on the introduction first. A network's usefulness shows up in these small gestures of attention to what the other person is trying to build.

12. Record the reason behind each connection

After a conversation, write down the name, the subject, and the agreed next step.

"Send the integration example" is more useful than just saving a contact. This record preserves context when the days start to blur together, and it helps you follow up in a way the other person recognizes.

13. If you're far away, build your own track

Choose two or three topics and use the schedule to identify who's discussing each one.

Follow Web Summit's official channel and the content that gets released. Also look for talks, articles, and interviews from attendees who catch your attention. Set aside a time to watch and take notes, just as you would for an in-person session. Web Summit's official 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 talk connects with something you're building, explain that connection when commenting or reaching out to the person. 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 sleep, review your notes. Which conversation needs a follow-up? Which idea deserves a test? What did you hear that changed your opinion?

Choose a few next steps and set a date for them. When you get back to your routine, you'll have something more concrete than a list of links and contacts to sort through.

What I want to take away from this edition

Since 2017, my reasons for coming back have kept changing. Today, being close to the people building, hearing about problems from other markets, and helping people find each other are important parts of this experience.

This week, the PITCH and Startup Showcase stages will put me close to stories that are just starting and to founders trying to explain why their solutions deserve attention. I want to follow this with curiosity and bring back lessons that make sense for entrepreneurs in Brazil.

I'll be sharing content here and on NewHack's channels throughout the event. If you're in Lisbon, I hope we get to meet. If you're following from afar, I'll try to bring a bit of this week's conversations and questions to you.