SRS Legal and Union Venture Builders join forces to boost startups

«"They expect to accelerate up to 30 projects per year, of which only six will move to the most advanced stage of the programme, which aims to create a plan to execute and implement the startup in the market.

SRS Legal, through Startup Lab, and Union Venture Builders, through Union Builder, decided to come together to create an investment and acceleration platform, with the aim of developing an integrated model that fosters entrepreneurship and supports startups in Portugal. They hope to accelerate up to 30 projects per year, with only six to move to the most advanced stage of the programme, which serves to create an execution plan and implement the startup in the market. Applications are already open and the first edition is scheduled to start in September 2023, knows the Work by ECO.

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SRS Legal, meanwhile, which for the past ten years has put a focus on working with startups and venture capital funds, is now looking to give back to the ecosystem for its own growth in the Portuguese market.

"We see these initiatives also as a policy of giving back to the ecosystem for the fact that, in these last ten years, SRS Legal has grown a lot in the Portuguese market, also due to the commitment and focus it has put on working with startups and venture capital funds. SRS Legal is now a leading law firm in legal services to startups and venture capital funds operating in Portugal, and this obliges us to be socially responsible and to generate returns in empowering the startup ecosystem that has given us so much in the way of recognition," explains Paulo Bandeira, Partner at SRS Legal and head of the Startup Lab by SRS.

We converge [with Union] in the analysis that the ecosystem lacks a verticalised vision of ideation and acceleration efforts. It is important to create, develop and train, but to forward the next step for companies, which is obtaining funding to scale their products. The joining of efforts and the sequential development of the SRS Legal and Union programmes allow this verticalisation and the startups that participate in it to reach investors with a greater state of maturity and, hopefully, in a shorter period of time.

On the other hand, he continues, "we converge [with Union] in the analysis that the ecosystem lacks a verticalised vision of the ideation and acceleration efforts. It is important to create, develop and empower, but to forward the next step for companies, which is obtaining funding to scale their products".

Although both companies already have established programmes in the Portuguese ecosystem, the expectation is that "the joining of efforts and the sequential development of the SRS Legal and Union programmes will allow that verticalisation, and the startups that participate in it will reach investors with a greater state of maturity and, hopefully, in a shorter period of time", predicts the responsible.»