Our Insights

Are you looking for a coworking space in Lisbon? If so, I’ve created this list of the best choices based on price, transport links, networking benefits and reviews. Lisbon is a great to place to build your startup. Great food, developed infrastructure, investment in sustainable transport options, rich culture and nearly 2,800 hours of sun […]

Looking for investors in Fintech? Pick up our list of 150 Fintech investors we've met, with all the meaningful information you need to go to battle.

There are countless articles on the web that talk about what investors look for when funding your startup. Normally they all focus on similar things: A stunning pitch deck Solid financials Market opportunity A founding team with the “X-Factor” Execution capability All of which are, undeniably, important. But even if you think you have everything figured […]

It’s a decision that can make or break a startup: Do you invest in in-house resources to create your product or do you outsource software development to a third-party company?  On the one hand, as a startup, shouldn’t product development be a core competency? On the other, surely it’s better to go to market as […]

Money, or lack of it, can make or break a startup. Period. As a startup founder raising capital is about to become an important part of your efforts. A survey by the Kauffman Firm estimates that it takes, on average, a minimum of $80K to get your startup through its first year alone. Moreover, depending on the industry, it may […]

As a founder, you are a specialist in your industry. You’ve had your “lightbulb moment”, the idea that will disrupt your industry with the use of technology. You know all about the Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Maybe you’ve already decided you are going to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). But, as marketing guru Neil Patel says […]

It’s been roughly two months now since the Coronavirus turned our lives upside down. From practising social distancing and getting used to a life confined within four walls. To constant washing of hands and wearing masks and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) just to buy a loaf of bread. All the while watching strangers, friends […]

As I write these words we’ve just passed one million known infected with COVID-19 and the economies of the “advanced” world are certainly going into a recession (two quarters of negative growth). In a globalised world physically connected by just over 100,000 flights per day, contagious disease populates the world in a matter of weeks. […]

How does Series Funding work? What’s an Angel Investor? How are they different from Venture Capitalist firms? Which stage of series funding is best for my company right now? Getting funding for your startup can be a daunting task with lots of questions to answer and options to consider. From ideation to scaling, your company will […]

Another great day for Altar.io. We have continued our streak of recognition by Clutch as we are named a top development partner in their 2020 awards. We’re very proud to have companies like Clutch and Goodfirms recognize our hard work, just as we are proud to regularly feature in articles that list the top development […]

As an entrepreneur, you are spoiled for choice when it comes to outsourcing software development. I don’t know if you’re aware but there are at least 15k listed software development companies all over the world. This means you not only have to decide whether you should outsource or not, but you must also find a way to […]

If you are running a startup or a tech business, outsourcing the execution of your product is a critical business decision. You can’t fail and there are many factors to consider to ensure you choose the right agency to outsource software development. This is part of the inherent risk whenever outsourcing anything that is not […]

The future of marketplaces is an unknown. However, the rise of the Passion Economy could be an opportunity to create marketplaces with passion-driven verticals. “Civilization was born out of the need to fulfil one’s needs” through others… — Vargas Llosa “The next decade will be about passions, not gigs.” — Li Jin Discoverability and Monetization are The Roots of […]

Machine learning in the browser is the newest kid on the block within web edge technologies. By the end of this article, you will know the basics behind machine learning in the browser and how Javascript, with the help of WebGL, allows us to train and run models directly to the client-side.  Machine learning in […]

Launching faster, in weeks rather than in months, can be crucial. Whether it is to prove or disprove a startup’s Value Proposition early, or to keep the team motivated whilst maintaining low costs.  The Lean Startup theory holds that: the minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect […]

Building a startup! You have an epiphany and say to yourself: This is a great Idea! How didn’t anyone think of it before? I have to build it! Now! Fair enough but, as I’m sure you’ve heard, 99% of startups are doomed to fail — and you want to be among the 1% champs. Maybe you have […]

As a founder and entrepreneur, you don't need to be a technical expert. However, you do need to know the basic concepts because many technical decisions are critical business decisions.

You have a brilliant idea, but you have no idea how to build a startup. And you can’t code. You have 4 options: Learn how to code Find “The CTO” Hire freelance developers Outsource with a software development company I’ve been in this situation more than once. I co-founded 7+ startups before creating Altar.io and I’m not a […]

I’ve met many types of developers throughout the years building different products with Altar.io. The one important lesson I’ve learnt along the way is: Don’t look for the perfect developers, look for a balanced team. That’s our sweet spot for one reason: there is no such thing as perfection and building a good product is never […]

Are you looking to incorporate your startup in the UK? Here I present 5 simple steps you need to accomplish in order to have your startup ready to operate and receive investments: Registration Bank Account SEIS Approval Accountancy Taxation I’ve been through this process for more than once before creating Altar.io and I realised that […]

Looking for Marketplace Investors? Well, I can’t blame you. Marketplaces are here to stay – and constantly evolving. If you look at Uber, Etsy or Airbnb, it’s easy to understand why creating a safe, trustworthy environment between buyers and sellers may be a great business opportunity. So if you took all the precautionary measures, built […]

There’s little evidence to support that anyone is too old to start a business. In fact, older founders are usually wiser. They are more focused on achieving sales metrics than on building “the best product ever”. They work silently, attend fewer startup conferences and, without any surprise, the over 40s tend to achieve more. But […]

Looking to build a marketplace that brings real disruption to the sector you want to tackle? From personal experience building marketplaces, with Altar.io, I have compiled a list of best practices.  If you want to break into and disrupt your sector simply follow these steps. To bring effective value to buyers and sellers within your […]

It’s relatively simple to start a business in Portugal and Lisbon is an amazing city to set up your startup. It has a great environment, high-quality local talent and reasonable costs. The Portuguese capital is rapidly becoming a popular destination to start or grow your company. 1. Register Your Company  It might be easier, especially […]

In this post I’ll show you all the side events you can attend to make the most out of your Web Summit 2019 experience. Our 2017 and 2018 versions of this list got so much love we had no choice but to do it again. And this year with 2 events of our own: • Lisbon & its benefits for […]

Looking to raise money and struggling to figure out your startup valuation? Valuations are created as a negotiation between the two parties (founding team and investors) on the ratio between the investment sought and the percentage of equity that founders want (and are able) to give out. Of course, they will still be crafted that […]

It’s a great day here at Altar. We were named one of the leading B2B companies in Clutch’s latest Western European award list. After being nominated a Leading IT Business Services Company in Clutch.co’s 2019 Awards, it feels amazing to stand out among so many excellent tech agencies once again. The always kind Clutch team […]

If you are deciding how to create your MVP there is an initial question you must ask yourself: Should I make a Functional OR Non-functional MVP? The answer is not always easy. Most startups jump in right away to develop the product. However, there are some outliers with MVPs totally outside the box, representing an […]

As a Mentor at Virgin Startup and Co-founder of a Product & Software Development Agency, I’m often asked what it takes to build a successful startup. For me, one of the more important aspects is less about the ‘what’ and more about the ‘who’. Having the right people by your side will benefit you in all […]

As the founder of a Product & Software Development Agency, I learnt a long time ago that aligning with a startup founder’s vision is crucial. However, to truly deliver great results it’s important to challenge founders’ ideas so that the product being built can grow and improve.  At Altar.io, we often challenge the assumptions of […]

You’re building your tech venture and looking for investors, but it’s still too early to approach Venture Capitalists (VCs). So you decide, instead, to fill your next months’ calendar with meetings with Business Angels. Great! Business Angels are a group of investors consisting of many amazing professionals who are a positive force for the startup […]

The team at Altar.io is delighted to have been named a Leading IT Business Services Company in Clutch.co’s 2019 Awards. Altar’s award is in the Operations and Process Management category. Clutch is a leading B2B ratings and reviews firm. It released its 2019 list of more than 470 leading IT and business services companies for […]

There are many obvious and not so obvious reasons for Lisbon to be standing out so much right now and attracting so many entrepreneurs. Here are a few of them that make Lisbon shine in global rankings, being in a solid 4th position when it comes to the Startup City Index according to Forbes. 1. […]

So you’ve decided to take the plunge and find an agency or freelancer to develop the technology for your startup’s digital product or service?  Welcome to the beginning of a journey that hopefully will see your startup launch into the world quickly, within budget and with as few teething problems as possible. But no two […]

Proptech or Real Estate Technology has had several stages in its yet short-lived existence. The consensus is that soon we will have more startups that will automate several processes in time-consuming and expensive usages. Meanwhile, other tools shall produce advanced insights and recommendations to help on investment decisions. But the truly revolutionary aspect will be […]

As a mentor at Virgin Startup, I’ve often been asked the following question:  “In your opinion, what are the most important characteristics of a potential co-founder.” My answer? There are 7 key traits your co-founder must present if you want to set up a great team. To build your startup and make it successful they […]

Spoiler: It’s a team who build your MVP in 30 days for 10k with Altar.io! First off a little about Altar.io. We are Daniel, Joao, Paolo, and Andre and we are a London and Lisbon based team of second-time founders with plenty of successes and failures on our belts across different segments: Marketplaces, Tourism, Music, […]

Are You Relevant To Your Customers and Leads? When we think about the future of marketing we must immediately think about being 100% relevant. Utopia or not, the brands nailing the marketing automation today are already highly relevant to their customers. They are able to deliver the right content at the right time, through the […]

Great! You’re adopting an agile methodology for your digital project. However, you don’t know how to structure an effective team capable of executing and delivering good quality on schedule. You are also unsure of the characteristics of such a team We often hear about the greater advantages of the Agile philosophy compared to the “traditional” […]

Here’s the full list of side events – I’ll be updating it on a daily basis with new events that get published AND PLEASE, if you’re aware of some cool events that are not listed here please get in touch with me on Messenger. Highlighted Events   Highlight for: Meeting Developers Angular & LoopBack = […]

We’ve created the open-source library Angulartics2 to plug into your Angular single page app (SPA) for analytics integration. It allows you to do event tracking and it is ready to integrate with Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Kissmetrics, Mixpanel, Piwik, Segment, Baidu Analytics and Facebook Pixel.   Problem Most analytics providers do not automatically track the […]

This is a startup we embraced from its first steps. We ended up creating its branding, product, development and go-to-market strategy. Venga!, like all of our projects, starts with an in-depth briefing to get to know exactly what we are delivering to whom – the Unique Value Proposition (UVP).  After we are sure we understood […]