One of the first startups confirmed for the Fall ’14 edition: Planedia

This their story by Bia Rodrigues (Co-Founder & CMO)

“It was with a lot of excitement that we received the GREAT news that we were accepted for the Lisbon Challenge Fall 2014, Europe’s coolest acceleration program! \o/

A lot of things crossed our minds at that moment, such as:
- Can I begin to pack my things, like.. NOW?
- In addition to beautiful, the city offers a fantastic infrastructure to accelerate my business! And, it’s Lisbon!!
- I did my research (ok, I googled it), and Lisbon is considered the 5th most promising tech hub of the world according to Entrepreneur Magazine, and the coolest capital in Europe in 2014, according to CNN!
- Let’s say, there is no better market and environment to begin our expansion in Europe that we had already planned for this next semester!

So, what else should I ask for?

Lisbon Challenge is an ambitious program that will provide our startup (along with others from around the world, chosen after a very thorough selection process), an intense, empowering, innovative – and of course – international experience!
During this next fall, we will meet with 200 mentors and international investors, as well as participate in workshops, pitch sessions and many networking events.

Since we’re expanding to Europe, the networking and experience of European entrepreneurs and mentors will be crucial on this moment for us. When we were using Latin America as our pilot, we were able to validate a lot of important keys of our Canvas model. But when it comes to expand in Europe, we have a lot to learn, from the market to user behavior. We also hope validate our product to European market, and to develop our mobile app, which is fundamental for complement what we’ve built so far.

If you don’t know us yet, Planedia is the best, easiest and most interactive tool to plan a trip with your friends. We help you choose where to go, how to go, and what to do when you get there, combining all necessary sources to compare information and book whatever you need (flights, hotels..), all in just one place.

Now, we’re ready to face this new challenge, meet new awesome people, work and learn with the best entrepreneurs in the world, and take another huge step towards helping people to travel more, and better.”