Mentors

IRIS Mentors

Madan Parque

Belma Rizvanovic

Experienced Program Adviser and Mentor in entrepreneurship, strategic partnerships, business incubation, and a co-founder of H:ART initiative. With over 8+ years of international experience in business incubation, different entrepreneurship programs, and EU projects, Belma has provided constant support with start-up development in the fields of testing & prototyping, end-to-end solutions, operational structure, and team management. Currently, she is also a researcher and doctorate candidate at the Department of Industrial Engineering, at the Nova University of Lisbon. Research areas she is involved with are Digital Businesses, Startups, and Strategic Marketing. In addition, she is a lecturer of Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Nova Lisbon.

Filipe Silveira

Project Manager at Madan Parque supporting various training programs and startup / entrepreneur’s mentorship. Core key areas: Training, Programme Delivery and Community Building. Graduated in Industrial Engineering and Management from FCT-UNL. Gained experience in the areas of process improvement and business optimisation for various sectors and organisations. Lived in Macau for 15 years, where he learned the importance of non-verbal language in communication, also developed skills such as empathy and diplomacy. Was the co-founder of Green Circle – Rethinking Waste, a startup that implements local solutions for sustainability and waste recovery. Co-founder of Circular Economy Portugal, an NGO dedicated to the transition to a circular economy. He is the partner who dreams of zero carbon stays at “Cabanas da Viscondessa”: a charm hotel accommodation immersed in nature on the island of S. Jorge, Azores.

Frontier IP

Neil Crabb

Neil Crabb is Chief Executive of Frontier IP Group Plc, an AIM quoted IP commercialisation company. He co-founded Sigma Capital Group plc and has considerable experience as an investor and director of a wide range of technology and university spin-out companies.

He was previously an investment manager at Duncan Lawrie Ltd. with responsibility for a range of managed portfolios investing in smaller UK companies and unquoted technology companies, prior to which he spent four years with Equitable Life Assurance Soc., latterly as investment analyst managing investments in UK small companies and larger stocks in the electronics sector. Neil is an approved person under FSMA.

Sara Reis

Sara Reis is Portfolio Manager in Frontier IP, acting as Manager of science-based companies of Frontier IP Group in Portugal. Sara's role is to be a key part of the management team of early-stage companies, providing support for the business.

She has +10 years experience. Started embracing different entrepreneurial projects since her degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics, gained experience in tech transfer in cross-disciplinary projects, and expanded a company in the USA in the healthcare sector. With a master's in Economics and Management, Sara joined Frontier IP in the UK in 2017 and is promoting companies fitting in clusters like food and agritech, AI, medtech & blue economy.

Armilar

Rodolfo Condessa

Rodolfo serves as Senior Associate at Armilar Venture Partners, Portugal’s leading VC funds manager, focused on early-stage technology-based startups in ICT, HealthTech and CleanTech. He has a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Rodolfo started his career as a Trainee at the European Space Agency and has over 14 years of prior experience in space strategy, technology transfer, IP and sales.

José Guerreiro de Sousa

José has a BSc in Electrotechnical Engineering and Computers from IST (Portugal), an MBA from UCP (Portugal), and he worked 8 years in the management team of a Portuguese software company from its seed stage to IPO. José is with Armilar Venture Partners since late 2004, where he has been involved in setting up Armilar venture funds, scouting dealflow opportunities, structuring investment deals and supporting the portfolio companies during the several stages of their life cycle.

Patentree

Luís Pereira

Luís Ferreira is a qualified European patent attorney, a Portuguese patent and trademark attorney and a European patent litigator (holding a Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) patent litigation certificate). He has been a European trademark and design attorney and a Portuguese industrial property agent since 2012. He became a European patent attorney in 2012 and was the first professionals in Portugal to pass the European qualifying examination.

Mr Ferreira holds a degree in electrical and computer engineering from Porto University. He is a partner at PATENTREE (also known as PATENTS.PT).

Mr Ferreira has interned with the EPO Examining Division. He is a tutor for the CEIPI Lisbon European patent law course and a tutor for the Institute of Professional Representatives (EPO). He has assisted clients extensively in the development of strategy and prosecution of patent and IP management (advanced and defensive patent filings).

He has comprehensive patent prosecution experience in European, Patent Cooperation Treaty and Portuguese patent applications, including providing opinions and analysis on patentability, freedom-to-operate and infringement matters. He also has experience as a judicial patent expert appointed both by the courts and by the parties.

Anabela Carvalho

Anabela Carvalho is a qualified European patent attorney, a Portuguese patent and trademark attorney, a Portuguese industrial property agent and a European trademark and design attorney. She is also a patent arbitrator. In 2013, Ms Carvalho was one of the first few professionals in Portugal to pass the EQE.

Ms Carvalho holds a bioengineering degree from the University of Minho, Portugal. Currently she is a partner at PATENTREE (also known as PATENTS.PT).

Ms Carvalho has interned with the EPO Examining Division. She is a tutor for the Lisbon branch of the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies and a tutor for the Institute of Professional Representatives of the EPO.

Ms Carvalho has helped clients extensively in the development of strategies and solutions for patent and IP management (advanced and defensive patent filings). She has comprehensive patent prosecution experience in European, Patent Cooperation Treaty and Portuguese patent applications, including providing opinions and analyses on patentability, freedom-to-operate and infringement matters. She also has experience as a judicial patent expert appointed both by the courts and by the parties.

Faber

Bionova

Ricardo Perdigão

Ricardo Perdigão Henriques is the CEO of Bionova Capital, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm that invests in early-stage health startups across Europe. Founded in 2015, Bionova Capital currently manages a portfolio of six companies: two in the UK, one in Spain, and three in Portugal. Ricardo holds a PhD in Molecular Biology, having been a researcher at Harvard University and MIT, with several publications in the field of oncology and biotechnology. Previously, he was an investment manager at Portugal Ventures and a business analyst at BIAL Labs.

Impact Lab

Ana Sofia Esteves

Ana Sofia Esteves has extensive experience in the areas of Intellectual Property (IP), Technology Transfer, Innovation Management, Research Impact and Entrepreneurship. With a scientific background in Chemistry and Biotechnology, and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, Sofia is currently the manager of a European funded project focused on innovation and technology transfer in the blue economy sectors, and she is also a professor and researcher in the fields of creativity and innovation, design thinking, entrepreneurship, IP and technology transfer. Her professional experience includes research activities in a biotech start-up, she worked at a business incubator in Spain, founded different companies in a variety of fields including education, human-centered innovation services, and fashion design, and she also led the Technology Transfer Office of NOVA University of Lisbon.

She is passionate about giving meaning to the output of research activities by putting them into the market, especially through the creation of a new venture.

P-Bio

Simão Soares

Simão Soares is CEO and co-founder of SilicoLife, a company combining AI and biology for the design of cell factories and novel pathways for the sustainable production of chemicals. MSc Bioinformatics (UMinho), postgraduate in management from NOVA School of Business and Economics and trained in Blue Ocean Strategy at INSEAD. He is also President of P-BIO, Portuguese Bioindustry Association, a Global Shaper Alumni, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, and a Climate Reality Leader. Simão was elected at the end of 2020 The Most Innovative Bioeconomy CEO by the readers of Il Bioeconomista.

Empino

João Fernandes

With a marketing background and a professional track record spanning more than 25 years in entrepreneurship, venture capital, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors, I worked on several management, sales and tech positions in national and multinational companies, pertaining a good level of organizational and innovation awareness and an ability to put together, manage and motivate multi-disciplinary teams. Started my first own company in 2007, as the majority of the people born in the 60’s flexibility, freedom and independence are key positive words for me, and I am not a fan of rigid work requirements, but a firm believer of good work being done through good values.