We just hosted the first @joinupsideclub lunch in collaboration with an external brand. It was an experiment, and we made it happen in a non-commercial way as intended. Simple recipe: Cuatrecasas Law firm paid the bill, Joana took a seat at the table as one of the guests. and... we let the magic happen. 🪄 Turned out to be 4 hours well spent, as usual. 🔥 With the exact same transparent, unfiltered, and honest conversations that define the @joinupsideclub spirit. It was amazing to hear everyone's stories, struggles and achievements. The Portuguese tech ecosystem is alive and cooking! 🇵🇹 Thanks for Cuatrecasas for the support! 🙌

We do these things because of this. The genuine smiles and the deep sense of belonging.

Years from now, I think those who were at the 2nd @joinupsideclub Founders Retreat will look back and think about last Friday as a memorable day. An unconventional mix of (very) intense fun and learning. All together. In the same day, in the same room. 🤯 I really don't know how @cisco_raio @albuquerquing and I are able to get world-class speakers like @paulorosado, @marcelolebre, @diogomonica to accept to join us. 😂 Maybe it's because it's not recorded. If you were there, you felt it, you'll remember it. If you weren't... well, you made a mistake. It was epic. 🔥 Now, it's time to take the @joinupsideclub to the next level. 😉

New website for @joinupsideclub Built in 2h on a Sunday morning because I was tired of paying $10/month for hosting a crappy notion page on a notion website tool need to polish it now with @smackingg's help p.s. there's an easter egg in it for 2026 :)

We're still buzzing from our 1st Founders Retreat 🔥 Here's a recap video for those who were there to remember it and for those who weren't to get a feeling for it. We're already thinking about the next one. Where should we host it? 🤔

The expression "I'm still buzzing" is what best describes how I feel after the @joinupsideclub Founders Retreat 🔥 I don't remember being this proud about something I've done in a very long time. Thank you to all the speakers and busy founders who managed to find time in their calendars to come spend the day with us. Thank you to @Fitzgerald_JM and @PaddleHQ for the insights shared and the kind support. Thank you to @tjc_monteiro and @unsetstudio for covering the event. And finally, thank you to @smackingg because this would have never happened without you. I think we did something special last week. Now, we're collecting feedback and working to make the next one 100x better. Stay tuned ⚡

Having an incredible time at the first @joinupsideclub retreat! Props to @smackingg and @cisco_raio for organizing such a cool experience 🤌

This. Is. The. @joinupsideclub 🔥 🔥🔥 Last Friday, myself and @cisco_raio successfully hosted the Upside Club 1st ever Founders Retreat @ Porto. 🇵🇹 70 Founders, 1 room, 4 fireside chats. I'm still digesting, but this day was probably one of the most rewarding ones of my career. And all without signing any contract or closing any lead — simply by the joy of uniting like-minded people. A big THANK YOU to everyone who attended, but especially to the Speakers and those who traveled from afar. We've had folks coming from Lisbon, Faro, Madrid, and Munich. 🤯 Also, a special thanks to @Fitzgerald_JM and @PaddleHQ, who sponsored the event, and to @tjc_monteiro and @unsetstudio for covering it. A video is coming soon! 📹 Until next time! 👊

The power of a small & intimate gathering never ceases to amaze me. 🔥 2024 ended with one more outstanding @joinupsideclub lunch. Over 4 hours, we talked about: 🎾 Owning a padel club in Bali 🛩️ Moving to Dubai with 3 under-18 kids 🤖 M&A, growth buyouts, and AI. A LOT of AI 🤯 A product that helped to put a former Prime Minister in prison 🤷‍♂️ VCs that, more often than not, don't want their companies to be profitable Fascinating & inspiring. As usual. This is the @joinupsideclub! 🔥

$100m in annual revenue. Yes — it's the combined ARR of the Founders who sat at this table last Friday in Lisbon. 🇵🇹 What's shared at an @joinupsideclub lunch stays there, so no details are to be shared but I can say that, more often than not, big numbers come from unexpected places. Under the radar Founders. Non-sexy industries. No fancy tech. It's fascinating. We love them all. We were together for 4 hours discussing business, and it was great. This is the @joinupsideclub🔥

One more killer @joinupsideclub event in the books 🔥 In total, 15 founders were kind enough to trust myself and @smackingg with their time and openness. Here's some of the stuff we talked about: 1) Crypto as a backend technology 2) The loneliness of solo founders 3) Finding and managing co-founders 4) Too much urgency felt by younger founders Great to meet everyone and get inspired by people like @diogomonica who is very far ahead in this game 😅 If you want to join the next one, sign-up on our website.

We're live at joinupside.club/

We are onto something special with @joinupsideclub 😍 ​ Last week, we had our 3rd intimate lunch with an incredible group of founders new to our concept. ​ Everyone opened up and talked about things that are so deep I bet they never told their families about it. ​ Success, failures and struggles. ​ They were all on the table. ​ No matter the stage of their journey, from pre-revenue to post-acquisition, everyone shared their stories and struggles openly, ready to get help. ​ It was also the first time I felt like I opened up personally without any fears AND got a warm understanding and advice from others. ​ We have no idea how to scale this feeling but one thing is for sure: ​ -> The founder journey is no longer a lonely one when you are with us.

Yesterday was special.

Today, we're launching @joinupsideclub 🔥 After hosting a couple of private lunches with founders, @smackingg and I decided to take this to the next level. → We're turning into a real private community for entrepreneurs. The goal is to connect founders and make it easier to get help from each other. We will: - Continue hosting intimate and private lunches. - Continue nurturing the chats on WhatsApp. - Organize roundtables about specific topics (e.g. hiring). - Host an annual retreat later this year. @joinupsideclub is the place where relationships start and opportunities arise. Join us on our page or through the link below ↓

It's a special day today: announcing the @joinupsideclub 🤩 An invite-only community for Entrepreneurs. No, it's NOT one more fucking networking event, it’s a private community where relationships start and opportunities arise. 🔥 It all started with several conversations with Founders over the past year or so, where there was a pattern: folks shared being “lonely” and lacking like-minded people to speak with. I could easily understand as I’ve felt that loneliness myself. From there, I went on to organize something to connect people. A simple thing like a simple lunch seemed like a good place to start. And so, the "Tech Founders Club" lunches were born. We did 2 of them already, and folks keep asking for more. As if that wasn't enough, we have ~60 more incredibly interesting people on the waitlist. 🤯 Connecting these people is something that I genuinely enjoy, and I'm stoked that I get to do this with my friend @cisco_raio, as Co-Founders of this thing. Together, we're taking this a bit more seriously and attempting to create a unique community in Portugal. 🇵🇹 Official website coming soon. 🔜 For now, follow our page and I'll add the link to Apply here to become a Member in the tweet below. ↓