Unveiling Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon: startups to watch and key industry insights

Web Summit is where the tech world meets—a hub for innovation and a must-attend event to spot the industry’s emerging trends. As NERDZ LAB’s CMO, I’m excited to share the standout moments and promising startups that captured my attention this year.

Article content:

• Intro
• Bliss Brain
• Intuitivo
• Alba Health
• Arwen
• i love it
• HeadQ
• FindaHost
• Beam
• Agressiepreventie
• Quouch
• Key trends and insights
• Summary

Intro

Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon was an incredible experience, and this year marked my fourth time attending. With 71,000 attendees, 3,000 startups, and 1,000 investors, it was as exciting and insightful as ever. As the CMO of NERDZ LAB, a startup product development company, and the SCOPO startup, I always look forward to seeing how promising companies are evolving and the new ideas founders are coming up with.

This year, I found myself reflecting on the growth of the startups I’ve seen in previous years—some have truly taken off, while others have faced challenges along the way. But that’s the nature of innovation, isn’t it?

In this article, I’ll share some of the standout moments and trends I noticed, focusing on the Web Summit startups that caught my attention.

Bliss Brain

Bliss Brain is making waves in the mental health space with a unique idea: personalized AI-powered meditations. The startup’s co-founder felt that the meditation apps he was using weren’t helpful during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s when he came up with the idea to create a mobile app where you can type in what’s on your mind, pick a comforting voice, set the session length, and receive a guided meditation crafted just for you.

The team uses models from OpenAI and ElevenLabs, plus their own secret sauce, to deliver these meditations in real time. The audio quality feels like it was pre-recorded, and it starts playing almost instantly, like a YouTube video.

Bliss Brain was named one of the Top 100 Ukrainian Rising Startups and even reached the semi-finals at the Web Summit PITCH competition—no small feat, considering they were among thousands of startups that applied. Learn more about the project here.

Intuitivo

Intuitivo is an education technology platform that automates the creation and grading of various types of assessments, giving teachers more time to focus on what they do best—teaching. The digital assessment platform is already being used by over 35,000 teachers and 300,000 students throughout Portugal.

I was fascinated by Intuitivo not just because it won the Web Summit PITCH competition, beating 104 other startups. What set Intuitivo apart for me was its refreshing honesty. When asked why they don’t use AI, the team simply said they didn’t find a meaningful way to integrate it into their solution—and I believe that’s perfectly okay! Their focus is on solving real problems for teachers without adding unnecessary complexity.

Alba Health

Alba Health offers parents personalized nutrition plans and coaching thanks to a pioneering gut health test for children that analyzes their lifestyle and digestive system.

The startup is backed by Sweden’s largest child gut health study (with over 300,000 data points) and one of the world’s most significant studies on child gut health—HELMi at the University of Helsinki. Its team boasts over 1,600 scientific publications.

As a marketer, I admire the company’s approach that combines medical laboratory testing with a convenient at-home interface, creating a new niche in child nutrition and digestive health. With rapid scalability and a solid scientific foundation, Alba Health is poised for quick growth. It’s probably my favorite startup this year.

See also: Best practices for a successful healthcare mobile app development — Make your investment worth it.

Arwen

The founders designed Arwen to make social media a more positive space. The AI-powered platform automatically removes spam and toxic comments from paid and organic social media posts.

As a seasoned marketer, I believe it’s a great way to foster safe, thriving online communities. By tackling negativity and amplifying positivity, Arwen helps brands protect their reputation and create spaces where followers can discover, share, and connect.

i love it

Out of all the e-commerce startups I saw at Web Summit 2024, i love it stood out for me. i love it is a shopping platform that turns everyday people into influencers by rewarding them for their honest product recommendations. It’s built on the idea that the best shopping advice comes from real people with real experiences, not marketing hype. With i love it, users can share products they’ve genuinely tried and loved, earning influencer-level commissions for their recommendations.

It may seem like another marketplace, but i love it fascinated me with its mission to make shopping more intentional and meaningful. By promoting genuine reviews, the platform helps reduce impulse buys, cut back on returns, and guide better purchasing decisions.

HeadQ

While not groundbreaking, HeadQ has smartly tackled a niche where B2B buyers experience friction—selling complex products with a broad variability. The startup delivers its straightforward solution to a real pain point by helping customers find the right product, configure it to their specific needs, and purchase directly from your website—all without needing a salesperson.

With tools like the Visual Product Configurator, HeadQ turns static spec sheets into interactive experiences. Their flexible pricing options let businesses decide how customers get quotes or prices, whether through a lead form, a quote cart, or instant estimates. Plus, their online payment module supports multiple checkout methods, from credit cards to invoicing systems.

FindaHost

FindaHost is an AI-powered platform designed to simplify property management and boost rental income for homeowners and hosts. Thanks to FindaHost, multiple property listings can be kept up-to-date across dozens of platforms: Hotels.com, TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Agoda, Booking.com, and more. Its built-in AI tools help landlords manage bookings, handle reviews, optimize prices, communicate with guests, and sync information.

Beam

Beam is a platform designed for thought leaders, experts, and ‘LinkedIn brainiacs’ who want to monetize their knowledge and turn their followers into paying clients. Similar to OnlyFans but focused on professional content, Beam allows users to share advice through live video, paid webinars, and 1:1 video calls.

Beam offers a straightforward way to grow an online presence and earn from your expertise. But this is not what impressed me the most. I was surprised by the fact that Beam had launched on the first day of Web Summit. This means they registered for the event without even having a finished product! The speed and ambition deserve a round of applause.

Agressiepreventie (Aggression Prevention)

Agressiepreventie helps organizations create safer workplaces by offering expert training to prevent and manage aggression and violence. As an ISO-certified agency, they provide customized training programs—including VR-based simulations—to equip employees with the skills to handle aggressive situations. Their trainers and actors are specially trained to sense and de-escalate potential conflicts. Learn more about this startup here.

Quouch

Quouch is an alternative homestay platform designed for women and queer people who are looking for a safe and welcoming travel experience. The platform’s focus on matching travelers through their sense of humor sets it apart, fostering a genuine connection between hosts and guests.

I fully recognize the unique risks women and queer travelers face, so it makes me glad that Quouch provides a space where users can find hosts or guests they feel comfortable with.

Key takeaways from Web Summit 2024

Finally, allow me to share some key takeaways and trends from Web Summit 2024 that are shaping the future for startups:

Balance of technology and social skills

While technology remains crucial, there’s an increasing focus on honing social skills, emotional intelligence, and empathy—skills that help foster better business relationships.

AI’s evolving role

AI is no longer just a buzzword. Startups are using it wisely and effectively with a more mature, business-focused approach.

AI safety and regulation

AI safety continues to be a hot topic, but regulatory frameworks are still lacking. The technology is largely controlled by its creators, and discussions around its safe and ethical use are ongoing.

Get more insights: Artificial Intelligence development: Should your startup go for it?

Growth of deep tech investment

Deep tech, including advanced scientific and technological innovations, is seeing increased investment, demonstrating its long-term potential.

Rise of digital nomads

The digital nomad lifestyle is no longer a trend but a growing reality. The idea that “everyone lives on the internet” is becoming truer every day.

Startups’ survival and growth

Startups must move fast and fail fast. Many startups from last year are no longer active, but those that kept promoting and selling made significant progress.

Ongoing challenges for startups

Common pain points include needing investment, refining sales strategies, clarifying positioning, finding the right market fit, and assembling strong teams. Many also seek to integrate AI and build effective teams with the right expertise.

Health, education, and sustainability trends

Mental health (teletherapy) and HR/education solutions are booming, with a focus on improving employee well-being, training new hires, and upskilling existing employees.

Diversity and communication

There is a growing recognition that diversity, particularly more female founders, leads to better communication, cooperation, and, ultimately, business success.

Investor focus

Investors are increasingly prioritizing people—specifically strong, collaborative teams—as the most important asset when making investment decisions.

See also: Here`s how we help startups grow with our software development services for startups.

Summary

Ultimately, the biggest takeaway from Web Summit was the incredible people I met. And the question I got asked the most was, “What makes your company stand out among others?” My answer is simple: it’s our values and our people. Our values bring the right people together, and these people create and support our values.

These two components allow us to genuinely partner with our clients. And through clear communication, mutual respect, and collaboration, these partnerships become relationships that bring benefits to everyone involved.

Finally, I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend Web Summit 2024, represent the NERDZ LAB team and SCOPO, and bring back some insights to share with our team and our partners.

Have you visited Web Summit in Lisbon this year? What were your most memorable moments or key takeaways? I’d love to hear your thoughts—feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s keep the conversation going.