# Lisbon is the new Berlin

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2015-04-20

architect-this-city, atc, athiscity, berlin, cities, cool, cool-factor, entrepreneurship, eu, europe, germany, lisbon, monocle, pigs, portugal, startups, tech, tech-startups, technology, uncategorized, urbanism, venture-capital

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![Photograph Tramway à Lisbonne by yannick le goff on 500px](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1a2ce7390ac135dd4d2495a726aeb0c5.jpg)

[_Tramway à Lisbonne by yannick le goff on 500px_](https://500px.com/photo/87651215/tramway-%C3%A0-lisbonne-by-yannick-le-goff)

This morning I stumbled upon a blog post by a Berlin-based venture capitalist ([Ciarán O'Leary](https://twitter.com/ciaranoleary)) talking about how Lisbon feels like the next Berlin. In other words, it feels like the next great European startup hub.

Here’s [his reasoning](http://www.berlinvc.com/2015/04/19/the-lisbon-awakening/):

*   _The tech scene is organic – it happened on its own, came out of nowhere. That is much more fun and sustainable than any kind of political or targeted economic strategy.  
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*   _There are a ton of constraints (funding, local talent base, etc.) so entrepreneurs need to hustle to make things happen. Hustle is good.  
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*   _Berlin was an economic void, Portugal had a massive economic crisis and Lisbon sure isn’t letting that crisis go to waste.  
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*   _Entrepreneurship has the real chance to be a center stage act, not a side gig. It’s everywhere.  
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*   _The city is very, very cool. You just want to be here.  
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*   _You can have a great life on a startup salary.  
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*   _Everyone speaks english; everyone is welcoming and open. That matters a lot when you want to attract international talent and funding._  
    

Of course, he’s not the only one calling Lisbon the next Berlin. The EU also named Lisbon “[the most entrepreneurial region in Europe in 2015](http://www.dw.de/lisbon-pins-hopes-on-tech-startup-scene/a-18190045).” Isn’t it interesting what can grow out of economic crisis? See [PIGS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_%28economics%29).

I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that [Monocle held its first ever Quality of Life Conference in Lisbon](http://brandondonnelly.com/post/109104765548/the-monocle-quality-of-life-conference). It’s a testament to O’Leary’s point above that, “You just want to be here.”

And while being “very, very cool” may not seem immediately relevant to creating a robust startup environment, it really is. It may be the most important point. It makes the city a magnet for talent. 

Just the other day I was trying to explain Berlin to someone and I used a similar lexicon. I said: “It’s an unbelievably cool city. It bleeds hipness. You will love it.”

If you’re a city, that’s a great thing to be.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/lisbon-is-the-new-berlin)*