For the very first edition of the ScaleUp Apéro, Silicon Luxembourg had the pleasure of welcoming Pierre V. Pereira da Silva, Founder & CEO of Foozo and Chairmen of PULSE for a fireside chat on what it really takes to turn a startup into a scale-up.
Moderated by Audrey Ihne, the fireside chat traced the journey of Foozo, Luxembourg’s foodtech success story, that launched in 2016. Pierre looked back at the original vision behind the company, the moment he realised Foozo had outgrown its startup stage and the challenges of scaling, from winning new customers and recruiting the right people to financing the growth. He also reflected on how the pandemic put the business to the test and on how growing a company means growing as a leader.
The conversation then widened to the broader ecosystem. Speaking as Chairmen of PULSE, Pierre shared the changes he would put in place to support Luxembourg’s startups scale, noting that despite a strong financial sector, an international workforce and easy access to decision-makers, it still remains challenging for local startups to become international scale-ups. Closing the fireside chat the discussion touched on where AI could make the biggest practical difference to how businesses scale, what success means beyond money and three things founders must get right before scaling.
After an engaging Q&A, aspiring founders had the chance to take the stage for the open mic session and pitched their startups and projects in front of the audience. The evening wrapped up with networking, drinks, and food delivered by Foozo itself.
A big thank you to our partners Startup Luxembourg and Skillbourg for co-organizing this event, to Spuerkeess for hosting us at their venue, and to everyone who joined us for the first ScaleUp Apéro.
Enjoy the pictures below!
