On February 12th, the Madeira Startup Retreat focused on one of the most critical pillars of entrepreneurial success: setting clear goals and translating them into measurable action.
Maria Eugénia Ferreira de Lima Mascarenhas that hosted this session, didn’t just talk about setting goals, she challenged our founders to refine their “Big Goal”, the overarching objective that defines success for their specific stage of growth. Founders quickly shifted from inspiration to execution mode, ready to define what success truly looks like for their startups.
By 11:00, groups shared their goals and received new instructions to sharpen focus and ensure alignment with their business models.
Turning Strategy into Action
The late morning was all about the “grind.” The teams moved into intensive breakout sessions to:
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Define the “Big Goal”: Stripping away the noise to find the one metric that truly matters.
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Share & Pivot: teams presented their progress, receiving real-time instructions and peer feedback to sharpen their focus.
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Micro-Objectives: Before breaking for lunch, the focus shifted to the smaller, tactical objectives required.
If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It
After a well-deserved lunch break, the afternoon shifted toward accountability. Maria guided the startups through the technical side of growth: How to measure your Goals.
Teams had to set their KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), mapping out the specific actions and steps needed for the weeks ahead.
The 6-Week Roadmap
The day culminated in a high-stakes sharing session at 16:00. Every startup presented their 6-week plan, a concrete roadmap designed to turn the lessons of this retreat into measurable market traction.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible”.
Take a look at our day HERE