Four phases.
Phase One carries no charge.
The Founder Diagnostic evaluates whether Portugal is the right strategic move for your company and defines the appropriate pathway if it is.
If the outcome of Phase One is that Portugal is not the right fit, we will say so clearly and stop the process there — with no cost and no obligation. Our priority is providing honest, strategic guidance from the very beginning.
Founder Diagnostic
Two sessions of 30 minutes each. We assess your current capital position, growth strategy, Portugal relevance, and the commercial logic of a cross-border operating model for your specific company. No charge. No obligation to proceed. This is the filter — not the funnel.
Strategy Definition
We design the integrated market entry and capital strategy — legal structure, instrument eligibility, investor sequencing, operational set-up timeline. Engagement scope and fees are agreed here. Nothing starts until you have seen the full picture.
Execution
We manage the entity establishment, grant and incentive applications, fundraising process, and investor introductions. Founders focus on building the business. Balurca manages the advisory track across both jurisdictions.
Completion and Handover
Operations established. Capital raised. Grants applied for or in pipeline. Full documentation and handover to the founder's ongoing advisors. The engagement ends with everything in place, nothing in a drawer.
The reason Balurca exists is that no firm in London joins these dots.
Establishing a Portuguese operating entity takes four to eight weeks from decision to operational in most cases. The process involves entity registration, document translation and apostille for UK-origin paperwork, company name registration, and tax enrolment — none of which is complex, but each requires sequencing. SIFIDE applications run on an annual cycle administered by AI². Portugal 2030 grant applications vary by call — Balurca assesses open calls at the time of engagement and builds a realistic timeline before any commitment. A well-prepared Series A fundraise takes three to six months from preparation to close. These tracks run in parallel when correctly sequenced — the market entry does not delay the raise.