Digital Graphic Recording at Google for Startups

Scaling Up Masterclass was an interactive event designed to help startups navigate the challenges of international expansion. Hosted at Google for Startups, Madrid, this high-impact session served as a lead-up to South Summit, bringing together over 400 startup leaders to share insights, successes, and hard-earned lessons from scaling abroad.

Smartup Visuals team helped to bring these discussions to life through Digital Graphic Recording or Live Scribing digitally (as we like to call it) capturing key ideas in real time and transforming them into engaging visual narratives. With an audience eager to explore new markets and learn from those who have successfully expanded into international ecosystems, our illustrated insights helped distill complex discussions into clear, memorable takeaways.

Our Role: Visualising the Startup Journey

Scaling Up Masterclass wasn’t just another startup event—it was a powerhouse of insights, connections, and big ideas for founders looking to go global. Hosted at Google for Startups, Madrid, and leading up to South Summit, this high-energy gathering brought together over 400 startup leaders eager to crack the code on international expansion. And we were right there, capturing every game-changing idea, breakthrough strategy, and hard-earned lesson—live and in full color.

Our Role: Turning Words into Visual Impact

We didn’t just take notes; we transformed the event into a visual experience, making complex insights clear, engaging, and memorable. Here’s how we did it:

🔹 Real-Time Graphic Recording – As founders, investors, and experts shared their scaling journeys, we listened, synthesised, and illustrated key takeaways on the spot. Every insight turned into a dynamic visual—making the content more accessible, engaging, and easy to remember.

🔹 Event Illustrations of Startup Hubs – Expansion is all about knowing your market, so we created a series of visuals spotlighting Europe’s top startup ecosystems—from Berlin and Paris to Dublin, Lisbon, Vilnius, and the Netherlands. Each illustration captured the spirit, strengths, and unique opportunities of these innovation hotspots.

🔹 Branded Event Assets – This event wasn’t just about the talks; it had a strong visual identity. We designed pre-event booklets, branded attendee t-shirts, and digital assets, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience that extended beyond the sessions.

Why It Mattered

Scaling a startup is overwhelming, but when ideas are visually mapped out, they stick. Instead of walking away with just inspiration, attendees left with clear, illustrated knowledge maps, reinforcing key lessons and fueling their next big moves.

From first-hand insights to visually powerful takeaways, we helped make Scaling Up Masterclass more than an event—it became an interactive visual story that startups could take with them as they embarked on their global journeys.

💡 Looking for a way to make your next big event unforgettable? Let’s make it visual.

_{Small Print: These projects have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No 780914 and No 780738. This material reflects only the author’s view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.}

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