Simon began his career as a designer in 1997, working for startups with his own interactive agency. He has invested in over 50 angel- and seed-stage companies and In 2011 he co-founded Factory, a campus for Startups, launching the very first of Europe´s mega-campuses. Factory Lisbon started construction in 2019 as the anchor of mayor Carlos Moedas’ "Unicorn Factory", which opened in June 2022. He served as founding President of Startup Portugal until 2021 and as member of the investment committee of the public venture fund 200M. In late 2024 Simon co-founded the EU-Inc movement, is responsible for its policy efforts and recently led the merger of Allied for Startups and the European Startup Network into the new advocacy group Startup for Europe as Founding President.