Under the USER-FACTOR “Design for user-driven innovation” project, financed under the INTERREG programme for innovation in the Atlantic area, Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (www.spieurope.eu) two pilot editions of the corporate training programme  Design for Business in partnership with the Porto Design Factory. Through an innovative approach that explores the potential of design for both business management and product development, the pilots trained 34 Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups working in areas such as technology, tourism, creative industry, or engineering, to implement design methodologies such as agile development, lean manufacturing, and design thinking in innovation processes, and product and service development.The pilots took place virtually between April and May 2020 (first edition) and November and January 2021 (second edition). After completing the training, 85% of survey respondents stated that their participation improved the quality of their work, 94% would recommend this training to early stage companies, and 15% planned to open new design vacancies at their companies