FAQS
What is Wayra's relationship with Telefónica?
Wayra is the fast track into Telefónica. As their open innovation initiative, we are supporting and investing in startups, developing products useful for one of the leading telco operators in the world. We ignite your business providing you with the opportunity to win Telefónica as a client and to unlock the access to more than350 million customers.
Does Wayra offer a typical acceleration program?
We do not offer a typical acceleration program. We analyse startups individually based on the company stage, maturity level as well as needs. We are a global business hub that helps startups with potential to do business with Telefónica Group and to grow fast. We have our micro CVC (Corporate Venture Capital), that allows us to invest in selected business’ and offer specific benefits for their needs.
Your business success is our success and we develop a flexible path that adds value to both of us.
What do you offer? Why should I participate?
The Venture Development Program offers:
- Access to do businesswith Telefónica
- A €25k paid project
- Execution & sales focused coaching
- Potential follow-upinvestment of up to €350k
- Operational resources
- Access to the global Wayra network
- Office spaces inMunich
- Support in internationalisation
What does Wayra get in return?
Telefónica will have the option of investing in your next funding round with a discount of up to 20% on your valuation.
How long does the program take?
The program is four months, including one month of pre-acceleration and three months of venturedevelopment.
We believe within that time frame you can win Telefónica as your client and launch your joint project.
What does the collaboration with the chosen startup look like?
During the four months you will work directly with a business unit at Telefónica. In the first month, the milestones and deliverables will be set. Also, we will create a coaching plan together with you. As soon as this phase is over, the three months acceleration starts. You will conduct a pilot project with Telefónica, following the overall goal to win Telefónica as a client.
Are we too early stage for the program?
We are looking for startups ready to implement their solutions within Telefónica. If your company’s offer goes beyond a minimum viable product, we are thrilled to explore use cases with our parent group. Nevertheless, if you have a valid use case for Telefónica, we will be happy to dig into it.
When is the application deadline?
We accept applications on a rolling basis.
Are we a good fit for Telefónica?
If you received a personal invitation from our venture development team, then YES. Moreover, if you operate in an area that can contribute to Wayra and Telefónica, please do submit an application.
We look for growing startups, with a focus on either B2B or B2C which provide solutions for Cybersecurity, IoT, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, 5G, Insuretech, Fintech... or that brings operational efficiency to Telefónica Group or o2.
Is attendance mandatory? Does the program require a physical presence?
It depends mainly on the business unit. From our side, you can do pretty much everything remote. The only thing we ask for is to meet you at least ones face to face because we are convinced that this pays into our future collaboration and makes it more personally.
Having other responsibilities and places to be outside of Wayra is a very common occurrence and can be balanced with the program.
Can we set up a call to learn more?
If you can’t find an answer to your questions either on our website or in the FAQs, please ask them first in an email. As you could imagine, calls with potential startups require more time than it is available. That is why we kindly ask you to send us an email and we are happy to answer them. If you still have open questions, let us know and we can have a call for answering those questions.
Can you connect me with Telefónica or your partners?
We are only able to facilitate communication with our partners directly through the application and participation in our program. We do not act as a liaison to connect our partners to opportunities outside of the scope of the program.
We submitted our application, is there anything else that would be required from our side?
Wonderful, now you are one step closer to working with Telefónica. At this stage, we don’t need anything further from your side. In case, any information is missing or we need more, we will get back to you.
How did you scout us/ How did you find us?
We have a scouting team that searches for potential startups that fit best to our challenges. They screen various platforms and use different tools.
In what way are you interested in working with us?
We want to help you win Telefónica over as your client. If you are interested in entering other markets such as UK or Spain, we are more than happy to help you conquer those areas.
For the 25K Euros, how is the money disbursed to successful candidates?
After a successful pre-acceleration, you will receive 5K, and after a successful acceleration 20K
