A look back on our year at Telefonica’s London accelerator.
Last year, Paperfold was selected as one of 13 companies to join the Wayra accelerator for a year. Over the past year few years, incubators like Wayra have increasingly sprung up in London and around the globe. With the program ending for us this month, we thought we could share what worked for us at Wayra, and what things you should consider when making the decision to join an incubator.
For those who don’t know, Wayra is Telefonica/O2's accelerator for startups. The Wayra accelerator is a way for Telefonica to invest in digital businesses that have high growth potential. There are 14 accelerators worldwide across 12 countries, and 420 companies in total that have received investment as part of the initiative.
It’s been a big year for us since we joined Wayra. Looking back on the past year, some of our favourite highlights have been:
- Joining Wayra last February and having their support and mentorship throughout the past year.
- Building a great team, with Vanja joining on as Marketing Officer in June, Hannah as Creative Officer in August, and Kieran as our Software Developer in September.
- Receiving support from Ian Small, Head of Communications at Telefonica, meeting VCs in the valley, and getting feedback from the London and SF startup communities as we navigate building the app.
- Being featured in the design community D&AD’s blog, and being listed in the ‘Most Popular’ and ‘Most Shared’ sections.
Being at Wayra for the year, we found that:
- Overall Wayra provides mentoring, office space, working capital and advice on the different aspects of running a startup business.
- During the program, advisors from the accelerator work closely with teams of entrepreneurs on improving different aspects of their businesses. They aim to help in areas such as pr, events, marketing, pitching, finance and investor readiness.
- The accelerator space is a hub of activity for startups and the tech community in London. There are several events held at the space throughout the year and this results in plenty of opportunities to network and meet new people.
- It provided us with valuable introductions. Through the program, we were introduced to our board advisor, Ian Small who is the Head of Communications at Telefonica. Ian’s advice and introductions have been, and continue to be, of great help to us as we develop our product and pitch our business.
- Being surrounded by other entrepreneurs and innovative companies works well and creates a sense of community.
- Since Wayra is an extension of Telefonica/O2, the culture has more of a corporate feel, as compared to an incubator that is independently owned.
- Wayra is well suited for companies that have a big business focus. One of the main features of the program is its connection to Telefonica.
- The program is still relatively new, so there will be aspects that aren’t fully ironed out. But this also means that companies are able to make suggestions and improve the program in ways that work best for them.
Our journey has only just begun! Follow us as we continue to build Paperfold on Twitter @PaperfoldApp, and join the list to get first access to the app when it’s ready: www.paperfold.me
For more info on applying to Wayra, check out the website http://wayra.co/uk or email the team by wayra [at] wayra.org.
