Entrepreneurs go down to the Wayra

Ten projects have been chosen for the tech accelerator programme where they will get access to financing and expert help to get their projects off the ground

THIS WEEK marks the start of a new chapter for a group of entrepreneurs, with tech accelerator Wayra ready to get under way. With the projects finally chosen, the Dublin-based academy is gearing up to begin.

The global project, which began in Latin America, is backed by Telefónica, and aims to foster innovation in the technology sector. It could also help identify potential products and services the telco could offer its customers in years to come, giving it a leg up on the competition.

The concept is simple: start-ups in the programme gain access to financing, support and expertise to get their projects off the ground.

They also get office space in Telefónica’s building, working in close quarters and giving them the chance to learn from each other as well as from the mentors provided by Wayra during their time there.

At the climax of the Dublin “Wayra Week” last Thursday, the academy named the 10 projects it will support in its accelerator over the coming months.

It was a nerve-wracking few days for the entrepreneurs, who had seen their numbers whittled down to 20 from a record-breaking 335 entries.

Each had a few days inside the accelerator to refine their product and pitch, taking advantage of sessions with industry figures such as Fight My Monster’s Dylan Collins, Tapadoo’s Dermot Daly and Raomal Perera to build their expertise.

Then the moment of truth came, with each project pitching to a judging panel that reflected a variety of technical expertise and a wealth of experience in the sector.

The programme’s directors were hoping to find 10 projects Wayra could back for the coming months and it filled all 10 places, a testament to the quality of the ideas coming from the Irish applicants, said Wayra Ireland director, Karl Aherne.

“Certainly the last number of Wayra weeks [in other countries] didn’t fill their slots. We filled all 10 and I’m really happy about that. It’s a huge endorsement of innovation among entrepreneurs in Ireland,” he said.

“One of the biggest objectives we had from the outset was that even the 10 that didn’t get through would feel it was worthwhile. They networked, they pitched to judges and they got some training.”

The ones that weren’t chosen were unsuccessful for a number of reasons. “Either they were too early, or they were too far advanced and there wasn’t enough that Wayra could do for them,” said Aherne.

“It doesn’t meant they weren’t good projects or teams; it just meant there were 10 that were a better fit for Wayra in terms of what we can do to accelerate their business. Some of those projects don’t need Wayra – they’ll do it on their own.”

There was a wide variety in the groups that made it into the accelerator. Among the successful ones was Beats Medical, an e-health solution that aims to revolutionise how patients with Parkinson’s are treated, assessed and monitored, which could improve mobility and quality of life.

Chief executive Ciara Clancy said the team behind Beats Medical was cross-functional, with backgrounds in medical, tech business and physio.

Some of the budding entrepreneurs took a major risk to get their ideas off the ground. Whittl’s David Power left a permanent job to devote his time to the project with his business partner Kevin Kavanagh.

A designer for O2 Ireland, Power refused the offer of a sabbatical from the firm, preferring instead to leap into the project on a full-time basis.

It aims to produce an email replacement for business, improving communication habits and improving productivity by reducing the amount of time employees spend working on their inbox.

Very few of the projects had a telecoms focus, reflecting the changing priorities of the business. One of these was OptiWifi, which brings monitoring and optimisation solutions for wifi hotspots to the market. The idea is make wifi hotspots manageable for wifi service providers, mobile carriers and wifi manufacturers.

PayMins, meanwhile, uses mobile payments to sell digital media to customers.

But most looked elsewhere for inspiration. Woopie offers a multi-device digital publishing platform, allowing people to create publications that look great no matter what device you use. ThoughtBox focuses on education through “gameful learning”, and BragBet is experimenting with social gambling.

SuperQuest uses games to assess your strengths and recommend what jobs and opportunities are best suited to each applicant. Founder Padraig Mannion said the games could also be offered to companies as part of the recruitment process, eliminating the need to concentrate solely on CVs.

“People would assume because it’s a Telefónica initiative, there would be lots of mobile and telecommunications projects,” said deputy director of Wayra Ireland, Gavan Drohan. “We were delighted with that aspect – there was a real variety.”

The age range of those behind the projects varied too. Glass Robot Studio, which is developing a mobile social gaming platform, is probably one of the youngest, with all four of the team in their early 20s. They have just finished college in DIT Kevin Street, and will graduate in the coming weeks.

Adam Drakeford, who set up Glass Robot with classmates Johnny Murphy, Keith McCormac and Darren McKeever, said they had received support from DIT in establishing the firm, and had applied for a number of programmes before getting into Wayra.

“If we hadn’t got in, we would have taken so much away from this regardless,” said Murphy.

Also at the younger end of the age scale was Popdeem, which uses social commerce, identifying potential influencers in social networks and connecting brands to these influencers.

While there was disappointment for some of the projects, those involved in Wayra were keen to stress that it wouldn’t be the end of the line for them. The judges will provide feedback, and they are being encouraged to reapply for Wayra in its future programmes.

“If you haven’t been selected, keep on trying. Wayra is going to be here for a long time,” said global director Gonzalo Martin-Villa.