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Wayra boss Stewart is urging Europe entrepreneurs: Don’t go small, go big
By Paul Withers
Telefonica-run business start-up accelerator Wayra has urged budding European entrepreneurs to follow their US counterparts by not being so cautious about whether their idea will succeed. The comments came from
Wayra UK and UnLtd director Gary Stewart at the latter’s first “demoDay” on April 10 at the Wayra Academy in London. Stewart said around £1 billion
was invested in start-ups in the UK last year but this was minor in comparison with the £15 billion spent in the US.
Investors
He claimed this is because US start-ups
appeal to investors because they are more likely to
to failure. Americans give it their best shot and go big but Europeans are much more cautious of the risk and often doubt whether their idea will work. My advice to them is to just give it a shot. Don’t go too small, go big.”
“Americans give it their best shot and go big but Europeans are much more cautious”
Stewart: Americans look to conquer the US first, then the world
take risks and “go big”, whereas European start-ups are too cautious about their new business ideas and are more averse to failure. “The US prefers to make
money whereas Europe is used to inheriting it. Ten years ago, nobody
knew what an entrepreneur was but people were saying: ‘Try this. You’re a smart guy. If it fails then at least you’ve tried.’ I don’t see that same attitude in Europe. “Americans will look to conquer the US first and then the rest of the world and we’re not as averse
Open Mobile Summit attracts big names to explore latest trends
Some of the biggest names in mobile will gather in London next month for the Open Mobile Summit, which will explore the latest trends in the sector. The summit, which also runs
a US version each November in San Francisco, takes place over May 19-20 at the Victoria Park Plaza and features more than 80 senior-level speakers from the BBC, British Gas, Saatchi & Saatchi, the European Commission and more. The event features more than 30 hours of networking time, and will tackle topics including wearables,
the internet of
things, mobile payments and advertising. The central theme of the conference is “mobile first”’ experience of consumers and how to ‘“use content,
helping with their strategies,” project director Ina Vaduvescu told Mobile News. “Attendees will find out the latest trends and the newest and most successful strategies on how to make money on mobile.” BBC chief digital officer Dan
Heaf: Keynote speaker
context and user behaviour” to maximise engagement.
Strategies “The event is about the discussions and opportunities that the speakers see at a high level and how they are trickling down to their clients and
Heaf will be among a number of keynote speakers and will present to delegates on how to “internationalise media content to gain users”, while British Gas will take part in a panel session on the connected home. Other
highlights include
European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes, who is in charge of Digital Agenda for Europe, and will explain the initiatives the EC is undertaking to create a connected continent.
CityCom beats two Platinum Partners to £450,000 contract
Vodafone gold partner CityCom has signed a £450,000 contract with Care Tech Holdings worth 750 connections. The 30-month agreement will see the care home provider receive a range of smartphones including Apple iPhones and BlackBerry plus Android handsets such as Motorola’s Moto G.
CityCom, based in London, beat two of Vodafone’s upper tier “Platinum Partners” to the contract, which is understood to have been managed a major network.
Its managing director Vinod Kakkar attributed the to
win his company’s “Platinum
Club” offering, which includes services such as emergency loan devices (including international shipping),
cost monitoring (monthly bill
reviews for those who exceed their allowance), evening and weekend support, and specialist sourcing of products.
Exclusive “The reason we won the account is we have created a Platinum Club, which is an exclusive club for customers with high-value contracts,” Kakkar said. CityCom launched in October with a base of 3,500 connections Kakkar received by buying out his 50 per cent share in Vodafone gold partner Savincom.
venture add 2,000 connections, taking
He has since seen the new CityCom’s
total base
to 5,500 and turnover to £1.9 million. Kakkar expects connection
numbers to hit
Personal interviews In September 2013, 92 start- ups vied to come into Wayra UnLtd, which brings together Telefónica’s Wayra business accelerator programme with UnLtd, a UK support provider for social entrepreneurs. The numbers were reduced
to 41, which were then invited in for personal interviews to determine whether or not they should proceed. That number was shrunk to 10 on March 31 and they presented last week to more
than 20 venture capitalists as they sought further investment of up to £250,000. They gave a five-minute pitch on why the investors should get involved with their idea. Projects accepted by Wayra
receive funding of between £18,000 and £42,000, depending on their potential.
Since
launching in September 2012, Wayra has invested £10 million in 315 start-ups, with 14 academies worldwide.
There are two in London, with the others located in Dublin, Munich,
Prague, Madrid, Mexico City,
Barcelona, Bogota,
Caracas, Lima, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Buenos Aires. So far, successful start-ups have
received up to £40 million in follow-up funding in addition to the money invested by Wayra.
Slick gets slicker with rebrand as Syntiga
Accessories distributor Syntiga is targeting major retail partnerships following a company rebrand and £250,000 investment. The 12-year-old Watford-based
firm, which was rebranded from Slick Distributions on April 2, has a portfolio line of more than 8,000 products,
including its
in-house Orzly brand and official Ferrari merchandise. It claims to supply products to retailers across Western Europe, Russia and America, and a number of UK firms include WH Smith via its resellers.
Managing director Harpreet
Singh, who started the firm at university, said it changed its name to give the brand more “cohesion”.
He believes the
company hasn’t got the profile it deserves due to confusion around its previous name. The £250,000 investment has seen it extend its Watford headquarters to 30,000 sq ft and upgrade its IT infrastructure. Staff numbers have more than doubled from 22 to 47 and there are plans to push the headcount towards 100 by the end of 2014.
Singh: Marketing boost “When I show people around
the warehouse they always say ‘I didn’t realise you were that big’, and I get that every single week, from every single client who visits,” he told Mobile News. “Clearly, we haven’t marketed
ourselves properly and this is what Syntiga is about. If someone said have you heard about Slick Distributions, have you heard of SD – it just became a bit of a mess. Now, it’s just Syntiga.” “We’re hoping that more major retailers see who we are, over time see our products and hopefully approach us and try and work with us – we’re looking for half a dozen blue-chip companies.”
4G handsets to double
Sales of 4G phones are set to double this year and rise
to CityCom: Smartphone range
10,000 by October 2015. “CityCom is focused on the
legal, financial and high-end fashion sectors. We have had a stonking first two quarters,” Kakkar said.
He said the company saves customers on average 30 per cent, bringing ARPUs of around £100 to £62.
1.2 billion in 2018, accounting for over half of the 2.4 billion phones sold in that year. This is according to the
annual mobile phone forecast by telecoms analyst CCS Insight, which expects a key
driver
to be the cost of 4G phones falling below €100 (£82) in the second half of this year, with most operators removing any premium for using the services. Globally,
CCS Insight is predicting unit sales will grow
from 1.95 billion in 2014 to 2.29 billion in 2018. Smartphone sales will make up 64 per cent of sales this year and 82 per cent in four years time. From this, the proportion of sales
4G-enabled will almost
double, from 26 per cent to 51 per cent, with 56 per cent of phones sold in Western Europe this year being 4G-enabled. Across the board, the analyst
also expects the average selling price (ASP) of mobiles to fall this year from $168 (£100) this year to $154 (£92) in 2018.
pocket small in size, big on sound
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