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START UP OF THE MONTH Banishing the waiting blues


Vaidas Adomauskas, Co-Founder and CEO, WoraPay, tells IBS Journal about his hatred for queues and his love of problem solving mobile tech


Interview by Scott Thompson


yourself.


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BS Journal: Tell us about


Vaidas Adomauskas: WoraPay helps retailers to significantly increase sales whilst saving time for their customers. It is achieved by allowing them to order and self-checkout with their mobiles and therefore avoid queues. Retailers report 5-15% increases in sales whilst their customers save thousands of hours from not having to wait in line.


IBS Journal: What’s your business model?


VA: We provide an added value service for retailers “as a service”; therefore, they pay a service fee. The increase in sales covers that fee in a few months.


IBS Journal: What sets you apart?


VA: Firstly, we have been running this solution in the Baltics for a few years now. We have learned many lessons on how this tech can help retailers to increase sales. We are using that expertise and can advise retailers accordingly. This is very hard to do for newcomers. Secondly, we have already proved ourselves in the UK market with Lloyds Banking Group (see box out section for more info) which clearly shows the benefits for all parties (client, corporate, retailer). We know


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how to quickly replicate this success story. Thirdly, our solution is open for any mobile wallet (order and pay app) to be connected. Therefore, clients can choose their favorite mobile wallet, including retailers’ branded offerings, to order or self-checkout.


IBS Journal: Who or what inspired you to set the company up?


VA: I am one of those people who do not like to wait. If I see a queue I do not enter the shop unless I really have to. If I see a busy restaurant I won’t go in as I know I will need to wait for my meal and also the bill. One day I met with my co-founder and an angel investor and we decided that this can be solved with mobiles. So I was happy when my pregnant wife, instead of standing in a very long queue for a bottle of water before a Robbie Williams concert in the Zalgiris arena (biggest arena in CEE), ordered it on her mobile using the WoraPay system and got notification in half a minute to come and collect it without queueing.


I was also happy when driving home from the seaside in Lithuania with my then one year old daughter sleeping in the back of the car. I stopped for fuel at a Lukoil station, and after filling the tank I used the WoraPay solution and paid on my mobile while sitting in the car. I


drove away without the need to go to the kiosk to pay. Those who have little children will recognise this scenario – leaving them whilst they are asleep in the car is not a good option. These are just a few personal examples, but we believe there are many more people like us who hate queueing and would be eager to save time.


IBS Journal: What has been your smartest move?


VA: Once we decided to expand our business from the Baltics to the UK our smartest move was to join the Startupbootcamp FinTech London accelerator. They helped us to find which verticals in the UK have the biggest queueing problems. Also, due to their extensive partnerships and mentors network, they helped open many doors. We are already working with companies like Lloyds Banking Group and that wouldn’t have happened so quickly if we were doing this alone.


IBS Journal: What was your biggest challenge/setback?


VA: The biggest challenge is that we work with big companies; due to their internal processes, it takes time for them to make decisions and organise needed processes to launch the service.


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