What might "innovative television" look like? The founders of Exaring AG pondered this idea and developed waipu.tv. Find out what's behind it and how they were able to generate more than a quarter of a million users within six months in our 7 questions for... Exaring!
- Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
A medium-sized Bavarian civil engineering company had built a huge private fiber optic network in Germany over many years. Together with Christoph Bellmer (CEO and founder, 53 years old, electrical engineer, previously held leading positions at Toll Collect, arena, Unity Media and ProSiebenSat.1), the Exaring AG Founded with the idea of bringing innovative television and, potentially, entirely new services such as virtual gaming and virtual reality to market, Freenet AG also acquired a stake in 2015, initially acquiring a quarter of the shares. After a year of product development, Exaring AG launched waipu.tv in 2016. In 2017, Freenet AG exercised an option and increased its stake to just over 50 percent.
waipu.tv consistently combines the elegance of a smartphone app with the reliability and quality of TV entertainment. It also allows for innovative advertising formats that allow individual control of the TV screen in the living room.
Our users can already record shows with one click (even on the go) and watch them whenever they have the time and peace of mind. For TV fans, we even have a series recording function. We give users personalized TV tips, which can also be recorded with one click. The smartphone becomes the central control unit and a personal TV assistant that's always with them.
By combining pause, record, multi-device, and multi-room functions, waipu.tv allows for convenient usage scenarios: For example, you can simply take the current program from the TV in the living room into the bedroom. At the same time, the children can watch a cartoon on the TV using the same account. Up to four streams are available simultaneously per account.
Additional services and features are already in development and will be rolled out in the second half of the year. Our goal is to increasingly personalize and individualize the user experience. We want to make the entertainment of the future simple, stress-free, and individually customizable to each user.
Half a million users by the end of the year?
2. But that's been around for a long time!
Nokia had mobile phones before the iPhone. waipu.tv is unique in its combination of features, content, and ease of use. We are consistently working to further build on these strengths.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
1. Speed and quality.
2. Product development consistently based on customer requirements.
3. A passionate, great team of experienced managers and young digital natives.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
As of June 30, 2017, we had more than 250,000 users. Growth is dynamic. We aim to double this number by the end of the year.
An excellent starting position
5. What does Munich mean to you?
The entire founding team has been based in Munich for some time. The quality of life here is very high, as, unlike other metropolises, the surrounding area has so much to offer—mountains, lakes, stunning landscapes—and it's not far to Italy either.
We see Munich as a startup region with an excellent starting point for founders. Being a startup no longer necessarily means being based in Berlin. Our state capital has long been the tech metropolis on the Isar River.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Of course, we're working on becoming a unicorn. And we're quite confident we'll achieve this, as we've already managed to delight our customers six months after our launch. With a Net Promoter Score of 37, waipu.tv achieves a top customer rating, even by international standards.
7. Fish on a stick or pork knuckle?
Better a chicken.
