In January, Florian Bogenschütz took up his position as the new Managing Director of the Munich-based Telefónica accelerator Wayra. Shortly thereafter, the coronavirus crisis struck, and Bogenschütz immediately had to demonstrate his skills as a crisis manager. We asked the new Wayra CEO how his first few months have been and where he plans to develop the program.
Munich Startup: You began your tenure as Managing Director of Wayra Germany in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. How did your first three months as Wayra's CEO go?
Florian Bogenschütz: Turbulent—there's no other way to describe it, given the current crisis situation, which surpasses anything I've experienced before. I started at Wayra in January to strengthen the visibility of Wayra startups within Telefónica and to develop the Innovation Hub into a state-of-the-art technology lab. The crisis hadn't yet hit. We were barely able to open our new 5G campus in Berlin at the beginning of March when the effects of the pandemic hit hard—all events were canceled, and all employees, startup teams, and our contacts in Telefónica's business units were suddenly working from home. Suddenly, after just three months, I was in office as crisis manager—because no one knew what was coming. Especially at the beginning of the crisis, we had to motivate the teams under special conditions, alleviate their uncertainties as best we could, and maintain communication. After all, the Innovation Hub thrives on networking and exchange. But it must also be said that we were relatively well prepared, as we are already completely digital today. We now hold daily morning check-ins via video conference, bi-weekly all-hands meetings, and even digital coffee breaks. Many of our startups have now developed truly effective solutions that are being used to combat the effects of the pandemic.
“Our goal is to ensure that startups are used even more intensively and quickly at Telefónica.”
Munich Startup: Before joining Wayra, you co-founded Airgreets. You also worked at Wayra's offices for a while. What did you learn during that time that's been useful to you now?
Florian Bogenschütz: Wayra Ultimately, this connects all the dots in my career so far. At Airgreets, I gained a wealth of startup experience—and that's obviously essential if we want to integrate startups into Telefónica. Thanks to my time as a co-founder, I know pretty well what makes startups tick, what they need, and where the pitfalls of scaling lie. Before my startup days, I worked at Deutsche Telekom. Knowing how telecommunications companies tick is the second key to the understanding needed at the interface in the Innovation Hub.
Munich Startup: Where do you want to take Wayra? What will change for startups that want to work with you and for the teams that use your space?
Florian Bogenschütz: Our goal is to ensure that startups are used even more intensively and quickly at Telefónica. To achieve this, we must create an understanding of the needs of both sides and optimally leverage the strengths of both parties. The corporation has established processes and a successful business model, while startups produce innovations and have the great advantage of being allowed to fail. For both sides to benefit, both startups and Telefónica employees must approach each other. The business units need a greater awareness that startup solutions are not time-consuming experiments, but rather specifically address problems and create competitive advantages. Furthermore, as a client, the corporation can influence startups at an early stage and help shape solutions. In return, startups get a customer with optimal conditions. Many startups—especially in the areas of 5G or the Internet of Things—rely on the infrastructures of large corporations like Telefónica to test and deploy their solutions in real-world environments. At this interface, both sides truly benefit from each other. When we welcome startups, we initially offer them a four-month program that includes a pilot project with a Telefónica business unit. The goal is always for Telefónica to become a customer of the startup after four months. Along the way, we support the startups with everything they need, from facilitating collaborations and networking with new partners to organizing financing rounds.
“We want to establish truly resilient customer relationships between established corporates and innovative startups.”
Munich Startup: Which startups is your offer aimed at?
Florian Bogenschütz: Our application portals are open to everyone. While we primarily work with technology-focused startups in the areas of 5G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, we are also interested in startups that are working on a wide variety of challenges in different business areas, such as HR, fintech, or retail. In general, we work with all startups that develop solutions to problems that the company is unwilling or unable to address from within. For this to happen, it is important that employees in the business units become aware of this and that these problems come to us. Starting with the problems, we begin our search. On the other hand, we also take the opposite approach and proactively offer innovative solutions within the business departments to provide employees with inspiration and ideas.
Munich Startup: The venture client model requires strong, established companies that can serve as pilot clients for startups. How do you assess Munich as a location for this?
Florian Bogenschütz: With the Venture Client model, we aim to establish truly resilient customer relationships between established corporations and innovative startups, rather than simply relying on investment vehicles. We believe that the economy as a whole can benefit significantly more from startups if companies simply begin implementing the solutions and ideas of the numerous startups on the market. At the same time, startups are more helped by providing them with real customers. A customer with a genuine need and competitive pressure accelerates the development of a startup that has to keep up with orders much faster than if I provide funding for company development. Munich offers an excellent ecosystem for this new type of interaction between corporate business departments and young startups, which is why we located our Innovation Hub here for good reason. However, it is extremely important that corporations, despite their excellent location, think outside the box. Especially in times of the coronavirus crisis, it becomes clear how important it is to establish strong partnerships online and to be able to collaborate with colleagues, partners, and startups just as successfully from home or around the world.
