- Well-known companies such as Amazon, Uber, Airbnb and Wallapop all started out as start-ups.
Start-ups can be defined as newly created, technology-based companies, although the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) recommends the use of the term “emerging company” in Spanish.
Start-ups are characterised by issues such as scalability, technology and innovation, a global focus, their young age and low initial costs.
There are hundreds of examples of start-ups, but in this article we will focus on a few that have become global benchmarks.
Uber – 2010
In an article on our blog about what MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is, we explain that this app simply ‘connected drivers with passengers in a single city. There were no big features, just what was necessary to book a car.’
Although it was launched in 2010 in San Francisco, its origins lie in the frustration of its founders, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, at not being able to get a taxi on a rainy day in Paris a couple of years earlier.
Like many other successful start-ups, Uber has transcended its original objective and diversified into other areas, such as food and parcel delivery.
With a presence in dozens of countries, Uber (and many other similar companies in different countries) has made private hire vehicles, which have been around for decades but without such a high profile, commonplace, competing with taxis and, in some cases, generating regulatory conflicts.
Airbnb – 2007
Like Uber, Airbnb was also born in San Francisco. The origin of this popular company lies in the fact that Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk, flatmates in the Californian city, offered on a forum the room that the third had to vacate due to a rent increase.
The origin of the name lies in a play on words between the inflatable mattress they offered in the platform’s first advertisement (airbed) and the traditional BnB (Bed and Breakfast), which is why it is usually written as AirBnB.
It is undeniable that Airbnb has revolutionised the way we find accommodation when travelling, although it is not without controversy, as certain sectors of society blame these types of platforms – and regulatory shortcomings in certain environments – for the rise in housing prices.
Amazon – 1994
Founded in the United States in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, one of the entrepreneurs who have changed the history of technology, Amazon began as an online bookshop with a catalogue of 200,000 titles. Its novelty lay in the fact that books could be purchased by email, something that was disruptive three decades ago.
The name comes from the Amazon River, the longest in the world, with the aim of making it precisely the largest store in the world, a name that replaced the original name, Cadabra, shortly after its launch.
The success of the business model led the company to expand its catalogue to include music, films, toys and electronics in the late 1990s, launching its e-book version, called Kindle, in 2007.
From those origins to the present day, the evolution has been enormous, with a wide range of services that go beyond mere e-commerce and include cloud computing, streaming, AI and electronic devices.
Wallapop – 2013
Founded in Barcelona in 2013, this mobile application is designed for the sale and purchase of second-hand items.
Founded by Agustín Gómez, Gerard Olivé and Miguel Vicente, this start-up was created with the premise of building an ecosystem that would give certain goods a second life.
Characterised by geolocation to connect sellers and buyers, the ease of use of this digital native company via mobile devices has made it hugely popular.
Examples of Wayra start-ups
In its decade and a half of existence, Wayra has invested €345 million in more than a thousand startups.
Telefónica’s portfolio of emerging companies includes more than 530 from different countries in Europe and Latin America and covering a wide range of topics, such as connectivity, cybersecurity, entertainment, Fintech, education and eHealth.
