Accelerating to the international stage with the support of accelerators

Estonian defence technology startup Wayren is making strides in secure communication solutions. The company, which raised €725,000 in its first funding round last year, has also received support from the European Defence Fund and the Estonian Ministry of Defence. However, beyond financial backing, Wayren’s journey has been shaped by various accelerators that have helped refine its technology and business model. How have these programs influenced their growth, and where is the company headed next? We spoke with Wayren’s co-founder and CEO, Henry Härm, to find out.

Wayren essentially started from the Estonian Defence Forces. What was the trigger to launch a startup?

“We worked together with the co-founders in the Cyber Command of the Estonian Defence Forces, developing a battle management system, and we saw that making quick decisions and improving systems were hindered by the reliability of communication. We wanted to digitalize the battlefield, so that’s how Wayren got started. Our first funding came from the Ministry of Defence’s defence industry support fund, which confirmed to us that this solution was necessary and already believed in from the early stages.”

Receiving funding from Prototron is an important milestone for many startups, as it provides not only financial support but also increased visibility. What were the most valuable resources Prototron provided for you?

“From Prototron, we received €20,000 in funding, which allowed us to assemble our first physical product kit and send it to customers for testing. After Prototron, we sent our product to Ukraine for testing to get feedback directly from the battlefield.”

After Prototron, you moved on to the Tehnopol Startup Incubator. How did the Startup Incubator impact the development of your platform?

“The incubator primarily provided general support for developing our startup through training, and having a key mentor was also crucial. Our key mentor was Pirko Konsa. During that period, we had to put in a lot of effort ourselves and develop our skills to overcome key milestones with the company. The incubator served as a support structure that helped us reach our goals. We also benefited from Tehnopol’s international network of professionals to further develop our business model.”

Wayren was one of the companies selected for the second cohort of the NATO DIANA accelerator in Estonia at the end of last year. There were about 2,500 applications from across the alliance. What are your expectations for this program?

“From NATO DIANA, we primarily expect testing opportunities and networking with potential partners and end-users. We hope that participating in this accelerator will serve as a mark of trust and quality, help establish Wayren in the defence industry, and connect us with potential partners.”

You also applied to NATO DIANA last year but were not selected at that time.

“Yes, we had very little time to submit the application, and we were not satisfied with the final version of our submission. This year, we took it seriously, allocated enough time, and prepared a very strong application. For this program, the preparation process is extremely important—it requires companies to think through what they want to achieve and how it aligns with the accelerator’s challenges. This groundwork is crucial.”

Looking back at your journey so far, where do you think Wayren would be now if you hadn’t had the opportunity to participate in different accelerators?

“I believe that various funds and accelerators have accelerated our growth—some learning moments have been easier to go through with the support of accelerators, as mentors and trainers have shared so much of their experience and advice with us. I personally feel that thanks to this support, our company’s development has been a few years faster and possibly also more professional.”

What are Wayren’s short-term goals? How do you plan to further develop your platform to meet both defence and civilian sector needs?

“Our main plan is to offer our technology in the defence industry to both Estonia and our allies. Right now, our focus among allies is on Ukraine. Once that part is covered, our next major step will be to start marketing our technology in the civilian sector. Our initial focus in the civilian sector is on mining—besides projects in Estonia, we want to work on mining digitalization projects abroad in the future. We believe this could be a strong additional growth platform alongside the defence sector. Additionally, we are planning another funding round within the next year.”

And finally—who will be the next Estonian unicorn?

“We will be!”

If your startup is ready to join an accelerator, act now—Tehnopol Startup Incubator is currently accepting applications! More details and application HERE!

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This interview was originally published in sTARTUp Day blog.