The principle of the Media Founders Program is to provide support from product development to the founding of a company. The program is run by the Medieninnovationszentrum Babelsberg (MIZ), in cooperation with the MediaTech Hub Accelerator. It is primarily directed at founders and startups from Berlin and Brandenburg who have a business idea with a technical innovation value that will prepare journalism and the media world for the future. Teams that meet these criteria can apply for the third round of the Media Founders Program now.
The program is divided into two phases. In phase 1, the teams are supported by the MIZ Babelsberg for the development of their products. This first phase has a duration up to 12 months. These are the benefits:
- Financial support up to €40,000.
- Coaching budgets up to € 1,500.
- Network and events.
- Access to professional video and audio studios, production technology and a co-working space at MIZ Babelsberg.
The development of the company is the top priority in phase 2. For this, teams will have the opportunity to recommend themselves for the six-month MediaTech Hub Accelerator program, where they can expect the following benefits:
- An individual mentoring program.
- Various trainings, e.g. sales, pitch, financing.
- An office space for co-working.
- Access to the network of the Berlin and Potsdam start-up scene.
- Access to the Digital Hub Initiative.
- The opportunity to participate in national and international trade fairs.
The application deadline is on June 25, 2023. All further information about the Media Founders Program and the application can be found here.
About previous projects
So far, a total of four teams have had the opportunity to develop prototypes and build their companies by participating in the Media Founders Program.
In the first round, the two teams Snaque and Vertical52 were accepted. Snaque has developed the so-called “Playwall”. It is a paywall extension that allows readers to “unlock” premium content on news sites and read it without a subscription. Vertical52 makes radar and satellite data accessible and usable for journalists, publishers and NGOs. While Snaque has already gone through both phases of the Media Founders Program, Vertical52 is expected to join the MTH Accelerator program soon.
the two teams Cultway and St. Audio have successfully applied for the second round of the Media Founders Program. While the team of Cultway is developing an AI-based software that can turn text into videos and presentations, the team of St. Audio is building a so-called ” Growth-Hub”, a platform that uses AI to recommend actions for podcasters to expand their reach. Both Cultway and St. Audio are currently in Phase 1.