Business News
MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS: European startup scene meeting in Berlin at the invitation of Axel Springer AG
Thursday 25. October 2012 - At the invitation of Axel Springer AG, more than 100 European media professionals, start-up founders and investors met in Berlin for the MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS DAY 2012 on October 16, 2012. The focus of the event was discussions of new trends relating to digital business models, workshops on the digitization of the media world as well as networking among the participants. The event was held in Berlin's Radialsystem V, followed by dinner in the Berlin Axel Springer House with numerous start-up-founders and board members of the media enterprise.
As part of the event, Mathias Döpfner, Chief Executive Officer of Axel Springer AG, announced the launch of the MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAM: Within a period of 12 months, participants working alongside the Strategic Product Development Team will each develop a new business idea. Through short working visits to the different divisions, participants are soon able to build up a network of contacts. The goal is to present a marketable business idea as an investment decision to the Executive Board by the end of the program – and if successful, to implement it themselves as an “entrepreneur within the enterprise”. Applications for the program are now possible at www.axelspringer.com/career.
Mathias Döpfner during the announcement: “The MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAM is another step in our long term goal to transform our company into a true multimedia company.” Ulrich Schmitz, Chief Technology Officer at Axel Springer AG, adds: “As a media company, which already generates a third of its revenues in the digital sector, Axel Springer AG wants to further strengthen the online scene and promote a joint exchange of ideas. Through MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS we are therefore offering a comprehensive networking platform for ambitious digital professionals, founders and investors.”
The “HY Berlin” pitch was held for the first time on MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS DAY. More than 130 start-ups applied to participate in this competition. It is endowed with 10,000 euros, as well as a trip to Silicon Valley for the best three start-ups. The Berlin42 agency is the organizer, with Axel Springer and hub:raum, the start-up incubator of Deutsche Telekom, as partners. Further information about the winners can be found at www.hyberlin.com.
The first MEDIA ENTREPRENEURS event of Axel Springer AG had welcomed 40 participants to Berlin in 2011. Many of the ideas presented are being implemented and further pursued today, in joint projects or collaborations, by people now employed by the company.