Expert-led coaching sessions and €10,000 in funding are two features that make the CONTENTshift accelerator attractive to participating startups. However, the key contacts these young entrepreneurs make to players in the book trade and the world of publishing are just as important.
When industry sponsors make the decision to get involved in the accelerator, they are given an automatic spot on the jury, where they have a direct line to all of the participating founders and can influence which one is named “Content Startup of the Year“.
This year, Schweitzer Fachinformationen, an association of independent and university bookstores, will be represented on the CONTENTshift jury by the dynamic duo of Managing Director Philipp Neie and Head of Business Development Jasmin Ahluwalia. For Neie, the Börsenverein’s accelerator is already “an established institution that fosters innovation while also serving to broaden horizons“.
Hörbuch Hamburg Managing Director Colin Hauer is yet another fresh face on the jury this year. Hauer has been following the accelerator closely for years and notes: “We’re a creative industry, but we always have so much to do that it helps immensely when curious and motivated people from outside bring in new ideas and impulses.“
Martina Fiddrich, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Cornelsen, feels the same way. She hopes the accelerator will continue to act as an engine for new approaches and developments as well as “a pillar of support and a safe space“ for testing new ideas and providing encouragement in the transformation to a more digital world.
Jury work as a give and take
Hörbuch Hamburg already focuses on the interplay between technology and listening experience.
Colin Hauer sees his work on the jury as a “give and take“, and he is eager to pass on to young companies the knowledge and networks he’s established for himself over the years: “What I’m hoping for is a true transfer of knowledge“.
Martina Fiddrich from Cornelsen is equally as eager to pass on her own knowledge and experience, but also to benefit from the participating startups: “My background in IT and education makes me a great sparring partner“, she says. “And my know-how and general curiosity mean that I’ll always have an open mind in discussions“.
All four jurors agree that programmes like the CONTENTshift accelerator are very important for the industry. Fiddrich, who heads up sales and marketing at a textbook publishing company, argues: “We need a steady flow of innovation to be able to constantly improve the learning environment and thus give everyone a chance to succeed in learning“.
Jasmin Ahluwalia from Schweitzer Fachinformationen has always seen innovation as an opportunity, even if it can be “uncomfortable sometimes“. As the jury member noted: “It’s great when new developments make it possible to transform something that works into something that works even better. It’s quite an exciting challenge to then try to implement these innovations in a smart and accessible way“.
As Colin Hauer notes, it’s fortunate that the book industry is so eager to innovate: “Programmes like the CONTENTshift accelerator help to bring in fresh new perspectives, and sometimes we need external technologies to get even better at what we do and love“.
CONTENTshift-Accelerator 2023
Application: Startups have until 8 May to apply to participate in the Börsenvereinsgruppe’s accelerator: https.anmeldung.contentshift.de/en
Other jury members: Detlef Büttner (Lehmanns Media), Leif Göritz (Thalia), Nina Hugendubel / Per Dalheimer (Hugendubel), Stefanie Penck (TeNeues Verlag), Wolfgang Pichler (Manz Verlag/Buchhandlung), Ronald Schild (MVB) and Lennart Schneider, our first non-book-industry juror (independent consultant for subscription marketing, newsletters and community building, Subscribe Now Podcast, industry ally
Pitch: Ten startups will be selected to participate. These ten startups will be invited to compete against each other at a pitch session on 28 June 2023. After that pitch, the jury will narrow the group down to five finalists.
Coaching: The finalists will participate in coaching sessions held over the course of three months and led by industry experts Harald Henzler and Okke Schlüter. After that, they will take part in a workshop in mid-September.
Finale: The winning startup will be selected on 19 October at the Frankfurt Book Fair (Funding: €10,000).
About the project: The CONTENTshift accelerator is a Börsenvereinsgruppe initiative founded in 2016 to bring the book industry together with founders and entrepreneurs. In 2022, 39 startups applied to take part in the accelerator.
Project management: Dept. Strategy, Innovation and Committees, Stefanie Perk (contentshift@boev.de).
Read-O
Read-O is an app that uses artificial intelligence to filter books according to mood, style and quality, and then uses this data to derive reading recommendations. One year after being crowned “Startup of the Year“ in 2021, Read-O took part in the reality TV format “Höhle der Löwen“, the German version of “Dragons’ Den“. Unfortunately, the on-screen deal with German investor Carsten Maschmeyer fell through, but other doors to the industry were nonetheless opened. In 2022, Read-O joined MVB and the software company bpm consult to launch a recommendation algorithm for bookstores. Clients involved in the algorithm’s current pilot stage include Dussmann in Berlin and Reuffel in Koblenz.
Qualifiction
Using artificial intelligence to analyse texts with regard to their content, style and market suitability: this was the business model that brought QualiFiction the title of “Startup of the Year“ in 2019. After that, CONTENTshift jury member and MVB managing director Ronald Schild kick-started a partnership with QualiFiction. The result of that collaboration, launched in 2022, was a new categorisation system that sorts books according to “reading motives“ rather than by product groups, thereby taking into account the needs and emotions of readers when buying books. The “reading motives“ are stored in Germany’s VLB catalogue of book titles.
Mitmalfilm
Startups don’t necessarily need to win the top prize at the CONTENTshift accelerator to attract the attention of the book industry, and Mitmalfilm is one such example. The company combines animated film, colouring books and an app to bring paintings to life. Their participation in the 2019 CONTENTshift accelerator resulted in a partnership with Oetinger. Carmen Udina, programme manager of the Oetinger imprint Migo, was a member of the jury that year and an instant Mitmalfilm fan. The colouring book “Claude Momäh und die große Leinwand“ (Claude Momäh and the Big Screen) is still available at Oetinger – and continues to show the potential of multimedia books.
Talking Hands
The CONTENTshift jury recognised the potential slumbering in this startup very quickly, naming it a finalist at the accelerator in 2021. “Talking Hands“ revives the old-fashioned flip book (kineograph) as a way of helping children to learn sign language. The inclusive idea behind “Talking Hands“ received a lot of attention, especially after some media coverage and the company’s appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The startup took part in the reality TV format “Höhle der Löwen“ – the German version of “Dragons’ Den“ – and was among the finalists at the EMOTION.Award. “Talking Hands“ also cooperated with Kao, the company behind the hair care brand Guhl.
Text: Isabella Caldart
