Innovation @ Axel
Springer
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Innovation@AS Where It Slots Into The Value Chain
Electronic Media
Division
Size
Strategic Product
Development
0
Open Innovation
R&D &
Development
Early-stage
Investment
Business Stage
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Growth
Investment
Axel Springer Plug and Play
Berlin based accelerator and bridge to the Silicon Valley
Batch I: 7 companies
Pages Earning Conversions
live on s
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Batch II: 7 companies
Overview Axel Springer Plug and Play Accelerator
Key facts
Pan-European start-up accelerator, founded 02/2013.
50:50 Joint Venture with Plug and Play Tech Center
Sunnyvale (accelerated 1500+ startups).
Three-months programme for very young start-ups in
Berlin, individual follow ups in the Silicon Valley.
Substantial programme sequences: assets (25k €), office
space, support, coaching, workshops, networking, access
to VCs for follow-up financing.
2-3 cycles per year, each ending with a demo day.
Planned to do about 20 seed investments (5% share) per
year; no direct strategic fit required, but should ideally be
able to use Axel Springer’s resources as assets.
Proposition: acceleration of successful companies;
for Axel Springer used as a means to get exposure to new
areas of business and to foster innovation by
collaboration with Axel Springer brands in an early stage
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IDEAS Building New Business From Scratch
TunedIn
2nd screen tv product
The Iconist
design commerce
Prepaid BILD
mobile distribution
Last Minute Local
mobile discounts
Epos
immersive history app
ShopNow
mobile loyalty
Room 49
digital celebrity property
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Overview Axel Springer IDEAS
Key facts
R&D and innovation lab, founded late 2012.
Small core team from inside AS (editorial, design,
business, engineering), variable geometry of project
teams from inside and outside the company.
Proposition: serial experimentation, explore new digital
areas of business through ‘pathfinder’ products, induce
cultural change and ‘intrapreneurship’, establish
integrated processes for digital product development.
Idea
Research
Concept
Business Case
Reporting directly to the board.
All projects must show close fit with AS activities
and be able to employ existing ecosystem as an ‘unfair
advantage’ over independent start-ups.
Uses entrepreneurial incentive structures: spin-out
projects into companies, give shares to the management
teams, work closely with Plug & Play for mentoring etc.
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Execution
ME@IDEAS Partnering With Individual Entrepreneurs For New
Projects And The Staffing Of Existing Ventures
www.mediaentrepreneurs.de
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Common Thread An ‚Old‘ Company As A Tool Set For ‚The New‘
Location
Know how
Reach
Distribution / POS
Salesforce
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Creativity