Illuminations Blog, JTM News

$50,000 and four months to develop the future of journalism

There is a lot of venture capital flowing into today’s startups, but it can be very challenging to convince people to invest in new journalism enterprises.

Matter is changing that with an incubator designed to help media startups succeed. Based in San Francisco, Matter announced its first call for participants late last year. The six companies that were chosen for the first session have since graduated, and Matter has opened its doors for a whole new class.

The program runs from the beginning of October until the end of February, and applications are due by July 28. At the end of the four months, the teams will demo their products in both San Francisco and New York.

Matter is inviting teams of two to four cofounders to submit a short proposal. Matter CEO Corey Ford, said at an info session last year that successful teams would be made up of hackers, hustlers, designers and storytellers. Hackers to write the code. Hustlers to promote it and sell the idea. Designers to revise the product until there is something viable, and, of course, storytellers.

Next week Matter will hold info sessions in Boston, New York, Washington DC and Chicago. They will also host sessions in San Francisco and Los Angeles in early July and there is a virtual session scheduled as well. The sessions are likely to fill up, so register today if you plan to attend.

One of the most important components in creating a successful proposal — and a successful company — is to have the right team. In order to help entrepreneurs who are interested in pitching Matter find their future cofounders, JTM has created this form to help you find the hacker, hustler, designer, or storyteller you’re looking for.

I will be using the information you submit to put potential team members in touch with each other, and I encourage you to tell other people about it so that there are enough hackers and hustlers to go around.