1. Innovation @ Axel Springer

2. Early-stage Investment
Where It Slots Into The Value Chain
Electronic Media
Division
Strategic Product Development
Size
R&D & Development
Early-stage Investment
Growth Investment
Open Innovation
Business Stage

3. Axel Springer Plug and Play
Berlin based accelerator and bridge to the Silicon Valley
Batch I: 7 companies
Batch II: 7 companies
Pages live on
Earning s
Conversions

4. 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 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

5. IDEAS Building New Business From Scratch
The Iconist
TunedIn
design commerce
2nd screen tv product
Prepaid BILD
mobile distribution
Last Minute Local
Epos
mobile discounts
immersive history app
ShopNow
Room 49
mobile loyalty
digital celebrity property

6. 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.
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.
Idea
Research
Concept
Business Case
Execution

7. Partnering With Individual Entrepreneurs For New Projects And The Staffing Of Existing Ventures 7

8. Common Thread An ‚Old‘ Company As A Tool Set For ‚The New‘
Location
Know how
Reach
Distribution / POS
Salesforce
Creativity 8