Menü
Press Release
Frankfurt am Main, 21.06.2024

Content Shift Accelerator 2024: Finalists Have Been Chosen

Three-month coaching and mentoring programme for selected startups | Börsenvereinsgruppe initiative designed to foster cross

The Content Shift finalists 2024 clockwise from top left: Susanne Friese (Qeludra), Georg Tschare (equalizent), Jochen Adler (kompreno), Sergiy Grushko (booknet) und Ulrike Küchler (gamebook).

The Content Shift Accelerator initiated by the Börsenvereinsgruppe fosters the development of new and innovative business models in the book industry. A total of 36 startups qualified to take part in the accelerator this year. After a preliminary round earlier this month, the Content Shift jury has now chosen five companies at a pitch event in Frankfurt am Main. The startups from Germany, Netherlands, Austria and Cyprus will now be given access to a network of high-ranking investors, experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts drawn from the book industry and media sector. They will also participate in coaching sessions and a co-creation workshop designed to test their business models, define current challenges and identify further opportunities for cooperation. On 17.10.2024 at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the jury will select the "Startup of the Year", which will receive a €10,000 grant.

The Following Startups Are Set to Compete in the Final Round:

  • Equalizent links digital versions of books with its own database, which contains explanations and translations of German words in German sign language. Every word with a sign-language explanation is linked to a video in the database.
  • Gamebook Interactive Books Platform is a web platform for the production, appraisal and promotion of new and existing brands (IPs) in an interactive book format. It offers a full-service approach to monetisation, AI translation, daily updates and marketing with playables and data analysis.
  • Kompreno offers over 10,000 translated texts from national newspapers, special-interest magazines and journalism projects covering a wide range of themes from 14 European countries on the web or in an app.
  • MyBookNet Pro is building a network of self-publishing platforms for e-books in several different languages. The initiative consists of a standardised service for authors that enables them to publish their work and distribute it worldwide with the help of AI translations.
  • Qeludra offers a tool for high-quality data analysis by drawing on Ludra, a software that uses generative AI to give researchers the ability to call up the information they need in a conversational format.

When asked about this year’s finalists, jury spokesperson Carla Scheunemann (Community Editions/Bastei Lübbe) said the following: "Our five finalists are developing innovative approaches to forward-looking themes in the book industry, including barrier-free accessibility, qualitative data analysis, translations and self-publishing. My fellow jury members and I were particularly impressed by the creativity and diversity of ideas these startups are bringing to the table, for example by using artificial intelligence to generate the greatest possible benefit for the industry. We’re looking forward to engaging in an intensive exchange with our fantastic top-5 startups in September!"

The Content Shift Accelerator receives support from companies active in the book industry and media sector, with each company sending representatives to act as members of the expert jury. The members of this year’s jury are the following:

  • Martina Fiddrich and Olaf Carstens (Cornelsen Verlag)
  • Carla Scheunemann and Jonas Konrad (Community Editions/Bastei Lübbe)
  • Alexander Woge (KNK Customer Engagement)
  • Stefanie Penck (TeNeues Verlag)
  • Nina Hugendubel and Per Dalheimer (Buchhandlung Hugendubel)
  • Leif Göritz and Detlef Büttner (Lehmanns Media/Buchhandlung Thalia)
  • Philipp Lindinger (Herder Verlag)
  • Ronald Schild (MVB)
  • Lennart Schneider, an independent strategic advisor and external partner to the programme

The accelerator is also accompanied by Harald Henzler (International University SDI München) and Okke Schlüter (Hochschule der Medien/University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart) in an advisory capacity.

Additional Information

Materials to Download

About Content Shift

Content Shift is an initiative of the Börsenverein Group that focuses on new business models for the German-language book market. In addition to the accelerator, it also includes regular pitch events ("icebreakers") and a newsletter. The initiative was launched to support founders, to network startups with the book industry and to share information about new business models.
www.contentshift.de/en

About the Börsenverein Group

The Börsenvereinsgruppe (Group of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association) represents the interests of Germany's book industry and provides its members with advisory and practical services. The group comprises the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers and Booksellers Association) and its business subsidiaries, which include Frankfurter Buchmesse, MVB, mediacampus frankfurt as well as the Holding Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels Beteiligungsgesellschaft. The Börsenvereinsgruppe supports the book industry and media sector by providing professional services that include advocacy, the organisation of cultural projects, tradeshows, training programmes and publishing and technology services.
www.boersenvereinsgruppe.de

About MVB

Technology and information provider MVB makes books visible. Major platforms, based on international metadata standards, enable publishers and bookstores to promote their products successfully and efficiently in their home markets and abroad. Editorial and advertising formats as well as face-to-face networking give orientation in different book markets. In close cooperation with customers and market players from all areas of the book industry, the teams located in Frankfurt am Main, London, Mexico City, New York, and São Paulo continuously work on innovative Infrastructure solutions for the book trade of the future.
www.mvb-online.com

Contact