Excitement Builds for MediaTech Ventures Following their Launch Event
Returning to Austin for the summer, I was looking to enrich myself in something related to my area of study at school. I am a student at USC studying Business in Cinematic Arts – a joint program where I will continue to complete coursework in both the School of Cinematic Arts and the Marshall School of Business.
At school, I noticed a general trend among different media industries: technology is continuing to rapidly advance media. At MediaTech Ventures, I have been able to intern with them and grasp how two industries- media and technology- intersect. I’ve written articles, attended various events, gotten to know the team, and learned how they conduct business; In other words, I’ve taken the summer to be a sponge to MediaTech Ventures. Recently, they just launched their second incubator program with an event:
Over at MediaTech Ventures, they had their launch party for the opening of applications to their second cohort of Collective, a rigorous and education oriented startup incubator for media innovations and entrepreneurs. This event was located at the Work Well Coworking space in Austin, where their incubation program takes place. With food, drinks, and people passionate about media and technology, the environment fostered insightful discussions and networking amongst its attendees.
Founders John Zozzaro and Paul O’Brien presented on MediaTech Ventures. First, they identified the neglect of the creative class; they noted that as media and technology continue to converge, there evidently are massive gaps in workforce readiness, innovation, business intelligence, and asset valuation.
MediaTech Ventures, a media innovation holding company connected with media leaders and data infrastructure of tomorrow’s global media industry, employs a proprietary framework serving blended capital to advance education, resources, and infrastructure for the creative class and on behalf of entrepreneurs and investors. Their incubator program works to benefit its members by providing them with advice from their experience with startups, providing them with a business model, and helping its members expand their network.
Following their presentation was continuation of discussion and questions about the creative class, business models for startups, the advancement of technology, the startup scene in Austin, and more. The MediaTech Ventures team continues to spark interest and excitement with their plans to take capital and shift it in a way that empowers the creative class.
That incubator has had an incredible impact on media entrepreneurs and innovators in Texas. Applications for the next cohort are open and we’re looking for Directors in other cities, more mentors, and even companies and schools that would like to bring the program to life. Let us know here if interested!
Is the second incubator program a continuation of the first program but with a new cohort or is the second program focused on a different kind of startups than the first one?
Great question Zach. Same program, enhanced because we have more partners and mentors now 🙂 but an entirely new class – not a continuation of the first. Same kinds of startups though, clarify perhaps what you’re thinking by asking that; we’re always and only going to focus on media oriented innovations and entrepreneurs so they’ll always be the ‘kind of startup’ we serve.
Worth noting thought too, ‘kind of startup’ might infer stage (?) – we’ll always be an incubator: we’re passionate about teaching and making sure mentors and founders are working together to build something. We want to help build the foundation of the future of media and serve Accelerators, Investors, and Companies by doing so. So, Kind Of, will always refer to Idea to Seed Stage at most (rarely later stage unless a later stage startup or even a company, wants to incubate a completely new idea). Notably as an example, and granted the details are still in confidence, in the first cohort, a couple secured seed funding and all were introduced directly to Techstars and other “Accelerators.” We played our role so that those who can best serve them in their next stage can do so more effectively 🙂
I have a question “what is the size of the investment MediaTech Ventures makes?” How does it compare in size, to say Y Combinator?
I’m excited for you. It sounds like you’re getting an amazing, hands-on education in perhaps the most important industry in the world. This is perhaps an idle curiosity, but what is the most significant upcoming change you see in the next two years in media? Is there a particular trend that seems likely to become more important than others in media tech?
How exactly is “media” defined here? What are the types of companies that are involved in the program?