Back in the day (1800’s – 1900’s), ice was stored in Ice Boxes and when refrigerators were developed, none of the ice-box companies were able to make the transition and most – died. They simply did not see it coming, although the first hints were already there in 1805, when Oliver Evans suggested but never built a compressed ether machine.
In the modern day, corporations are very well aware of the fact and going to great lengths to make sure they are always on the top of the technology curve. They do not want to miss out the next Oliver Evans, and hence working with startups is a good way to keep up.
Some develop investment arms, others create accelerator programs or acquire businesses aggressively.
The media business is perhaps one of those that needs existing corporations to be on the lookout the most. The way we consume and use media is changing almost on-the-go. Nobody knows exactly where media will be in ten years. Will it be all inside Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality or perhaps we will re-invent television or a third option?
To this end, we think that it is beneficial to everyone to work together, and thus are inviting startups to meet the largest and best media houses in Europe this Wednesday at Media Honeypot, you can still register if you have not yet.
Two of the companies that will be present are ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Burda. Both of them have been active with startups for a while and want to take it further.
For example ProSiebenSat.1 has investment arms such as 7Commerce and 7Travel and they are examples of what they call the “string of pearls” strategy. As Christophe Aumaître, Investment Director (7Travel) of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE says:
“For 7Travel in particular, we seek for a more dominant position in the European travel market and acquisitions like our latest one (and by the way the biggest digital acquisition we did so far) in Sweden (eTRAVELi) will support and drive such growth plans.”
Both before and after the acquisition – ProSiebenSat.1 uses their existing strengths in Television, exchange advertising time for a share in revenues and/or an equity stake and they are continuously looking at new verticals too. Meet them at Media Honeypot.
In Burda’s case – they have a team of venture investment specialists, looking to broaden their portfolio. Currently, their portfolio includes over 30 startups in every stage of development. Some names you will be very familiar with such as Etsy.com, Xing AG and Vinted.
What they do is not just provide an investment, but look for companies that can benefit the most from the consumer reach and marketing expertise coupled with access to their specialist. For instance in Vinted’s case, they have invested EUR 20 Million into the company in 2015 and have been working on the ground in Vilnius, helping the management to scale the Vinted community.
In 2016, Burda is looing to invest more and are looking for businesses all the time. They too will be at Media Honeypot, so if you are interested in coming – get your tickets now.
