How Hacks/Hackers Connect aims to stimulate diversity in the UK news industry

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Hacks/Hackers Connect, the free mentorship program for news entrepreneurs launched last summer , is holding its next event in London between 5-7 February.

Developed by Hacks/Hackers in partnership with Google News Lab, Connect aims to help people with ideas for a news-related start-up to put them into practice, by offering practical mentoring and training from established professionals.

“It falls into a stronger vision that we have, which is to stimulate and support a strong and profitable entrepreneurial community within the UK news industry,” said Joanna Geary, co-founder of Hacks/Hackers London.

“If we think about what the news industry is like [in the UK], it’s still very much dominated by traditional brands, which is a good thing, but we also need diversity.

“That is why we’re trying to target, very specifically, things that we think are missing from this community, to try and encourage people and give them the skills to be able to achieve their vision.” The event's format was influenced by feedback received at the end of last year, when the organisers asked the Hacks/Hackers community in London what they expected to get out of Connect.

Participants will be able to attend a range of keynotes given by speakers, such as Mark Little, founder, Storyful, and Matt McAlister, co-founder, Publish.org, as well as more in depth classroom sessions and one-on-one mentoring.

These sessions will cover the different aspects of starting a news business, including general administration like registering for VAT, but also how to pitch and raise money for a start-up, how to find a co-founder and how to build a technical product or hire a technical team.

“The primary aim is to inspire and enable participants to take a nascent idea they might have and figure out how to build that, take the next leap,” said Peter MacRobert, co-organiser of Hacks/Hackers London and founder of start-up Pixie Labs.

He explained one of the classroom sessions to be held during the weekend is a Lean Start-up workshop, where a coach will guide participants through this technique designed for validating a business idea and testing it against a series of hypotheses.

The practical exercise will involve people going out into the street and “canvassing opinions for their business idea” by asking strangers’ opinion and feedback on it.

The first event in the Connect series was held in Berlin last year, where 100 journalists and technologists came together to discuss, collaborate and learn about the opportunities and challenges faced by the German news landscape.

The main session was a practical exercise in design-thinking , where attendees worked in groups to brainstorm and create prototypes that put the reader at the core of building news products and tools.

While past and upcoming Connect events share a similar format, Geary said the way it manifests is particular to each city and its entrepreneurial community, to make the most of the resources available.

“The landscape of media entrepreneurship in Berlin is very different to what it is in London, or San Francisco.

“So at Hacks/Hackers Connect London, people will be mentored by people who have had experience of setting up this type of news businesses and achieved that within the UK and Europe.” Applications to attend the event are open until 5pm GMT today, although the organisers told Journalism.co.uk they are open to reviewing late submissions as well.

Some of the ideas submitted so far focus on the changing formats of news content and the opportunities for news organisations, but also on tools that can help others do journalism or publish it.

“From my experience running a start-up for just under three years, I’ve learned there is no substitute for getting help from people who’ve done it before,” MacRobert said.

“I have a network of people who I rely on to solicit advice and help and I’m hoping that, through Connect, we will be able to foster the same type of connections that I’ve benefited from, that go beyond just one weekend.”