Quality journalism is important, especially in our digitalized and connected world. However, good journalism costs money. Publishers’ revenues are mostly limited to their own range. With the start-up Journexx, the four founders Axel Breuer, Franko Melisch, Felix Seeberg and Andrej Becker want to offer publishers a platform on which they can trade their articles. They explained to us how this is supposed to work in the April issue of MTH Unboxing.
MTH Accelerator: What did you do before Journexx?
Axel Breuer: The idea of Journexx came about during a period when I was involved in the digital transformation of my parents’ publishing house (which is a Swiss specialist publisher). During this time, a South African publisher called and wanted to buy an article.
Franko Melisch: My previous focus was on producing music videos by well-known artists and producing creative commercials. After 13 years, I felt the urge to move on and Journexx arrived in my life.
Felix Seeberg: After more than 20 years working as a freelancer and managing director in IT, I now work at Journexx and am fulfilling a goal of mine: to create my own product using my technical expertise within a sustainable business model.
Andrej Becker: Journexx fulfills my wish to create my own product and to incorporate all the experience I have gained in the IT industry over the past 25 years. Helping to provide the market with a comprehensive tool is very motivating for me!
MTH Accelerator: What are you up to when you’re not working at Journexx?
Franko Melisch: I work a lot, but I devote my free time to my family, friends, and many hobbies. I have a wide range of interests and enjoy being outdoors and doing sports.
Felix Seeberg: I find balance through sailing and swimming. I really enjoy watching films, going to the theater, and cooking; these activities are a refreshing change from my IT work.
Andrej Becker: I enjoy spending time with family and friends. Art and music are also very important to me. And, of course, I’m interested in all topics related to technical and digital innovations.
Axel Breuer: Gliding and sailing––when there’s time.
MTH Accelerator: What is Journexx?
Journexx: Journexx is an independent trading platform for high-quality content, operating across national and language borders. Journexx’s multiple innovations ensure that first-class media can be easily traded between different publishers: automatic translation, intelligent keywording, and an algorithm that automatically calculates the price of content according to various factors.
MTH Accelerator: Why the MTH Accelerator?
Journexx: The MediaTech Hub Accelerator offers us exactly the kind of platform that we need: We are looking to connect with research and industry to jointly develop innovations that revolutionize the commercial usability of all media content.
MTH Accelerator: Why Journexx?
Journexx: Publishers offer premium content, but revenues from their own coverage is declining. Journexx opens a much larger market for publishers wherein a German magazine can trade content with an American or Australian magazine. This means that with their old or new content even small publishers can become players in an ever-growing market. It’s an intelligent concept that helps publishers move forward and facilitates the distribution of quality journalism.
MTH Accelerator: What is your mission?
Journexx: We want to create the best possible marketplace for high-quality content and to show our appreciation for journalism by developing an economically sustainable platform in which it can thrive. Journexx enables publishers to trade their content globally, fairly, and easily by making their content visible, comparable, and tradable.
The MTH Accelerator portfolio is growing and growing. But what exactly do the teams do and, above all, what did they do before they became entrepreneurs? In MTH Unboxing, our new interview series, we shed some light on the subject and introduce the teams in more detail. MTH Accelerator Babelsberg is the program for startups and founding teams from the metropolitan region who are looking to explore technologies and digital business models and take their companies to the next level.
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