The publishing industry can feel like a sinking ship and it’s smart to build your own life raft. That’s why we want to bring together a group of people who can talk about doing just that.
This mastermind group will be open to 12 entrepreneurs who are working on solutions that relate to journalism and the content industry at large; this might include podcasts, membership programs, startups, projects, initiatives, apps, newsletters, or something else entirely. You don’t need to have built the whole thing yet, but you should be actively working on the idea.
This group of 12 will meet monthly throughout fall 2021 to discuss the challenges of starting a new venture in the media space. We’ll spend time discussing the things that are working (and not working) for us, and will swap ideas about marketing and funding.
During months 2 and 3, we’ll bring in two guests to speak to us about issues commonly faced by entrepreneurs like burnout, scaling, mentorship, and more. (Exact guests will be based on the group’s requests, and will likely also be media entrepreneurs.
This group is for you if you are:
Building a solution to a common problem in media
Passionate about building and creating something new
Looking for community to support you
Innovation-minded
Hoping to collaborate and learn from others
Interested in building relationships with other entrepreneurs and open to sharing contacts
Able to invest time and energy into being transparent about your struggles and wins
Actively looking to launch your venture by the end of 2021, if you haven’t already.
Each 90-minute session will begin with a round-robin check-in moderated by either Jenni Gritters or Wudan Yan, where each entrepreneur will give us a business update and present highs and lows. Then we’ll move into discussing a series of topics determined by the group in a pre-meeting survey. This may include breakout sessions, guest speakers, or workshopping issues we’re facing. The meeting will wrap up with a discussion of what we want to accomplish in the coming month, so we can hold each other accountable.
Group members will get access to:
The Writers’ Co-op Slack channel, including a private room for mid-month check-ins and discussions
Resources created by TWC for business planning
A one-hour, 1-1 business tune-up session with Jenni or Wudan, to help you get clear on your goals and intentions for your project, to use whenever you’d like during the mastermind group or within three months of the end of the group’s meetings
Mid-month office hours
Tailored worksheets and homework assignments
Accountability partners