A Conversation with MADE:Turkey Speaker and Coach Stuart Morris

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Stuart Morris is a serial entrepreneur.

Over the past 19 years, he's learned how to grow ideas into successful technology businesses in developed and developing countries. He's also learned how to pick himself up and try again when things don't go to plan. Now he's passionate about helping other entrepreneurs start and build their businesses, too. He does that as a lecturer at the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Henley Business School,UK, as a mentor in The Family Business, and through the Transformational Business Network, of which he is a co-founder.  

Stuart is also part of an international team of inspirational speakers and coaches contributing to the first 48-hour MADE: Turkey Weekend for Media Startups that kicks off at 6pm on Friday, Oct 5 at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Q1 - Turkey remains a challenging place for independent journalism. What role do you think digital news entrepreneurs have to play in an increasingly connected country?  

Digital journalism doesn't have to rely on the physical infrastructure of print journalism. The journalist, and their message, can remain mobile and therefore respond to stories more quickly but they're also less vulnerable to the risks inherent in having to have physical resources in a fixed place.

Q2 - Like in most of Europe, Turkey's mainstream media is dominated by a few cross-media conglomerates. What opportunities do you think there are for grassroots media startups to challenge the status quo?

I think the opportunity is huge. Many of the old conglomerates are dying but are so big that they don't know it yet. Grassroots media can compete with them on every level by offering a quality product in an accessible way.

Q3 - Is it wise for entrepreneurs to take risks with digital innovations at time when many in the traditional media are struggling with it?

It isn't wise! It is essential! Whilst the traditional media struggle, the opportunity is there for the entrepreneurs to create something new, vibrant and profitable. The old business models are broken and it is time to find new ones.

Q4 - What’s the single most important advice you can give to someone wanting to start a digital media enterprise?

Don't keep talking about it... do it. If you keep waiting for the 'perfect moment' the circumstances will have changed and the opportunity will be lost.

Q5 - The MADE project is, so far, operating in the UK and soon in Turkey. How do  you expect the project activities to  differ in the various locations, particularly given the different economic and socio-political factors in the  two countries?

That's a huge question. The UK and Turkey are very different nations with incredibly diverse cultural, political and economic backgrounds. The challenges will be similar in nature but express themselves differently. Some of the solutions will be similar but in many ways the detail will be very different if only because the people solving them will have different outlooks on life, different backgrounds and different resources to call upon.

APPLICATIONS for one of the 20 places on the MADE:Turkey Weekend for Media Startups are being accepted until 5pm on the September 5th. For regular updates, follow us on Twitter and join the conversation in the MADE Network group on Facebook.

Application now open for the first MADE: Turkey Weekend for Media Entrepreneurs

Are you thinking about starting up a digital news site or a publication in Turkey?
Or have you recently done something like that? Need some help?

Then the MADE project might be just what you're looking for. 

Our international team of experienced news entrepreneurs and business experts are working to help news startups in Turkey and the UK stay up through cutting-edge workshops, networking and creative business support programmes that will help you develop innovative content, commerce, communities and connections.

Applications are now being accpeted HERE for the first 48-hour MADE: Turkey Startup Weekend from 6pm Friday, 5 October to 6pm on Sunday, 7 October, at Istanbul Bilgi University, Santral Campus, Energy Museum. Application deadline: 5pm 5 September.


Drawing on the latest research into news online, on mobile and on tablet - and a track-record of mentoring successful digital start-ups - the MADE team will help
participants develop business strategies that consider a variety of direct and indirect revenue streams, in addition to advice on managing teams and resources effectively
and efficiently.

Participants will also be invited to #DJCamp2012, a two-day workshop on how to use cutting-edge data journalism tools and techniques in order to create compelling content in
highly efficient ways, hosted by IBU from 8-9 November (More details to follow).

Linking into the MADE Network will give you the chance to continue to learn and share with experienced mentors and an international network of creative media entrepreneurs just like you!

Suitable projects and teams may be offered a place on Özyeğin University’s Startup Factory’s entrepreneurs bootcamp and incubation programme – starting immediately
(from Oct 8th) or in January 2013.

Learn more here. For updates, follow this blog and join the conversation on Twitter @uclanMADE. You can also contract us directly at MADEturkey@gmail.com

Six finalists have been chosen for MADE project’s ‘Hothouse’

Over last weekend the Media And Digital Enterprise project (MADE) ran an intensive 48-hourr event for a select group of 30 media entrepreneurs. At the end of the MADE: UK Startup Weekend, the entrepreneurs pitched a panel of judges and MADE partners for a chance to proceed through to the MADE Hothouse.

The MADE Hothouse is a 12-week mentorship and business development scheme run in conjunction with UCLan’s Northern Lights business support unit. Winners will have access to a number of coaches and resources to further help their fledgling entreprises.  

Today we are delighted to announce that those selected to participate in the MADE Hothouse are: Alison Smith, Pesky People Anthony Beswick and Scott Heslop, Fruit + Gemma Collins, 3VTV James Oldfield, Hand Pumped Michael Niskin, Entrepreneur Quarterly Stuart Goulden, One&Other Our judges felt these projects showed real dedication to the aims of the MADE project and would be able to benefit from the support and access to resources we can give them going forward. 

All the projects that were pitched were of a high standard and choosing among them was not easy. One of the judges Arthur Porter, publisher of The Business Journal said, “It was a very difficult decision due to the abundance of talent and excellent projects on show.

“The MADE: UK Weekend for Media Startups churned out an array of amazing journalistic entrepreneurs who somehow very quickly showed their enthusiasm for each other’s ideas and the problems they faced. They were looking for help and guidance from the coaches and their peers. None went home disappointed.”

Judge and MADE partner Sarah Hartley, managing director of Talk About Local said: "With all the doom and gloom around the industry at the moment it was inspiring to meet so many news entrepreneurs, people with a real passion to make a difference and I'm looking forward to working with many of them over the coming weeks."

The project’s director François Nel of UCLan’s school of Journalism, Media and Communications said: “We are very excited about what our MADE Hothouse winners will achieve and what we can learn from their journeys in entrepreneurship. What we want to establish is a network of lean media startups who can rely on us, and each other, for support and guidance.”

MADE will continue with further training events with a DJCAMP2012, a data journalism workshop being held on September 21-22 in Preston. In the Autumn, the MADE Project also moves to Turkey, kicking off with the 48-hour MADE: Turkey Weekend for Media Entrepreneurs from 5 to 7 October.

The MADE UK Weekend for Media Entrepreneurs

The Northern Lights business incubation unit

We have just finished winding up the first MADE UK Weekend for Media Entrepreneurs and the only word that feels appropriate is, Wow.

Forty keen entrepreneurs and coaches descended on UCLan’s Media Factory campus for an intensive 48 hours discussing their own projects and the things we can do to create sustainable journalism businesses. Being in Preston we couldn’t promise great weather but we created a great space where our entrepreneurs could speak freely about their projects and the challenges they face.

We had several top notch coaches to guide participants on the finer points of cash flow, innovation, content strategies, advertising models, community engagement and new technologies.

The days were long and intensive. This was no breezy day conference and networking event. Participants were expected to work, engage and contribute and they certainly rose to the challenge. One of the weekend’s coaches, MADE partner Aine McGuire of Scraperwiki said:

“It’s been amazing. I certainly feel I learnt more from the participants than I was able to give back.”

We were delighted by how much participants shared with each other: WordPress tips and tricks, social media advice, advertising methods. Everyone recognised that the secret to achieving sustainable new media enterprises is by conversation and knowledge transfer. At the end of the weekend when our entrepreneurs gave a five minute pitch of their businesses they invited constructive criticism from our judges and other participants. They got plenty of this but also, overwhelmingly, they were offered advice and suggestions on funding, technology, contacts. The generosity participants showed each other was humbling.

MADE initiator François Nel kicked off the UK’s first weekend workshop aimed specifically at news entrepreneurs by asking: “Why are we here? “

“The short answer, “ he told the 32 nascent and new media entrepreneurs who had come from throughout the UK and as far afield as Italy and Lagos, “is to help you” you. And to learn.”

“How will we know if the Media And Digital Enterprise project has been successful? “
“In the longer term, we would know if the news entrepreneurs manage to not only startup
news enterprise in the public interest, but succeed in creating sustainable thriving enterprises – whether for social, educational or commercial purposes. Or all three.

“Of more immediate focus is you and your experiences over this weekend. For us, success would be measured in a number of ways:
If you manage to test and confirm your strategy against all the Why? What If? What Else? questions we’re going to be asking this weekend. Or if you manage to test your ideas and redirect or pivot your focus. Or if you decide to refocus on an entirely different opportunity – either on your own or in partnership with one or more of the people in this room.”

On Friday evening we kicked off with the intriguing story of Preston’s newspaper wars from UCLan’s Dr Andrew Hobbs followed by Nick Jaspan of How-Do media on his successes, failures and battle stories from media entrepreneurship. Then the ice-breaker task, the point in so many conferences and events when people cringe and get uncomfortable. But under the stewardship of Stuart and Gillian Morris our MADE participants threw themselves into it and created brand new companies, ideas and business models in under an hour.

MADE’s François Nel started off Saturday with a look at what the make-up of a news media start-up is. What makes them different to the established media? Where are the opportunities? What must they do differently? 

Rick Waghorn of Addiply and Arthur Porter of the Business Journals talked about how news start-ups can get their hands on cold, hard cash before fascinating round-table discussions on marketing, money, community and technology.

Aine McGuire and scraping maestro Julian Todd of Scraperwiki looked at how news start-ups can get a competitive advantage on their mainstream rivals by the means of open data. Traditional print media has long monopolised the dissemination of data but through government initiatives and tools like Scraperwiki, news start-ups can get a unique slice of the pie.

Community is vital to any new media company. Whether it’s a community defined by geography or one defined by interests it is important that publishers recognise who their community is and how best they can serve them. This is what Sarah Hartley of Guardian Media Group’s n0tice project shared with us before demonstrating how our participants can use the n0tice journalism toolbox and APIs to create great community content.

The MADE Exchange

In the afternoon our MADE entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to sit down with our coaches and discuss their business ideas and call on their invaluable advice. Of course we ran out of time for these fantastic conversations but rest assured they continued on into the night.

Saturday was a day of ideas and inspiration but Sunday was a day of realities. Peter Rawling of the Northern Lights business incubation unit based at UCLan walked our entrepreneurs step by step through creating a business plan and cash-flow forecast. He was then joined by François Nel to talk about where funding opportunities are and how entrepreneurs can get their hands on some much needed cash.

Taking this on board participants began to craft their final presentations to deliver to the group in the afternoon.

What was delivered were pitches, that while hastily done, were brimming with enthusiasm and optimism. The range of ideas and business on show was truly remarkable. Business and projects tackled issues such as local, environment, travel, black lifestyle, business, niche industries and so many more. We can’t share the details of these businesses but we can share this: if MADE participants can capture the enthusiasm and creativity they demonstrated this weekend and put it into their businesses then we have no doubt of their success.

François Nel quizzes the MADE entrepreneurs

Nel said: “We’ve certainly delighted that we achieved what we set out to do. We’ve also seeded what I certainly hope will become a strong network of entrepreneurs. We’ve even seen some flirting amongst the entrepreneurs. I suspect there’ll be a few co-founder dates over the coming weeks and we may even be able to announce partnership or two.”

Next: The five candidates invited to join the MADE Hothouse, a 12-week business support
programme will be announced on 21 June.

All the participants have been invited to join the MADE Network and to participate in a two-day data journalism camp in September.

The MADE Project will also run in Turkey this autumn