A venture capital firm thinks it’s found something useful — and profitable — for journalists to do.
Outside The Box Ventures, which backs the investigations/investment firm Hunterbrook, is launching an “accelerator” for AI startups trying to tell their own stories.
The initiative is called Founder’s Box. It’ll invest $150,000 in each of the 15 AI startups accepted to a 10-week program, which promises “to address a critical gap in the AI market: narrative clarity,” according to managing partner Katie Tarbox, a former New York Times reporter.
“Many promising early-stage founders struggle to clearly articulate their value propositions, especially when their technical advantages may be subtle,” she said. “Investors, too, find differentiation increasingly difficult in a crowded AI landscape, placing greater importance on narrative clarity and credible media validation.”
The journalist mentors, who include heavy hitters like former Times business editor Jim Impoco, investigative journalist Bethany McLean, and former Inc EIC Eric Schurenberg, will be offered a novel form of compensation: carry (that is, a percentage of profits) in the fund.
Plus, Tarbox said, it’s an opportunity to figure out this whole AI thing. Former Wall Street Journal editor Scott Austin is leading the project.