GNI Startups Boot Camp is back; applications open today

To better meet the needs of entrepreneurs, two separate cohorts are being launched in the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. Boot Camp will run from September 7 to November 5, 2021, with applications opening today to U.S. residents.

Applications are now open for the second or the 2021 edition of the GNI Startups Boot Camp, an eight-week fully remote program to support aspiring news entrepreneurs across North America. The program is a collaboration between LION Publishers, a journalism association supporting independent online news publishers, and the Google News Initiative.

"Last year, we created the Google News Initiative Startups Boot Camp to support aspiring news entrepreneurs across North America. We were floored by the number of applicants, and by the success of the 24 news businesses that launched from the eight-week program. Now, we're thrilled to announce that the 2021 Boot Camp is back and, like any great sequel, it's better than ever," LION Publishers wrote in a blog post.

To better meet the needs of entrepreneurs, two separate cohorts are being launched in the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. Boot Camp will run from September 7 to November 5, 2021, with applications opening today to U.S. residents. The application closes Sunday, August 1.

The program will select up to 24 founders and/or teams and include everything you need to incubate and execute your idea:

• Live, online sessions to learn best practices for launching a news startup
• One-on-one coaching with experienced specialists
• Peer learning from a large, diverse cohort
• Access to tools and technology to help you refine and test your idea

The Canada Boot Camp, dedicated exclusively to Canadian founders, will kick off later this year, with applications opening in the early fall.

The Canadian boot camp will be custom-designed to address the realities of starting a business or non-profit journalism project in Canada, addressing country-specific questions like tax status, business registration, legal preparedness, and the Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization Designation, Phillip Smith, Director & Creator of GNI Startups Boot Camp, Founder of Journalism Growth Lab, wrote in a separate blog post.