BCNMediaLab

Entrepeneur profiles: FronteraD

FronteraD was launched one year ago. This online media project diferentiates itself from the rest by refusing to compete in the daily race. Instead FronteraD publishes new content weekly, focusing on quality and topics away from the usual mainstream media coverage. Two of their features have been awarded recently.

The initial project was a paper magazine, but after 6 years of planning they decided to focus their efforts on the online version, which was ready in just a year. Besides advertising, revenue comes through donations from readers, a model very much like Periodismo Humano, a similar project.

Jose Luís Toledano, Managing Director of FronteraD, thinks that a journalist that is thinking of becoming an entrepeneur should “invest time and effort in an appropiate content management system, look for a good financial partner, have luck, don’t give up. And guarantee the economic survival of the project for at least 2 years before taking it to the market”.

Key data:

• Start-up costs: 70.000€
• Years of planning: 6 when the project was a paper magazine with online version. When it was reduced to just an online magazine, 1 year.
• Years to profit: 3 (planned in 2012).
• Staff at launch: 6 plus freelance collaborators.
• Staff today: 4 plus freelance collaborators.
• Next step: Keep improving fronterad.com and launch a paper magazine.

Changes in the next BCNMediaLab

Sadly, Vicent Partal will not be able to talk at the next BCNMediaLab. But in his place we’ll have the chance to listen the story of Pilar Riaño and Christian de Angelis, two experienced journalists who previously worked for Expansión, that in March of 2010 launched Modaes, an economic news website focused on the fashion and retail markets. In its few months of existence Modaes has already become a reference in its market.