Turn your ideas into impactful projects
The Validation Booster (VB), created by Thomson Foundation, is an acceleration programme that helps media organisations, CSO initiatives, and independent creators transform strong ideas into viable projects.
Over six months, participants engage in interactive lectures, workshops, practical assignments, and one-on-one mentoring. Built on startup methodology adapted to the media sector, the programme blends theory with practice and places a strong focus on digital services and products.
Through VB, innovators gain the tools, knowledge, and confidence to test assumptions, validate concepts, and decide whether to improve, pivot, or launch their ideas. The programme ultimately empowers participants to explore the sustainability and feasibility of their media projects in a digital environment, developing skills that turn ideas into concrete solutions.
Step by Step Guide
Validation Booster takes you through a carefully designed process of idea validation – from defining the problem, through testing and mentorship, to the final pitch. Each phase is supported by experienced mentors, practical tasks, and useful resources, giving you a clear picture of your idea’s feasibility and path to implementation.
Programme timeline:
Testing hypothesis
Verifying assumptions through testing and feedback to refine and strengthen ideas.
Pitch & placement
Learning how to present and position ideas to funders, investors, and partners.
Who is it for?
VB is designed for individuals and teams acting as intrapreneurs, people within media outlets or CSOs who want to launch new products, services, or initiatives inside existing organisations. It also welcomes independent creators and informal teams ready to turn an idea into a sustainable solution.
What you’ll gain
- A clearly defined and tested idea
Validate and refine your business concept with expert guidance. - Funding opportunities
Access funding to test and improve your ideas. - Mentorship and expert support
Individual work with media and business experts through hands-on training and workshops.
- Innovators’ community
Connect, share experiences, and learn alongside peers from across the region.
Ready to see the Validation Booster in action?
Over the past cycles, the programme has equipped media innovators with tools, skills, and confidence to test and refine their ideas. From mentorship to hands-on assignments, VB creates a supportive space where concepts grow into viable solutions.
Transform your media ideas with Validation Booster programme
Are you a media professional, media organisation, or an individual with innovative media project ideas? If so, the Validation Booster programme could be your next step to success!
Validation Booster: Empowering media innovators
The Validation Booster is a six-month acceleration programme designed to help media organisations, initiatives, and individual content creators validate and refine their business ideas. Through funding opportunities, mentorship, peer-to-peer learning, and hands-on training, the programme has built a strong foundation for innovation across the Western Balkans and wider Europe.
Programme impact
>270.000 EUR has already been invested in the implementation of ideas validated through VB programme
Learn from Real Cases
See how media innovators turned ideas into sustainable projects. From testing business models to engaging new audiences with creative storytelling, these stories show validation in action and the lessons you can apply to your own idea.
From mission to model: How Euromaidan Press found its sustainability model
Brick by Brick: Reinventing news with stop-motion storytelling
From passion project to paywall: Coaching a Newsletter into a business
