Fast-growing digital first studio Goalhanger has unveiled the first cohort for The Accelerator, its new creator incubator designed to support digital talent building scalable media businesses across entertainment, politics, history, comedy and finance.
The three-month programme will provide each selected creator with up to £10,000 in production investment, alongside access to Goalhanger’s editorial, production and commercial teams, as well as mentorship, masterclasses and audience-growth support.
The initiative is structured to treat creators as founders rather than traditional talent, with the company positioning the scheme as a way to combine funding with operational support and long-term business development. The six selected creators are Cody Dahler (satirist and writer); Tom Nicholas (politics and history creator); Sophia Smith Galer (journalist and author); Andrea Valls (actress and comedy writer); Dr Eliza Filby (historian and author) and Tolly ‘T’ Shoneye (founder, The Receipts Podcast)
Projects in development include new documentary formats, expanded podcast ecosystems, vertical comedy series and short-form historical storytelling.
Selection for the programme followed a competitive process, with hundreds of applications reviewed by Goalhanger staff and external media executives, including representatives from major platforms and entertainment companies. Judges assessed candidates on creative vision, commercial viability, and audience strategy.
Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport said the cohort reflects the company’s focus on creators with established audience trust and momentum. “Goalhanger has always been built around strong voices, loyal audiences and ideas with real momentum and that is exactly what we saw in this group. The Accelerator is not about handing over a cheque and sending people on their way, nor is it about forcing creators into a Goalhanger template. It is about giving them access to the experience, infrastructure and commercial support we have built, while protecting the thing that made audiences respond to them in the first place. They have already done the hardest bit: earning people’s attention and trust. Our role now is to help them build on that and turn it into something more durable.”
Nicole Logan, executive producer – development at Goalhanger, said the programme is focused on helping creators refine and scale their formats. “What impressed us was how clearly these creators understand their own work. They know who they are speaking to, why people keep coming back, and where they want to take their ideas next. The Accelerator gives them time, structure and hands-on support to develop that properly: refining formats, building teams, testing new approaches and thinking more ambitiously about how their creative business can scale.”
Among the cohort, participants highlighted access to infrastructure and the opportunity to expand their formats and production capabilities.
Sophia Smith Galer (pictured) said: “Goalhanger is the most exciting media company we have in the UK right now, and I’m ecstatic to win a spot on its Accelerator. It’s going to give me the space and resourcing to make my biggest social media series yet. The one thing lots of creators say is that we lack infrastructure and community, and to see Goalhanger make an investment in us feels like the beginning of something really important.”
The initiative forms part of Goalhanger’s wider strategy to build creator-led media businesses with long-term commercial sustainability, building on rapid growth across its podcast and digital portfolio. The Accelerator launches alongside the company’s broader expansion into creator investment through Goalhanger Ventures, which is backing emerging media businesses across video, audio, live and digital formats.
