{"id":42907,"date":"2023-10-20T15:24:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/bluechilli-launches-1-million-fund-and-accelerator-program-to-back-the-most-promising-female-startup-founders-in-australia-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:24:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:24:40","slug":"bluechilli-launches-1-million-fund-and-accelerator-program-to-back-the-most-promising-female-startup-founders-in-australia-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/bluechilli-launches-1-million-fund-and-accelerator-program-to-back-the-most-promising-female-startup-founders-in-australia-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"BlueChilli launches $1 million fund and accelerator program to back the most promising female startup founders in Australia – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sydney accelerator BlueChilli has unveiled a $1 million early-stage startup fund to back the most promising female founders in Australia.<\/p>\n
The fund will support participants in the SheStarts accelerator, which has just opened its applications to find 10 female founders for the inaugural program.<\/p>\n
SheStarts director Nicola Hazell says BlueChilli has been supported by the likes of ANZ, MYOB and SunSuper to establish the fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross Australia, people are realising that we need to invest in women if we\u2019re going to create a strong economy, whether it\u2019s in the startup environment or the corporate environment,\u201d Hazell tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf we don\u2019t take action, we won\u2019t achieve the future we want to.\u201d<\/p>\n The accelerator, which will be showcased online through a 32-week documentary series, will take founders through an intensive six-month program kicking off in January with an immersion experience in Silicon Valley hosted by Google.<\/p>\n Each participant will receive $100,000 in pre-seed capital and co-working space at BlueChilli incubators in Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that there are not enough women getting started in this country right now, they don\u2019t necessarily have the ability to hit that runway and access to pre-seed funding is really hard to come by,\u201d Hazell says.<\/p>\n Hazell encourages women with an idea from every nook and cranny in Australia who has an idea to apply for SheHacks.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re engaging with the unusual suspects, not just the traditional startup community,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re determined to see women from all different walks of life see themselves in this opportunity. That could be a real game-changer for them and our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n The application period for SheStarts ends on October 31, with 20 candidates then selected to enter a \u201crapid validation boot camp\u201d where ideas and the founders themselves are pressure tested.<\/p>\n This stage will culminate with a pitch in December where the final 10 will be chosen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe genuinely believe that anyone can become a tech startup founder,\u201d Hazell says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt isn\u2019t one industry, in fact it\u2019s every industry.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are women working in all parts of our economy all over the country who\u2019ve got great ideas that can become high impact, game-changing companies.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, BlueChilli announced the SheHacks accelerator<\/a> in response to criticism over the lack of women in its programs.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly 7% of people in tech are women and not everyone within this is going to launch their own startup,\u201d BlueChilli corporate innovation general manager Colette Grgic told StartupSmart<\/em> at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you start looking at the 1% of 1% of 1% of the 7.\u201d<\/p>\nShould you apply?<\/h3>\n
Changing the face of tech<\/h3>\n