{"id":44111,"date":"2023-10-20T15:33:32","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/sydney-accelerator-startmate-ups-the-ante-as-it-searches-for-the-next-global-startup-success-story-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:33:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:33:32","slug":"sydney-accelerator-startmate-ups-the-ante-as-it-searches-for-the-next-global-startup-success-story-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/sydney-accelerator-startmate-ups-the-ante-as-it-searches-for-the-next-global-startup-success-story-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney accelerator Startmate ups the ante as it searches for the next global startup success story – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Sydney-based accelerator Startmate is set for its biggest program yet, increasing the amount of funding on offer and bringing on four new high-profile partners.<\/p>\n

Participating startups in the upcoming five-month program will now receive $75,000 in seed funding in exchange for 7.5% equity.<\/p>\n

Startmate has also recruited Blackbird VC\u2019s Samantha Wong, Bugherd founder Alan Downie, Pixc founder Holly Cardew and Elto founder Ned Dwyer to impart their advice, guidance and support to the early-stage founders.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Startmate founder Niki Scevak says these entrepreneurs have been brought on board in response to feedback from the accelerator\u2019s illustrious alumni network.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big feedback in the last few years has been the startups saying that they get the most help from founders who are only one step ahead of them,\u201d Scevak tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally successful people come with a perspective of trying to solve very different problems then what startups are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applications are now open for Startmate\u2019s next batch of startups and will close at the start of October.<\/p>\n

Most of all the program is looking for a highly ambitious team, Scevak says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for a really, really big ambition to do something meaningful in the world,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to be aiming to be the best in the world, not just the best in Australia. They don\u2019t have an exit strategy, they\u2019re doing their life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of founder who we\u2019ve set up Startmate for.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a wealth of new accelerators and incubators launching in recent years, he says that Startmate\u2019s focus on nurturing world-class founders is what sets it apart from the pack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about the real long-term businesses that have been created,\u201d Scevak says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that focus on long-term businesses that matter. We really, really love technical founders \u2013 they might have zero business experience but are great technical minds or product people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love working with those people and seeing them become great CEOs over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Startmate launched in 2011 and now boasts an extensive alumni network, many of which have gone on to big things internationally.<\/p>\n

Just this month Startmate alumni UpGuard closed a $17 million funding round<\/a> while earlier in the year fellow alumni Bugcrowd raised $19 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible to reflect that just a few years ago they were the learner drives trying to create startups, and now they\u2019ve created wonderful companies \u2013 they\u2019re the formula one drivers now,\u201d Scevak says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the best moment for me as the Startmate founder, seeing these founders go up that steep learning curve and becoming great CEOs.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this alumni network and high-profile partners that makes Startmate\u2019s offering unrivalled in Australia, Wong says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Startmate network is the closest thing Australia has to the magic of Silicon Valley,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to underestimate that impact compared to moving at your own self-determined pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cStartmate\u2019s mentors are the best of the best in terms of Australian founders. Being able to call on them, to learn from their experience, to seek their advice and to leverage off their networks is what makes Startmate so valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Startmate team will soon be touring the country to search for its next bunch of founders, and Wong says this is crucial to make sure the right companies are selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal in getting out and meeting teams in other cities is to uncover the next great Startmate company,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need huge volumes of companies; we just need a handful of great ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, <\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sydney-based accelerator Startmate is set for its biggest program yet, increasing the amount of funding on offer and bringing on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44111"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}