{"id":45063,"date":"2023-10-20T15:40:46","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/melbourne-accelerator-program-announces-its-latest-intake-with-a-focus-on-diversity-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:40:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:40:46","slug":"melbourne-accelerator-program-announces-its-latest-intake-with-a-focus-on-diversity-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/melbourne-accelerator-program-announces-its-latest-intake-with-a-focus-on-diversity-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne Accelerator Program announces its latest intake with a focus on diversity – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MAP<\/div>\n

The Melbourne Accelerator Program has revealed the 10 startups that will be taking part in its latest program after receiving twice as many applications than last year.<\/p>\n

Over 120 early-stage companies applied for the five-month accelerator program and after a three-stage selection process, 10 have been selected to receive $20,000 in funding, office space at the University of Melbourne, mentoring, development workshops and pitching opportunities in Melbourne, Sydney and Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

MAP does not take any equity from the participating startups, and at least one of the company’s founders must be an alumni of the University of Melbourne.<\/p>\n

The accelerator has upped its intake from eight for the 2016 program after partnering with Australia Post, who is funding the two extra spots.<\/p>\n

MAP director Rohan Workman says they were \u201cblown away\u201d by the number and quality of applicants this time round.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a massive appetite for entrepreneurship and more people want to get involved,\u201d Workman tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you\u2019re a fairly early-stage company there\u2019s still a lot you can get from the process. Most importantly they get access to people and places that they just wouldn\u2019t get otherwise – we have strong connections into the industry and a global alumni network that is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re family now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Included in the intake is a renewable energy tech company, a collective of hackers and an all-terrain buggy \u201cat your feet\u201d.<\/p>\n

Workman says diversity was a key focus for this year\u2019s application process, with more than double the number of female founders applying for this year\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

But the focus was much wider than just gender diversity, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the time diversity is noted as just gender \u2013 that\u2019s one part of it but it\u2019s also in terms of cultural background, age and business idea,\u201d Workman says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a really big melting pot and we have a really diverse group across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite having vastly different businesses, Workman says there was a common theme among the successful applicants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 10 that we picked had a clear value proposition for solving the problem they had identified,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir solution made sense and understood the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the 10 selected startups is Curve, a digital health company that’ll be teaming up with two surgeons through the program to develop Axon, an e-health platform aiming to streamline patient care.<\/p>\n

Curve director Sanji Kanagalingam says the accelerator program will be a priceless experience for the team.<\/p>\n

“Experience and guidance from entrepreneurs and mentors who have successfully released products to market and scaled them both nationally and internationally will be invaluable to our business, as will access to potential funders and partners who can help take the product to market,” Kanagalingam says.<\/p>\n

“Curve will benefit directly from the expertise of tech heavyweights and VCs, but we’re also excited about receiving input from mentors in more diverse fields.”<\/p>\n

With the sharp increase in applications, Workman says MAP will also be working with some of the unsuccessful startups to improve their pitches and offering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very competitive and a lot of people missed out that would\u2019ve got in in previous years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Since June 2012, MAP’s alumni have raised more than $11 million in funding, generated $10 million in revenue and created over 200 jobs.<\/p>\n

The Melbourne Accelerator Program 2016 intake<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Allume Energy<\/strong> \u2013 renewable energy technology company focused on
    grid sharing and solar as a service for Australian communities<\/li>\n
  • Kind<\/strong> – home care services to help seniors live a fulfilled life in
    their own home<\/li>\n
  • Onomap<\/strong> \u2013 unique insights from customer data<\/li>\n
  • Black<\/strong> \u2013 collective of hackers looking to build a smarter world<\/li>\n
  • Bajaboard<\/strong> \u2013 all terrain buggy at your feet<\/li>\n
  • Shacky<\/strong> \u2013 tiny house farmstays<\/li>\n
  • Honee<\/strong> \u2013 discovery and booking platform for all wellness, beauty and
    fitness services in Melbourne<\/li>\n
  • Deliciou<\/strong> \u2013 premium blends of healthy snacks and seasonings that
    are fun and easy to use<\/li>\n
  • Axon<\/strong> \u2013 guiding clinician care and communication along the entire
    patient journey<\/li>\n
  • CNSDose<\/strong> – genetically guided antidepressants: fast-track finding the
    right antidepressan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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

    The Melbourne Accelerator Program has revealed the 10 startups that will be taking part in its latest program after receiving twice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45063"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}