Eight female founders, representing tech startups across a range of industries, have been selected to participate in SBE Australia’s 2018 Springboard Enterprises Australia Accelerator program.
[Related: Noga Edelstein (UrbanYou) joins SBE Australia board as 2018 female startup program launches, Crop health monitoring startup FluroSat secures $1.5 million to fuel rapid growth, The tech sector needs to start valuing women for their unique skills, says Silicon Valley vet and Shareconomy startup MadeComfy secures $1.1m for its short-term rental management service]
Chair of SBE Australia and angel investor, Topaz Conway said the not-for-profit organisation was committed to strengthening the position of women in the Australian startup ecosystem, adding that the Springboard Enterprises Australia Accelerator program had helped 45 alumnae “rise above the norm for Australian standards” since it was founded in 2013.
“Because the tech space is heavily led by men, SBE Australia advocates for gender parity in order to give female led tech businesses more of a voice in the space,” she said. “The contribution female founders make to the Australian economy is significant and diversity is good for business. We are excited to bring on a new cohort and help these women take their businesses to the next level.”
In addition to being Australia’s first female-only startup accelerator in Australia, Conway said SBE Australia is also the only one that does not take any equity stake in the businesses they help to build.
UrbanYou co-founder Noga Edelstein, who is both a Springboard Enterprises Australia Accelerator alumna and a board member of SBE Australia, said the women selected for the 2018 program will learn how to better understand customers, test business models, lead teams, build a brand and manage growth and risk. She added, “The value of the program is not just gaining access to SBE Australia’s network but it is also reaching those ‘a-ha’ moments through the help of a dedicated team of smart and savvy business mentors guiding you and challenging you through every step of the process”.
The program includes a 4-day Bootcamp in Sydney and 8 weeks of coaching from Australian and US high value networks, culminating in a final pitch session to stakeholders, investors and corporate executives at SBE Australia’s “Dolphin Tank”™ event held on 28 June 2018.
The eight female founders selected for 2018 Springboard Enterprises Australia Accelerator are:
- Anastasia Volkova at Flurosat (NSW): An agriculture tech company that monitors crop health performance using satellite and drone imagery to identify stressors limiting yield potential and reduce input costs for farmers.
- Barbara Sharp at Pax Republic (VIC): An AI-powered B2B regulation tech solution that harnesses large group emotional intelligence for good decision making. Pax Republic’s lead product, C-Sight™, is the world’s first preventative culture risk solution.
- Bernadette Olivier at The Volte (WA): An online platform that connects designers and stores with customers to rent or borrow designer dresses around the country. The Volte allows lenders to rent their items to borrowers with peace of mind.
- Claire Morris at Prezzee (NSW): An online e-gift card solution for buying, sending, storing and redeeming e-Gift Cards from Australia’s top retailers. Prezzee consolidates them all in one place and allows customers to redeem their gift cards straight from their mobile device.
- Georgie Drury at Springday (NSW): A cloud-based wellbeing marketplace that brings together the best wellbeing providers, challenges, activities and programs to companies. The platform engages and motivates users, employees, patients and members to move more, reduce stress and improve their overall health and wellbeing.
- Kylie Legge at Place Score (NSW): A tech platform that allows communities to share what they most care about, rate their own places, and in doing so help governments and developers prioritise investment in neighbourhoods, town centres and workplaces.
- Mel Gollan at RIP Global (NZ): RIP Global is a cloud-based expense reporting and bookkeeping solution disrupting the accounting industry. The service eliminates the need for scanning and uploading receipts and holding onto paperwork. The business solution starts tracking and reconciling expenses as soon as a purchase is made and reconciles invoices directly with bank account statement data.
- Sabrina Bethunin at MadeComfy (NSW): MadeComfy is a property management service for short-term rentals. It offers an end-to-end service to provide private home owners and property investors alike the opportunity to maximise the income they generate from their property assets. Its services include marketing the property, managing the rental process to maximise rates and occupancies, coordinating cleaning and linen change-over and acting as primary guest contact.
