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The Accelerator program surrounds you with a network of ambitious peers and the best mentors, investors and operators across Australia and New Zealand.

They'll help you define where to focus your energy, set your goals and unblock you so you can move more quickly than you ever thought possible.

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The program kicks off with an immersive week 0 designed to raise your ambition levels and help you set 12-week and 12-month goals.

From there, each week comprises a mix of sessions (from cohort check-ins to 1:1 mentor sessions to more structured training on key topics from the best startup operators in the region).

Of course, we want you to prioritise what will help move your business forward, so it’s up to you how much you immerse yourself in the program content.

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The official part of the program ends with investor pitches and the Demo Day celebration.

We say official because while the Accelerator kickstarts your progress, the Startmate community will be with you for the rest of your life-long journey.

You'll forever be able to depend on your world-class squad of mentors, access Startmate's ever-growing and rich startup community, and get first access to the talent coming through Startmate's Fellowship programs so you can hire the best operators in the region to help you scale.

Unlike most other accelerators, the $120k we invest in your startup comes directly from our mentor community.

This means every mentor has skin in the game and is personally invested in seeing you succeed.

And while this investment and intensive startup education is key to our leading Accelerator experience, the program's most valuable ingredient, and what sets Startmate apart, is our community.

From your cohort, to your mentor squad (read: your own personal SWAT team) to the Accelerator alumni and more, being part of Startmate is being part of a lifelong community of the best founders, investors and operators in the region and beyond.

🏆 World-class mentors in your corner. 

Our mentors invest their own money in the fund that directly invests in you. This means they're directly incentivised to help you succeed. We consider your unique needs and pull together a mentor squad deeply connected with the problem you’re solving. You’ll move faster than you ever knew you could with the intense backing of some of the most experienced startup founders, operators and investors in ANZ.

💸 We invest in your potential.

You can be pre-product, pre-customers, pre-revenue - we’re here for it. We’re industry agnostic, we don’t care about your CV, and we have one of the most gender-diverse portfolios in ANZ (40% women co-founded companies across the last 6 cohorts). Our investment terms are clear and simple: $120k, no hooks or surprises. And once you’re a Startmate company, we’ll continue to invest in you every time you raise through our auto-deploy Continuity fund.

💪You’ll stand on the shoulders of the best startup community in ANZ.

It takes a village to raise a startup - luckily, we’ve got one. We’ve curated a community of 3,500+ of ANZ’s best founders, operators and investors. You’ll plug in to the very centre of this universe. Your unfair advantage is that you’ll get first pick of the best fresh talent through our fellowships and a warm intro to any VC, angel investor, or mentor you need.

👬Founders need other founders. 

Being a founder can be incredibly lonely, but you don’t need to do it alone. The single most powerful thing that will happen to you at Startmate is that you’ll meet one or two peers who go on to become some of the most important people in your life. You'll belong to a cohort of some of the most ambitious founders of this generation who are facing similar company building challenges. These founders will push you, inspire you, and support you as a founder and a person. 

💫 Our boundless belief changes what you (and others) think you're capable of. 

We hear it time and time again: having those people in your corner who see something in you that no one else does, who give you that yes, powerfully raises your ambition. We'll push you, we'll hold you accountable, we’ll be brutally honest when you need it - but we'll also be your biggest fans forever. Our track record means that having the Startmate brand and belief behind you will be a huge stamp of approval to every potential investor or employee you meet.

The Accelerator currently runs twice per year: Summer (January-April) and Winter (July-October).

If you haven't raised capital...
If you’ve never raised, we will invest $120k at a $1.5m valuation

If you have raised capital...
If you have already raised a bona fide round, we will invest $120k at your latest valuation.

Read all about our investment terms here.