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Join a community obsessed with backing and believing in the next generation of great founders, together
Startmate’s First Believers is a continuous community for aspiring investors. Be exposed to the process of the most active ANZ investors, build a world-class network and access exclusive deal flow to help you refine your investing craft and build lasting relationships.
Apply by February 10th to join Cohort 3 kicking off in March!
JOIN FIRST BELIEVERS INVESTING ALONGSIDE
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Accelerate your journey towards becoming a world-class investor
Startmate First Believers is a life-long, invite-only community with a 14-week immersive onboarding program. Learn the craft of investing and build lasting relationships from Day 1.
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Learn early-stage startup investing by actually investing
We'll take you from zero → investing through our Startmate Small Bets Fund and expose you to best practices from our network of world-class investors along the way.
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Invest alongside an inclusive community
First Believers come from all walks of life 🌈 including founders and operators from
How is First Believers different?
Startmate is the most active early-stage investor in Australia. We work with founders in helping realise their bold ambitions everyday. We’ve done it for over a decade and we want to open that world to you.
Over 14 weeks, you will learn the craft from world-class investors through the Startmate network, while simultaneously being exposed to 1000+ early-stage startups.
This is not about passively learning abstract concepts. Learn by doing. Make real investment decisions on real companies with real outcomes.
Alongside other First Believers, you'll refine and develop your investment strategy, and establish clear next steps in your journey to investing and be supported in realising them.
Investing is a decade long journey. We’re building a community to be there with you every step of the way. Develop deep relationships with First Believers and be a part of the community for life.
How is First Believers different?
Startmate is the most active early-stage investor in Australia. We work with founders in helping realise their bold ambitions everyday. We’ve done it for over a decade and we want to open that world to you.
Over 14 weeks, you will learn the craft from world-class investors through the Startmate network, while simultaneously being exposed to 1000+ early-stage startups.
This is not about passively learning abstract concepts. Learn by doing. Make real investment decisions on real companies with real outcomes.
Alongside other First Believers, you'll refine and develop your investment strategy, and establish clear next steps in your journey to investing and be supported in realising them.
Investing is a decade long journey. We’re building a community to be there with you every step of the way. Develop deep relationships with First Believers and be a part of the community for life.
Who is right for First Believers?
If you want to build confidence in making early-stage startup investments, better understand the investor's lens, or build a career in venture, First Believers is the place for you.
You don’t have to be a sophisticated investor. You don’t need to have $$$ to invest. You can join with or without any prior experience.
First Believers come from a range of backgrounds, including past founders, corporate venture capitalists, high growth technology company employees and ecosystem champions.
Do you need to have money to invest?
No! First Believers is about developing future investors. We understand the ambition to be an investor might come before the financial position to back your belief in founders. So we’ve raised a $1m Small Bets Fund for First Believers of all backgrounds to help invest into founders at the very beginning (and earn carry while doing so!)
What else do I need to know?
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The program runs virtually twice a year, kicking off in March and October, with applications due the month before. The program is run remotely. We encourage you to apply from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. Each cohort is made up of about 30 people across a range of industries, locations and levels of experience.
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First Believers requires a time commitment of three hours per week to engage with the content and community. The time commitment is slightly greater at the beginning of the program as the learning curve is so steep.
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The First Believers program fee is $5,000 + GST. Startmate offers full and part scholarships for the First Believers program. This fee will only be invoiced after program acceptance. The fee can be paid upfront or via instalments.