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Wtf is a startup anyway? And how do you build one? This is a crash course in entrepreneurship. You'll get access to essential resources, coaching and live sessions with ANZ's top investors, operators and founders to set you up for success as a startup SME.
You’ll form a team, come up with an idea, speak to customers and build the first version of a product. We'll teach you how to capture investors’ attention, communicate your vision clearly, and convince them why your idea deserves funding.
At the end of the Student Founder Bootcamp, you'll get the chance to pitch to ANZ's top investors. And if you’re on the winning team? You’ll score a spot in our pre-accelerator program, Launch Club, and also gain access to other investment opportunities like a place in our Accelerator program ($120k investment). Lyrebird did!
of students founded a company and pitched it during the Student Founder Bootcamp
This program is for those with an inner-belief that they were made for greatness.
We’re looking for hungry, driven, and daring students and recent graduates who want to do something different.
If you’re keen on founding some day (or today) this is the program for you. Get hands-on experience of building something from scratch!
Alongside the insane connections, product building and information sessions, being able to connect with the best of the startup community and hear from people who have made it has made this experience invaluable.
Winter 25 Cohort
Overall Startmate has been an amazing experience for people wanting to learn more about the startup world! It's a great entry to learn about how to materialise your idea.
Winter 25 Cohort
Startmate's Student Founder Bootcamp is the perfect place to connect with like-minded individuals and bring your ideas to life!
Winter 25 Cohort
The opportunity to connect with others and dedicate time to something that you're jointly passionate about was one of the many highlights.
Winter 25 Cohort
The Student Founder Bootcamp taught me the most important lesson: ship early, learn fast. It gave me the framework to go from zero to my first paying customers, by getting real feedback instead of building in isolation.
Winter 25 Cohort
The Student Founder Bootcamp was an elite experience. You will gain insights from giants you won't get anywhere else. I would recommend this to any student who is serious about developing projects into a potential startup.
Winter 25 Cohort
This program really opened my eyes to the startup world and helped me realise the opportunities out there.
Winter 25 Cohort
I’ll be honest as a woman in my 20s, I found the idea of getting into angel investing a bit intimidating. But the Startmate team completely changed that! Amazing people, brilliant content, and such a great way to build your network while learning the foundations of investing.
Senior Change Manager @ Commonwealth Bank
The hands on experience is next level. Super. Super Super good. I don't think we'll get this level anywhere else. Other friends who took "angel investing" courses never had this hands on experience.
Head of Growth @ The Bakery
I couldn't recommend the First Believers program more highly - First Believers was not just an angel investing course, it was an invitation (with open arms) into the Australian angel investing and startup eco-system.
Head of Mergers & Acquisitions - International FINEX @ WTW
I loved the 1:1 coaching sessions that we get access too. These coaches are highly skilled and knowledgable people who we otherwise would not be able to have the ability to speak to. Having met them through Startmate, many have offered to continue to support me in my entrepreneurial journey, how exciting!
Winter 25 Cohort
Welcome to your crash course in founding a startup.
Meet co-founders, come up with an idea, build the first version of a product, and finish by pitching to the top VCs in Australia. You might even get investment. Lyrebird did!
Best part? No prior experience needed.
PSA: The Student Founder Bootcamp is FREE for those who participate in the founders challenge!
Hear from pioneers of our startup ecosystem and learn from alumni fellows who have gone on to found venture-backed companies.
Get hands- on startup experience taking an idea, transforming it into a product and pitching it to investors
Get 1:1 coaching from people already in the startup ecosystem
Meet hundreds of other driven students and join the best startup community in ANZ
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Each cohort is made up of about 150-300 students and recent graduates (up to six months post-graduation).
The Student Fellowship is a two-week bootcamp that runs twice a year during the winter and summer student holidays.
Content and resources are entirely virtual, and there are in-person socials.
Sessions will run in the evenings, with occasional lunchtime optional check-ins.
With approximately 15 hours of content across the program, come prepared for an intense and transformative learning and networking experience. You’ll get out what you put in!
Sessions will be recorded and available after the program ends, but you will get the most out of the program if you can attend the live sessions.
In general, the program follows a set operating cadence. Live sessions will run after work hours:
****In addition to the content sessions, there will also be Friday in-person drinks in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as regular catch-ups with your founding team and Coach.
Depending on your own bandwidth and personal objectives, you can then scale up from there - dive into bonus resources, connect with other Fellows & Coaches, build your network, etc.
It’s a common misconception that you have to be technically minded to found a startup. This is simply not true. Whether you’re studying arts, engineering, music, science, law, business or anything in between, the Student Fellowship can help you determine whether a career in startups is the right fit for you.
Our Student Fellows come from all backgrounds, experiences and walks of life. However, they are all:
We’re especially interested in you if you would like to found a startup in the future (or now)!
All university students are welcome to apply, regardless of age, race, disability, cultural background, gender or sexuality.
The Student Fellowship runs for 2 weeks, during which time Fellows team up and found a startup.
From coming up with a startup idea, testing and refining it, validating it with customers and pitching the finished product at the end of the program. And if you’ve already got an idea or started talking to customers - great!
You’ll also be added to a talent pool that will open you up to internship and job opportunities at Australian and New Zealand startups.
And the journey doesn't end after 2 weeks. Our Student Fellows join Startmate’s community of operators, founders and investors for life, and make meaningful connections with other ambitious, passionate students and coaches from all over the country.
Check out this program reflection from Summer23 cohort student fellow, Melody Wu.
We sat down with Alea Young, Summer’24 Student Fellow who is passionate about entrepreneurship and startups. Alea shared her experience of the Student Fellowship, the startup she pitched during the Founder Challenge and why she is so interested in founding.
We sat down with Charlotte Jones, Winter’23 Student Fellow who is passionate about entrepreneurship and startups. Alea shared her experience of the Student Fellowship, the startup she pitched during the Founder Challenge and why she feels drawn to founding.
Christie Jenkins' "eye-opening story about her time as a teenage trampoline athlete" left Jayn Wong with four golden rules worth actioning.
Job searches are hard. Fear and self doubt drives people to believe that they can’t land anything, so they apply for everything.Here’s a secretVery few people actually think about what they want, because they don’t believe it’s achievable. The result is that everyone ends up applying for the same roles in the market. Whilst everyone else competes for the same roles, there is an opportunity to chase a role that actually excites you. Ironically, these may be easier to land.
According to Blackbird's Niki Scevak, the secret to succeeding professionally and attaining long-term wealth is maximising your rate of learning.
To disrupt the notion of a traditional career pathway, more students need to choose startups as their first option upon graduation.