The Startmate Women Fellowship is a two-month program helping ambitious women find their dream job in a startup.
In this community-driven program, you will gain the tools, connections and confidence to hit the ground running in a fast-paced startup. You’ll join a community of talented and inspiring women, and gain backstage access to the most iconic startups in Australia and New Zealand. You will also receive personalised support from top startup operators and leaders, who will help you navigate the startup world with confidence.
What’s included in the Fellowship experience?
The Startmate Women Fellowship is a six week program that helps ambitious women launch amazing startup careers. You’ll get access to weekly sessions and events, 1-1 coaching and a powerful network to build your confidence, translate your skills and find your best fit in a startup. We’ll add jet fuel to your job search by giving you exclusive access to our startup job board and direct introductions to epic companies.
Learn from industry leaders
- Exclusive ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions with world-leading founders, investors and operators.
- Energising workshops to get clear on your goals, build your confidence and bust imposter syndrome.
- Practical workshops to learn the 101 of different startup roles, and where you might fit in a startup.
- Learn from your peers in community-led sessions.
It is run exceptionally well and feels highly personal. I love the quality of the speakers and coaches, and how amazing all the other Fellows are. I have learnt so much already only 4 weeks in...
- Philippa Townley, Autumn21 Fellow
The content was incredible and the contributors were fantastic, not to forget the out-of-this-world team!
- Katrina Hau, Autumn21 Fellow
I really found value hearing from Hannah and Al from Folklore… they were so open and transparent with venture capital and investing. Their integrity, openness and projects really spoke to me and made me ask myself ' why am I not working for them'?
- Kristin Roberts, Autumn21 Fellow
I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve grown personally and professionally so far...I’ve had to dig deep, which has been uncomfortable because I was previously guided by linear expectations in a corporate career
- Anna Hu, went from in house lawyer to Manager of Group Strategy at x 15 Ventures.
Join a Community for Life
- Take the leap into startups alongside 100 driven and ambitious women!
- Find your Squad and develop a network of friends for life.
- Develop a rich and diverse network of founders, investors and operators.
- Attend regular social and networking sessions.
It’s so hard to find a community of women that are such high achievers, want to do something outside of the societal corporate hierarchy, and are so supportive to other women. I needed this experience more than I realised!
- Sarah Lam, Autumn21 Fellow
Love it. The best job of community I've seen. Incredible people, support, contributions, and calibre of everything. Truly amazing
- Emily Casey, Autumn21 Fellow
Find Your Dream Job
- Learn about different roles and identify your best fit in a startup.
- Get 1-1 support from a Coach to translate your skills.
- Practise your pitch to startups in a safe and judgement-free zone.
- Get tips to make your CV stand out from the crowd.
- Get exclusive access to the Startmate job board.
- We’ll give you warm introductions to great startups who are hiring.
It has really changed my life. It has opened me up to a new perspective and really helped me in landing my dream job… a genuinely amazing community to be a part of!
- Miriam Agranat, pivoted from corporate lawyer to ops and compliance at top VC fund, AirTree.
It’s such a great way to meet and network with other people. There is an abundance of resources, which can be overwhelming to filter through outside of the Fellowship. The opportunity to have a coach throughout was also incredible and so valuable
- Steph Staudinger, landed her first Product Manager job at Sparesbox.
The Fellowship seriously over-delivered. I had high expectations going into the Fellowship in terms of employment opportunities, expanding my network and developing my own personal learning. All of these targets were met - by a long shot!
- Jordy Sosnowski, Spring20 Fellow, Director of Advocacy at Action for Dolphins
Love what you’ve read so far? Here’s who we’re looking for!
We’re looking for smart and daring women who want to solve tough problems and have a real impact. If you’re ready to join a startup and do the best work of your life, this is the program for you.
The Startmate Women Fellowship is for the hungry, not the proven. Whether you’re a corporate worker, designer, shift manager or a mum returning to work - we embrace women from all industries and backgrounds.
The Fellowship is best suited to professionals who are actively looking for a job in a startup. We’re looking for…
- Startup beginners and newcomers (no startup experience, or less than a year’s experience in a startup).
- Active job hunters (or looking to start work within 3-6 months of finishing the program).
If you're a hungry and ambitious student, you can learn more about our Student Fellowship here. Because students now have their very own program, we're no longer accepting applications from undergraduate students for the Women Fellowship.
We’ve helped over 100 women find their dream job in a startup.
- From speech pathologist to Junior Full Stack Developer a HotDoc.
- From medical doctor to Data and Partnerships Manager at Prospection.
- From corporate lawyer to Global Head of Social Impact at Forage.
- From Analyst at McKinsey to General Manager of Normal at Eucalyptus.
- From restaurant manager to Designer at JigSpace.
But don’t just take our word for it. Check out what our Fellows have to say about the Fellowship here
Meet the Coaches
Our Women Fellowship is supported by a group of talented and experienced Coaches, who support you on your career development journey.
Our Coaches can help you translate your skills, build your network, and navigate the job-hunting process with confidence.
Meet a few of our current Coaches:
- Maxine Minter, CEO of Co Lab
- Sarah Hadj, Talent Lead ANZ at Mr Yum
- Kylene Jones, Director of Customer & Commercial ANZ at Auror
- Laura Warden, Head of People & Culture at Folklore Ventures
- Tash Jamieson, Founder of Lockpick Games
- Anna Prell, Chief of Staff at Forage
- Nonny Klaile, Startup & VC Partnerships at Stripe
- Ellen Dinsmoor, Head of Operations at Vow
Ready to step forward and support the next wave of startup talent as coach? Find out more here
What else do I need to know?
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The program runs virtually twice a year.
Tentative dates for 2023:
- Autumn/Winter (June 5 - July 21)
- Spring/Summer (October 16 - December 1).
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Each cohort is made up of around 100 supportive and inspiring women.
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The Fellowship has a $1,500 + GST fee. This will only be charged on acceptance to the program. Startmate offers scholarship placements for those that find the cost of the program prohibitive! You will be able to apply for a scholarship along with your formal application to the program.
Apply for the Startmate Women Fellowship
The program will run virtually for six weeks. The next Women Fellowship (Autumn/Winter23) is tentatively scheduled to run from June 5 - July 21 (with a one week break from June 26 - June 30).
Yes, all of the content is delivered in a virtual format. However, we give you the best of both worlds in the Fellowship - there are lots of opportunities to meet up in person!
Each Fellow belongs to a Squad of other Fellows and Alumni. We pair you up based on location, where possible, so you can grab a coffee or go for a walk with other Fellows.
- We also host in person meet-ups and networking nights (we have heaps of fun!).
There are typically 3-5 hours of content per week. Most of these sessions will happen outside business hours (i.e. morning, lunch, or evening). You can then scale up from there - meet other Fellows & Coaches, find internship/project-based work, run a session for the community yourself + more.
Absolutely! Most of our Women Fellows complete the Fellowship alongside full time work, parenting, other personal commitments, etc. There is no expectation that you will quit your job to join the program.
However, we encourage you to be realistic about your bandwidth. All the 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.
Nope! We understand this process takes time, and it’s important to find the right fit for you. We will give you all of the tools, information and networks to find your dream job in a startup. How and when you use that information is up to you.
The job hunting process takes time! By the end of the program, around 25% of our cohort have landed a job in a startup. By 6 months, this looks more like 60%!
Once you join us, you are part of the Startmate Family for life. That means that the support continues after the 6-week program.
Yes, you can join the Fellowship if you have worked in a startup before. For example:
Lucy Wark (Winter20 Fellow, General Manager of Normal) consulted to startups before joining the Fellowship.
- Katrina Hau (Autumn21 Fellow, now Talent and PX Partner at Auror), was a Coach and DEI Lead at Multitudes.
- Kiya Taylor (Autumn21 Fellow, now Head of Platform at Equity Ventures), was the Chief Customer Officer at UPowr.
You may be eligible for a part or full scholarship if you are experiencing demonstrated financial hardship. Scholarships are funded by our sponsor companies, who are invested in your career journey and generating more diversity in startups.
Please see a full breakdown of our scholarship criteria here
How Stephanie Hall confronted imposter syndrome and seized her dream opportunity in sextech
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Have a question? Send us an email hello@startmate.com.au