If you are curious about working in a startup, long for mentorship, want to land your dream job, AND are ready to be weird and have some fun... The Women Fellowship is for you.
Squash those doubts, raise your ambition, and join a community of like-minded, ambitious women joining a startup for the first time.
"I gained such a well-rounded, realistic insight into the Startup eco-system and what itâs like to run or work in a startup. If youâre at all curious, I couldnât recommend this program enough."
"Amazing opportunity to meet new people and to learn and grow out of my comfort zone!"
"I had such an incredible experience doing the women fellowship. It was such a supportive, caring, enthusiastic community that I feel very lucky to be part of. "
"I read my list of reasons why âI am remarkableâ before interviews and it definitely reminds me how far Iâve come and how much I have to offer. Thanks Startmate for helping me get my mojo back!"
"Not only did the fellowship equip me with skills and confidence to pivot my career into the startup ecosystem, it also introduced me to an incredible cohort of incredible, Â ambitious women. The startup ecosystem attracts some brilliant people, many of whom I have been lucky to meet."
"I came into the Fellowship quite lost and not sure what I wanted to do. I left the Fellowship with a great new network of amazing women and with a much clearer picture of what I wanted to do with my life in the startup ecosystem. It really helped my clarify what I wanted, what was important to me and build my confidence.â¨"
"The Startmate Women Fellowship was a rocket ship to developing my next career pivot. Great network, generous mentors and a kickass community of amazing women!"
"The Womenâs Fellowship over delivered! Â You can become a freaking genius about entering into the startup ecosystem but only if you DO THE WORK in the fellowship. Â And oh how it is worth it. Â The rewards are priceless. Â Make the Womenâs Fellowship apart of your daily habits for 8 weeks and you will be amazed. Â No joke."
"I've met so many amazing, ambitious and inspiring women in this program. Would highly recommend."
"This fellowship was eye opening to the opportunities around us where we can make an impact. In particular it has motivated me to join the power-force Climate Tech community who are creating positive solutions to the climate problem!"
The Women Fellowship is designed to demystify "startups" and empower women to pursue a career they love. In 8 weeks, youâll learn to transfer the skills you have into a new role, take actionable steps and gain the connections needed to land the job you deserve.Â
 Youâll get coaching from leading startup founders and operators, actionable workshops to get you job-ready and put you directly in front of startups hiring, events and a community that will support you to get there.
NZGCP is a New Zealand Crown entity that provides investment support for Kiwis building world-class technology companies. They also back programmes like Women Fellowship to help encourage capability-building for both founders and investors.
Tattarang is the private investment group owned by Andrew and Nicola Forrest. Tattarang invests across a wide variety of sectors and asset classes, including in real assets, public and private markets. They are a values-based team that believes in using capital as a force for good with an investment focus on generational businesses that create value.
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.
In Part 1 of the program, weâll provide you with the guidance, knowledge and tools to identify and land your dream startup job. Think of this as your startup bootcamp, immersing you in the world of startups.
Youâll leave this week with some exciting new connections and the basics in place to hit the ground running.
This week is all about setting you up for success. Take this time to tick through your onboarding checklist and begin connecting with other Fellows & members of the community.
Youâll leave this week ready to make the most out of the Fellowship and the Startmate community, along with an understanding of the startup and investment landscape in ANZ.
Weâll kick off the program by walking through some essentials to help you thrive in the program. Weâll also help you understand how to grow and leverage your network the right way, and help you navigate the startup ecosystem. During this week, weâll also be running a Speed Coaching event so you can meet all the amazing startup founders, operators, and leaders who will be coaching you during the program. This week will primarily be run in-person in major cities across ANZ, with the option of joining remotely.
Youâll leave this week with inspiration and greater clarity around taking your next steps. In the Women Fellowship, we challenge you to ask for more from your personal and professional lives. Weâll kick off Week 2 by unpacking whatâs really important to you, and how a career in startups might align with your individual values and objectives. We recognise that networking and self-promoting is often easier said than done, so this week is all about building confidence and tackling imposter syndrome to help you feel comfortable building your social capital and going after the career you deserve.
Youâll leave this week with an understanding of where your skills and values could fit into the startup ecosystem and the tools you need to land that dream job - from finding the right opportunity, to connecting with the right people, to nailing applications and interviews. In Week 3 you'll be paired with your coach (think founders, COOs, VCs, and more across ANZ's leading startups) and coaching buddy based on your interests - they'll be there to guide you through the rest of the program, meeting with you fortnightly. They'll help you unlock your goals and introduce you to the right people.
In Part 2, youâre in the driverâs seat. Equipped with all the learnings from the bootcamp, time to put your learnings from part 1 into action: putting yourself out there, building your network, applying for jobs, and ultimately landing your dream job. There will be weekly content and community sessions in Part 2, but fewer than in Part 1.
Each week, weâll host All Hands sessions with bitesize learnings, community building and collaboration, and time to put into action your learnings from part 1. Alongside this, weâll be putting you directly in front of startups that are hiring - through site visits and speed interview nights.Â
Along with our weekly All Hands where weâll set you up for the next chapter, weâll wrap up the Fellowship with a bittersweet wrap-up session, which will walk you through the next steps (including how to stay involved in this Community For Life!).
The best way to gauge if the program is right for you is to check out the Program Overview outlined above and have a look at what will be covered. If you believe that content might be beneficial to you, I would absolutely encourage you to apply.
Itâs also worth noting that the session content is only one part of the program. The other main component of the Fellowship is the community.
You will be joining a cohort of other ambitious and inspiring women who are here to support you on your journey.
You will also be joining the âStartmate Communityâ, which is a powerful network of some of the best startup operators, founders, and investors in Australia and New Zealand.
If you think you would benefit from being a part of this community, I would also encourage you to apply.
The program is mostly virtual. All of the content is delivered in a virtual format (and will be recorded if you canât attend live). However, we will also be hosting a few in-person events in the major capital cities as we find this helps facilitate stronger connections.
Startmate offers a range of discounts and scholarships.
Our discounts include, but are not limited to:
For more information about scholarships, click here.
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On average, 2-5 hours per week. Sessions will primarily take place on Mondays (evening), Tuesdays (lunchtime), and Thursdays (evening). Sessions are recorded in case you canât attend any sessions! There will also be some optional in-person activity throughout the program.