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What to expect during the Startmate Accelerator
By
Cara Davies
Curious about how the Startmate Accelerator works and how to get the most out of it? Cara Davies has you covered.
June 28, 2022
How to break into product management
By
Vihan Ramanayake
Calling all aspiring product manager. Here is Student Fellow Vihan Ramanayake's step-by-step guide to breaking into the space.
June 28, 2022
How to enter a flow state
By
Benjemen Elengovan
"My deep work schedule allows me to enter a flow state, complete key tasks, and solve challenges with more focus and energy."
June 28, 2022
Startup red flags: What to look out for during the interview process
By
Royina Bakshi
An interview is as much of an opportunity for you to assess a startup as it is for the team to assess you. So, what red flags should you look out for and how can you spot them?
June 14, 2022
How to efficiently work through survey feedback
By
Ryan Walker
Ryan Walker
Here's how Ryan Walker efficiently works through survey feedback and crafts a story that best highlights key information.
June 6, 2022
Turning an Instagram account into a community of 365,000+ young people: Lessons from The Daily Aus
By
Harshdeep Kaur
Zara and Sam just wanted to help their friends sound intelligent when they went out on dates. Now, they run a rapidly growing news platform followed by over 365,000 young people.
June 6, 2022
May 2022 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
May 31, 2022
Five internship program tips from Culture Amp
By
Millie Lester
Ambitious interns can provide enormous value to the startups they join, says Culture Amp’s Director of Engineering Enablement Paul Hughes.
May 23, 2022
Book review: High Output Management
By
Rochelle Ritchie
Written by former Intel CEO Andrew Grove, High Output Management focuses on successful frameworks for self-measurement, as well as team management styles to deliver success.
May 23, 2022
How to build and scale a customer-first product
By
Raveen Kuhadas
Founders from Linktree, Mr Yum, EntryLevel, Heaps Normal, Dovetail, MyGigsters and more share their hard-won customer-centricity insights.
May 9, 2022
How Steppen got into the Accelerator (after being rejected)
By
Cara Davies
In this article, Steppen Founder Cara Davies reflects on both of her Startmate Accelerator applications.
May 3, 2022
April 2022 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
May 1, 2022
How Brianna Fitzpatrick created her dream job at Mr Yum
By
Millie Lester
Brianna Fitzpatrick is one of Mr Yum's fresh hires, working in a new role she designed for herself.
April 25, 2022
Why we’re building an MLP, not an MVP
By
Matt Hollis
No more Minimum Viable Product for us. We're all about building a Minimum Lovable Product for our target users.
April 12, 2022
The four things Jithesh Ramesh wishes he knew as a young designer
By
Jithesh Ramesh
Jithesh Ramesh has worked at Atlassian, Airwallex and Mastt, to name but a few, and has a wealth of insights to share.
April 11, 2022
How to set career growth levels for your team
By
Emer McCann
What are the right-fit career growth levels for a startup and when should you implement them? Emer McCann has done her own research
April 11, 2022
Why Lockpick Games Founder Tash Jamieson thinks video games are key to helping every student reach their full potential
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
When Tash Jamieson made it her mission to make studying fun for her stepson Drake, she had no idea she was building the first iteration of edtech startup Lockpick Games.
April 11, 2022
Four tips for aspiring startup marketers
By
Woody Whaly
Many amazing founder stories have been told, and we love them all. But what about startup marketer stories?
April 11, 2022
March 2022 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
April 1, 2022
Startmate's Summer22 Accelerator cohort is one to watch
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
From art licensing and plastic waste transformation to chemical procurement and social fitness for Gen Z, Startmate’s Summer22 Accelerator cohort is one of our most impressive yet.
March 28, 2022
Media 3.0 will be boom time for mediatech and emerging content creators alike
By
Lauren Capelin
Lauren Capelin
Over the next decade, there is an incredible opportunity for the next generation of media companies to rise in parallel with the success of startups across the region.
March 28, 2022
From 0 to 50,000: Wild Hearts host Mason Yates’ five podcasting tips
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Blackbird Associate Mason Yates has amassed more than 50,000 listens since launching Wild Hearts in 2020.
March 14, 2022
All aboard! Introducing Startmate's new Talent Engine
By
Sophia Witherington
Sophia Witherington
Our new Talent Engine is a platform for startups wanting to build better teams.
March 14, 2022
WTF does a Chief of Staff do?
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
What are the day-to-day responsibilities of a chief of staff? And how do you move into this role? I put these questions to Harrison.ai’s Thuy Thai and Forage's Anna Prell.
March 8, 2022
WTF does an Operations Lead do?
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
“Operations is probably one of the most misunderstood startup roles”, says Dovetail’s Business Operations and Finance Lead Kanav Bhama. But it’s also one of the most far-reaching and exciting roles on offer.
March 8, 2022
February 2022 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
February 28, 2022
WTF does a Head of Talent do?
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
What are the day-to-day responsibilities of someone in talent acquisition? How do you break into this space? I put these questions to EVP’s Head of Talent Fred Callaghan.
February 28, 2022
From challenging social norms to pursuing your vision: Learning from Nutromics Co-Founder Hitesh Mehta
By
Royina Bakshi
Hitesh Mehta has a vision to create a better and more equitable healthcare system, and offers valuable insight into the value of persistence when it comes to chasing your dreams.
February 28, 2022
How Bec Rozencwajg landed a job as LaunchVic's Alice Anderson Fund Investment Manager
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
When re-entering the workforce after maternity leave, Bec Rozencwajg found herself seeking a role with a tangible, positive impact.
February 28, 2022
How Oli Clive-Griffin became a software engineer at Halter without a degree
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
“I didn't go to university because I just didn't know what I wanted to study there. It was the best choice I’ve ever made, even if the motivation might’ve been more rebelliousness or indecision than insight.”
February 28, 2022
How Maddi Ingham landed her dream job as Chief of Staff at ChefPrep
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Thanks to some encouragement from friends, the Women Fellowship and the power of LinkedIn, Maddi Ingham has a dream role at ChefPrep.
February 17, 2022
How to measure and manage your life goals
By
Simon Murphy
How many times have you promised yourself that you’ll sort out your finances, exercise, sleep or diet when things aren’t so busy?
February 15, 2022
How to actually create a go-to-market strategy
By
Alisha Geary
When Alisha Geary googled “Go To Market Strategy Template”, Google let her down.
February 14, 2022
How I overcame procrastination and started publishing
By
Kristy Bertenshaw
This story is dedicated to all the other storytellers out there with words that deserve to see the light of day.
February 14, 2022
What May Samali’s journey can teach you about building your dream life through courage, hard work and introspection
By
Royina Bakshi
It is easy to look at May Samali's professional achievements and attribute them to talent, luck or a great life plan. But it's years of consistent hard work, effort in the face of fear, failure and honest introspection that's helped her get to where she is today.
February 14, 2022
Why Matt Hollis and Jarrad Seers’ startup kicked off Startmate's Accelerator with paying customers... and emerged with a new name and product
By
Matt Hollis
They say you won’t recognise your company and product by the end of Startmate’s Accelerator. When my co-founder and I heard first this, we had a little laugh to ourselves...
February 14, 2022
How to find success with the right intern, according to Normal’s Lucy Wark
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Time-poor founders and operators are often hesitant to take on interns. But the right intern can “be a dream”, says Normal Founder Lucy Wark.
February 11, 2022
Adore Beauty, Linktree and Mr Yum: Why customer centricity gives startups a competitive advantage
By
Raveen Kuhadas
Customer centricity means putting the customer at the centre of everything a business does. It involves building a deep understanding and empathy with a select group of customers, promoting customer loyalty.
February 1, 2022
Everything Moonshot's co-founders learnt from applying for Y Combinator
By
Daniel Han-Chen
"I wasn’t expecting anything; I was sure we had a horrible application."
February 1, 2022
How Great Question Co-Founder Ned Dwyer tests hypotheses, conducts customer interviews and spots trends
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
It’s crucial that early-stage founders prioritise research, work systematically and embrace both validation and invalidation, according to Great Question Co-Founder Ned Dwyer.
January 31, 2022
January 2022 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
January 31, 2022
How angel investing gives Gopi Sara the taste of early-stage startup life he craves
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Gopi Sara is a self-confessed ‘aspiring startup founder without an idea’, but he says angel investing offers him the taste of early-stage startup life he craves.
January 31, 2022
Behind the scenes at Folklore
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
When asked to sum up the Folklore experience in five words, Folklore Chief of Staff Bree Kirkham says bold, ambitious, unconventional, good-humoured and smart.
January 31, 2022
"Find your mirror": Everything Kirrily Davis learnt from Facebook's Director of Marketing Science Helen Crossley
By
Kirrily Davis
"In our last session, I asked Helen how I could repay her for what she taught me and she said ‘pay it forward’. So here I am."
January 31, 2022
Book review: Ask Your Developer
By
Rochelle Ritchie
Many of the insights shared in Ask Your Developer are relevant to a budding marketer wanting to supercharge a tech business.
January 31, 2022
Why medtech founder Lauren Barber’s unflinching honesty makes her an inspiration for aspiring women founders
By
Royina Bakshi
'In a world where female founders constantly portrayed as ‘girl bosses’, I found it was hard to get authentic insights into what the journey entails for ‘regular’ women. Then I met Lauren Barber.'
January 31, 2022
What is Startmate's Athletes Fellowship?
By
Phoebe Pincus
Phoebe Pincus
The key difference between what an elite athlete does every day and what an operator in a high-growth startup does every day is largely in the role title.
January 28, 2022
How world-class athlete Christie Jenkins trained her way into venture capital
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Learning to invest in startups is just like training as an elite athlete, says Christie Jenkins.
January 25, 2022
Startmate 2021 Wrap + 2022 Plan
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
A year in review.
December 23, 2021
November 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
December 1, 2021
Behind the scenes at Startmate
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
In this Q&A, Phoebe speaks about intentional culture, team structure, policy, learning and development budgets and the cultural initiatives on the horizon. This is your behind the scenes peek at what it’s really like to work at Startmate.
November 18, 2021
Culture Amp Co-Founder Rod Hamilton reflects on the startup’s first product, sale, Geek-Up, enterprise customer and funding round
By
Sascha Kerbert
Sascha Kerbert
From Culture Amp’s origin story and first product to long-standing focus on community and decision to bootstrap, there are insights galore in this AMA with Rod Hamilton.
November 15, 2021
October 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
November 1, 2021
"Don’t worry about your competitors": LiGR Co-Founder Luke McCoy's advice for early-stage startups
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
LiGR Co-Founder Luke McCoy might be playing the sportstech game, but he isn’t worried about his competitors.
October 29, 2021
From Formula 1 to startups: Inside Mechanical Engineer Kyle Forster's search for work-life balance
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Kyle Forster is a PhD-qualified engineer specialising in aerodynamic design and a small business owner... and up until a year ago, was an Aerodynamicist on Mercedes' Formula 1 team.
October 25, 2021
Why Rajini Carpenter made the leap from corporate finance to VP of Engineering at Deputy
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Rajini Carpenter took an engineering role at Deputy because she wanted to experience the rollercoaster that is startup growth.
October 22, 2021
Startmate Accelerator investment terms from Summer22
By
Lauren Capelin
Lauren Capelin
We're updating our standard investment terms to $120k at a $1.5m post-money valuation for founders that haven't raised a prior round, and we'll match the latest valuation of founders who have raised. This will come into effect from Summer22 onward.
October 14, 2021
From Wish to Seachange: How engineer Adam Flynn navigated the “long and messy” process of finding his purpose
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Adam Flynn describes the journey from first engineer at e-commerce startup Wish to VP of Engineering at Seachange as “deeply, deeply, deeply difficult”.
October 8, 2021
'I have a way closer connection to the people I'm helping': Eucalyptus' Head of Engineering Davina Adisusila reflects on two years of startup life
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
When Davina Adisusila quit her job at Atlassian and accepted a job at Eucalyptus, she was prepared for and excited about a change...
October 8, 2021
September 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
October 1, 2021
How Mentorloop Co-Founder Lucy Lloyd closed two capital raises without a lead investor
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
When Mentorloop Co-Founders Lucy Lloyd and Heidi Holmes embarked on their first capital raise, they planned to find a lead investor. “But that’s not how it worked out.”
September 28, 2021
The best investors come from “the most unlikely of backgrounds”, says Blackbird’s Sam Wong
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
And if you take a closer look at Silicon Valley and other mature technology ecosystems today, you’ll find most VC investors come from founder and operator backgrounds.
September 17, 2021
Why Tracie and Mike Thompson laughed in the face of retirement and founded a startup instead
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
When Mike and Tracie sold their consulting business in 2017, they realised they were hungry for a different kind of professional challenge.
September 15, 2021
How syndicates benefit founders, investors and the ecosystem to boot
By
Kylie Frazer
Syndicates can benefit founders who are unable to secure much-needed capital at their earliest stages and angel investors who may not be able to access the cap table directly.
September 13, 2021
Matt Allen is on a mission to help founders hold onto their equity
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Tractor Ventures Co-Founder Matt Allen is on a mission to help founders hold onto as much of their equity as they want to, for as long as they like.
September 9, 2021
Australia is accelerating on Employee Share Schemes… but we’re still playing catch-up
By
Matthew Tracey
Employee Share Schemes are commonplace in the startup world... but Australia's ESS approach has typically lagged on the global stage.
September 9, 2021
How Kiara Olrich landed a role as first hire and Head of Operations at Phantm
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
After seven years climbing the management consulting ladder very quickly, Kiara Olrich knew it was time for a change.
September 8, 2021
August 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
September 1, 2021
Everything Student Fellow Izabela Barakovska learnt from Airtasker VP of Design James Nau
By
Izabela Barakovska
As a professional creative, Izabela Barakovska was understandably drawn to James Nau’s Student Fellowship talk.
August 31, 2021
The ins and outs of executive coaching
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Leadership is a muscle, strengths are situational, and sometimes founders need a bit of guidance when doing their best work.
August 31, 2021
How Stephanie Hall confronted imposter syndrome and seized her dream opportunity in sextech
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Stephanie Hall has long been a thrill-seeking, socially conscious generalist. So it makes sense she spent the first part of her career suing dolphin hunters, the second part calling for climate action and the third in sextech.
August 24, 2021
Welcome to Startmate City
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
One of our 10-year goals is to build a 1-million-person technology city in Australia or New Zealand that attracts ambition, ignites innovation, boosts quality of life and fosters human connection.
August 21, 2021
How Tsamara Ramadhanti fell in love with tech and landed a role as UX Designer at Law on Earth
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Tsamara Ramadhanti comes from a family of accountants, so while tech has always caught her eye, she saw herself studying business and following in her family’s footsteps.
August 18, 2021
Niki Scevak on the best thing young people can do for their futures
By
Michael Lew
According to Blackbird's Niki Scevak, the secret to succeeding professionally and attaining long-term wealth is maximising your rate of learning.
August 5, 2021
The no code revolution: How to build a startup with just an idea
By
Angela Huang
In the first week of the W21 Student Fellowship, the Pitchblak team ran a no code session. Here are Angela Huang's takeaways.
August 4, 2021
How to pull off the impossible, according to Linus Lee
By
Geena Grant
Out of all our Student Fellowship sessions, Geena Grant was most excited about Linus Lee’s ‘Crash Course in Pulling Off the Impossible’.
August 4, 2021
Pursue an adventurous career by saying 'yes': Advice from Folklore VC's Hannah Field
By
Iris Chen
For students on the cusp of making career-defining decisions, Folklore VC Partner Hannah Field's journey is both inspiring and reassuring.
August 4, 2021
How Katrina Hau landed her dream job as Talent and People Experience Partner at Auror
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Katrina Hau's childhood was dominated by a strong feeling of being other, but she credits her formative years for her present-day passion for diversity, equity and inclusion.
August 4, 2021
How to believe in yourself and why feedback is a gift — Learning from Christie Jenkins
By
Jayn Wong
Christie Jenkins' "eye-opening story about her time as a teenage trampoline athlete" left Jayn Wong with four golden rules worth actioning.
August 3, 2021
July 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
August 1, 2021
How to optimise your time in a startup — with Blackbird's Sam Wong
By
Monique Leung
Careers in startups are generally filled with high levels of risk and unexpected turns. And Sam Wong’s career is no different, writes Student Fellow Monique Leung.
July 29, 2021
How Lucy Jedlin secured a job as Customer Success Manager at Yellow Canary
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Lucy Jedlin comes from a family of lawyers and followed in their footsteps after university. That is, until she caught the startup bug, and crafted a new professional identity for herself.
July 27, 2021
A noob's guide to networking: Takeaways from the Startmate Student Fellowship
By
Evan Lim
Evan Lim never really understood what networking meant until the Student Fellowship rolled around.
July 26, 2021
Why grads routinely dismiss startups, and how we can flip the narrative: Learning from Blackbird's Niki Scevak
By
Ewan Jacob
To disrupt the notion of a traditional career pathway, more students need to choose startups as their first option upon graduation.
July 23, 2021
How Vanessa Iezzi landed her dream role as Head of People at Carted
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Vanessa Iezzi has long been the one her friends turn to for advice. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense she ended up in the people and culture space.
July 21, 2021
How Daisy Johnson scored a job as Marketing Coordinator at Baraja
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Daisy Johnson has always gravitated toward the unfamiliar (and has the passport to prove it), so it makes sense she found her way to startupland.
July 15, 2021
Pory’s co-founders met pre-idea, pre-startup — and it has set them up for success
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
There’s a narrative in startupland that all you need to get an idea off the ground is a stellar founding team. Pory’s story flips this sentiment on its head.
July 14, 2021
Believe in your ideas and go harder: Opvia's takeaways from Open House 2021
By
Matt Hollis
Opvia Co-Founder and CEO Matt Hollis reflects on his Open House experience.
July 1, 2021
June 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
June 30, 2021
How Emily Casey found her ‘why’ and used a specific skill set to launch What The Health
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Emily Casey has carved out a niche for herself and launched a healthtech venture. Here’s how she got there.
June 29, 2021
How Katie Sizeland is launching herself from the public service into startup ops
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Katie Sizeland was born in New Zealand, is as curious as they come, and upon reflection, sees her impressive career in science as fairly inevitable.
June 18, 2021
How Eddie Atkinson scored a job as Software Engineer at Gridcognition
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Eddie Atkinson discovered startups at university when a mate took the plunge and has been hooked ever since.
June 15, 2021
How Carola Velazquez Silva scored her dream job as Designer at Jigspace
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Carola Velazquez Silva was born in Mexico, loves figuring out how things work, and has had her dream job in sight since she was four.
June 8, 2021
How to find the perfect co-founder, according to five Startmate Alumni who’ve been there, done that
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Rory San Miguel, Alan Jin, Alexandra De Bonis and Mike and Tracie Thompson reflect on what to look for when choosing a co-founder.
June 2, 2021
May 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
May 31, 2021
Five things Muso Co-Founder Alan Jin has learnt about pounding the pavement, speaking with early-stage customers and generating traction
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
If Muso's founding story was a movie, “Hustlin’” by Rick Ross would lead the soundtrack.
May 26, 2021
Validating an idea as an early-stage founder is all about rapid prototyping and testing: Six learnings from Ajay Prakash
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Underlying all of Ajay Prakash’s success (and failure) is a commitment to “rapid prototyping and testing”.
May 4, 2021
April 2021 Monthly Update
By
Michael Batko
Michael Batko
Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.
April 30, 2021
Get to know First Believer Tom McQuillen
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Tom McQuillen is a freshly minted climate-focused VC Investor, a "hopeless optimist" and a First Believer too.
April 29, 2021
Retracing Tom Richardson’s path from startup enthusiast, to casual advisor, to angel investor
By
Bronte McHenry
Bronte McHenry
Tom Richardson might not be “a conventional angel”, but he did just sign a $20,000 cheque to contribute to Mr Yum’s post-seed round.
April 23, 2021
Our Fellowship Vision: The startup ecosystem’s magnet for ambitious talent
By
Sophia Witherington
Sophia Witherington
The Startmate Fellowship exists to tangibly increase the economic growth generated by startups by systematically removing the bottlenecks to finding exceptional talent and upskilling the leaders of tomorrow.
April 9, 2021
How to make the most of the Women Fellowship
By
Cristabel Gekas
Cristabel Gekas
So many people, so many opportunities. Where to begin?
April 9, 2021