WTW Q1 2026: The women building, scaling and shaping ANZ startups

Women To Watch (WTW) is our new quarterly series where we highlight women making waves in ANZ startups. 

Across the Startmate community, there are women building, scaling and leading some of the most exciting companies in the ecosystem right now.

This is a spotlight on a small group of them; who they are, what they’re building, and the momentum behind them.

Each of them also has a specific ask for the community. 

So as you read this, don’t just scroll, be useful. 

• If you know someone who could help; make the intro.
• If you’re the right person; reach out.

This is how the ecosystem moves forward.

🚀 Founders to watch

Paloma Newton, Co-founder & CEO of Elita

Paloma is building a pet longevity platform; combining biological data, clinical histories and owner observations to enable preventative care and earlier risk detection, giving pets and their owners more good years together.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Created the world’s first biologically informed digital longevity algorithm, built on real patient data
• Developed proprietary at-home diagnostics
• Built a beta product with ~200 users (with zero marketing spend)
• Built a proprietary canine biobank and began in-dog safety trials
• Preparing to launch the full product in April

The ask:
Paloma and the Elita team are hiring a Growth Lead and would love to connect with candidates who are excited about building at the intersection of health, data and consumer. They are also looking for introductions to veterinarians who are interested in expanding their role beyond the clinic.

Website: elita.pet/
LinkedIn: Connect with Paloma

Annabel Hay, Co-founder & CEO and Lucy Hay, Co-founder & CMO of Clutch Glue

Annabel is building a breakout CPG brand, and getting it into the hands of some of the most recognisable people in the world.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Kim Kardashian used CLUTCH during the All’s Fair press tour
• Ran standout guerrilla campaigns (including the New York Marathon)
• Hit their biggest (and profitable) revenue month to date
• Sold a tube every minute — with a 24-hour stretch of one every five seconds

The ask:

Annabel is currently based in the US and would love to connect with anyone in NYC or across the States. She is also running a US seed round and flip, so if you have connections to strong CPG investors or operators, she would really appreciate an introduction. 

Website: clutchglue.com/
LinkedIn: Connect with Annabel

Grace Brown, Founder & CEO of Andromeda

Grace is building at the frontier of healthcare and robotics, and scaling fast.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Closed a A$23M Series A led by Forerunner Ventures
• Deployed their first Genesis Abi
• Tripled the team across engineering, product and operations
• Expanded to the US with a San Francisco office

The ask:

The team is expanding Abi into new environments and would love introductions to aged-care, healthcare, or other organisations (in Australia or the US) that are interested in exploring a pilot.

Website: andromedarobotics.ai/
LinkedIn: Connect with Grace

Remy Tucker, Founder & CEO of On The House

Remy is rethinking how brands build trust; moving it beyond the feed and into the real world.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Raised a $1.7M seed round
• Rolled out 55 machines across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast
• Built a team of five

With strong results:

• 92.4% reported increased trust
• 89.4% felt more positive toward the brand
• 93.9% more likely to consider or use the brand

The ask:

Remy would love to connect with brands that are looking to build attention, trust, and new customers beyond the feed. She is also looking for Australian venues that would like to host free period product vending machines, fully funded and managed by On The House.

Website: onthehousegroup.com/
LinkedIn: Connect with Remy

Bella Filacuridi, Co-founder & CXO and Sophie Greiner, Co-founder & CEO of Dome

Bella and Sophie are building at the intersection of content, community and culture.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Launched DomeFest; Australia’s first podcast fan festival
• Brought together some of the country’s most influential podcast voices
• Partnered with Finely Tuned to bring the experience to life
• Began building Dome, the platform designed to scale fan-led podcast experiences

The ask:

Check out their website and reach out if you are interested in DomeFest Round 2. 

Website: homeofdome.com/
LinkedIn: Connect with Bella & Sophie

🏛 Leaders to watch

Ruby Jones, CEO of Aquila

Ruby is leading one of the most ambitious deep tech companies in the ecosystem.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Delivered a world-first: 500W optical power to a drone in flight
• Secured 4 government customers planning pilots in 2026
• Built a pipeline forecasting $20M revenue by 2027
• Closed a $72M/year Letter of Intent for satellite power

The ask:

Ruby and the Aquila team are hiring across optics, electronics, mechanical, business development and operations, and are looking for exceptional talent who want to work on deeply technical, high-impact problems.

Website: aquila.earth/
LinkedIn: Connect with Ruby

Maisy Bennet, COO of On The House

Maisy is the operational engine behind On The House’s rapid expansion.

She leads:

• Venue partnerships across Australia
• Physical operations (3PL, supply chain, manufacturing)
• Product, systems and internal operations

Early impact:

• 55 machines rolling out across Eastern Australia
• Pilot venues expanding into long-term partnerships
• Launching with major brands across cinemas, stadiums and hotels
• 98.2% user satisfaction

The ask:

Maisy is looking to connect with high-traffic venues that would benefit from premium vending machines stocked with free period products. These are fully managed by On The House and come at no cost to the venue. You can reach her at maisy@onthehousegroup.com 

Website: onthehousegroup.com/
LinkedIn: Connect with Maisy

Kristin Perchal, Head of Product at Leonardo AI

Kristin is shaping how people create in the age of AI. Now leading product at Leonardo AI (acquired by Canva), she’s building AI-native creative workflows and agentic tooling.

Previously at Atlassian, she:

• Led Jira’s transformation into a platform for all teams
• Modernised the experience across 12 products
• Introduced AI capabilities that reshaped how teams build
• Recognised with a Women in Tech Product Award and named a top CPO to watch.

The ask:
Kristin is always open to connecting with builders working in generative AI, whether that is to swap notes, share what is working, or help think through a challenging product problem.

Website: leonardo.ai/
LinkedIn: Connect with Kristin

Kelly Spoerk, COO of Matilda Health

Kelly is the connective tissue across Matilda Health, bringing structure, speed and clarity to an early-stage HealthTech company.

Her role spans:

• Day-to-day operations across finance, compliance and execution
• Removing friction across systems, processes and workflows
• Supporting commercial strategy (forecasting, pricing, growth)
• Building visibility across performance and key metrics
• Partnering with founders on direction and long-term vision

No two weeks look the same, from building financial models to running product sprints and scaling internal systems.

A true “safe pair of hands” across the business.

The ask:

Matilda Health is exploring a seed round, and Kelly would love to connect with investors who believe in both strong returns and meaningful impact, particularly in addressing the gaps in women’s healthcare. She can be reached at kelly@matilda.health 

Website: matilda.health/
LinkedIn: Connect with Kelly

Sarah-Jane Kurtini, Founder of Pitch Slap, Startmate mentor & serial founder

Sarah-Jane sits at the intersection of founders, storytelling and ecosystem building — helping early-stage companies sharpen how they position, pitch and win.

Highlights from the last 12 months:

• Mentored the latest Startmate cohort, working closely with SuperStat and Evatto
• Ran positioning office hours across multiple teams
• Worked with the EnergyLab cohort on narrative and storytelling strategy
• Spoke at SouthStart alongside Airtree on Exit Velocity
• Launched a Pitch Deck Builder, enabling founders to generate a pitch deck directly from their investor narrative

The ask:

• If you're a founder working on your pitch or positioning, try PitchSlap and tell her what you think
• If you know a keen basketballer, get them to try a free game with SuperStat, that brings real-time stats to grassroots sport
• If you know someone who organises events and is drowning in coordination, point them to Evatto, another mentee building something genuinely unique for event teams. 

That’s a wrap!

Know someone we should feature next? Or someone on this list we should all be paying attention to? Send them our way.

‍