LaunchVic

Two startups, from LaunchVic’s recent CivVic Labs accelerator program have banked $35,000 each to develop their ideas further. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gynJvMyB

Great story this week on the new venture capital fund from Scale Investors Pty Ltd, a recipient of LaunchVic’s VC Support Program focused on backing women founders. Read the profile by Tess Bennett for The Australian Financial Review. ⬇️

It's official: Victorian AgTech innovators Sherri Symons and Vigneswaran Appia have taken out the CivVic Labs Circular Agriculture Challenge! Sherri, a fifth-generation farmer and founder of WoolGrow Australia, is turning low-value wool into biodegradable soil pellets that boost water retention and support healthier farming systems. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gZxKdJf7 Vignesh’s startup CForge offers a new way for growers to convert unsellable produce into products with commercial value. 👉 https://www.cforge.org/ They've both secured a further $35,000 funding to take their solutions to market with support from Agriculture Victoria. Interested in testing out your startup idea? Keep an eye out for future rounds of CivVic Labs by signing up for our newsletter below.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁." Jeanette Cheah 💁🏻♀️ on the payoff of her entrepreneurial journey with HEX: 97% of her students gain professional development they can't find anywhere else. 77% increase their income within six months of finishing her programs. Students start businesses after graduating. Those businesses hire people. Her graduates become employers themselves. "The momentum builds and builds," she explains. "We're seeing economic growth, people starting businesses, hiring others." For Jeanette, the work changes her as much as it changes her students. The relationships she builds, the problems she solves daily - these shape who she becomes as a founder. "It's the person you become during the entrepreneurial journey and the people you meet - that's the golden stuff." Watch BOLD for Jeanette's founder story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gZjAnHBP #Bold #FounderLife #AlternativeEducation #StartupJourney #HEX

🚀 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽 | 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 Join Aussie Founders Club for a candid panel on the realities of raising venture capital — the upside, the tradeoffs, and how to make the call with clarity. Featuring: Rob Phillpot (Glitch Capital, Aconex) Leila Oliveira (Antler) Richard Mulligan (FB Ventures) Thursday 18 September 5:30–8:00PM AEST | Everest Engineering - 2/39 Little Collins St, Melbourne RSVP: https://luma.com/pz9zrfyu Proudly backed by LaunchVic Whether you're planning your first raise or just curious about the VC path, this is a chance to hear from founders and investors who've seen both sides. Can't make it in person? AFC are also hosting a tactical fundraising session with Jock Fairweather (Iceberg) — who’s helped founders secure $623M+. Friday 19 September 12:00–1:00PM AEST | Online RSVP: https://luma.com/yuc2jfgz What you’ll learn: - What to do 3–6 months before a raise - How to build your investor list & fundraising SWOT - Tools and systems that actually work - Outreach, sequencing & comms strategies 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝘄 Startup Muster: Have your say on the future of Australian tech. Applications close 15 September https://startupmuster.com/ Ochre Ventures Indigenous Pre-Accelerator: Supporting First Nations entrepreneurs. Apply by 11:59pm, 19 September. https://lnkd.in/genCn6wJ 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲? Sign up to our Monthly Newsletter for all the latest opportunities for Victorian startups, investors and community builders. https://lnkd.in/g7B3Ytj5

What if you could fast-track your startup journey by learning from those who’ve already done it? Our Case Studies Archive features 𝟲𝟬+ 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 sharing how they: ➡️ Found their first customers ➡️ Raised capital ➡️ Scaled their teams and culture ➡️ Learn from failed ventures ➡️ Took on the world Their experience could be just what you’re looking for.
 Browse the full archive → https://lnkd.in/g4sDYatE

Help shape the future for Victorian startups Now is your last chance to have your say in Australia’s largest startup ecosystem survey Must close Monday 15 September If you’re a founder, investor, educator, accelerator, incubator, coworking space, service provider, or policymaker -- your input matters. Why take part? ✅ Help showcase what’s working – and what needs fixing – in the ecosystem ✅ Contribute to 12 years of data that informs government and research ✅ Access exclusive partner offers and discounts Grab a coffee and complete the survey here: https://startupmuster.com/ Startup Muster #StartupsStartHere #AustralianStartups #Innovation

Congratulations to Startmate alum Andromeda on their $23M Series A raise! LaunchVic is proud to support programs like Startmate that are helping to develop the next wave of global success for Victoria. Read the story by Yolanda Redrup for The Australian Financial Review https://lnkd.in/gkbsR7Bf

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿? 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. Bennett from Rosterfy shares this reality: "𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 80% 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵." Here's what worked - they made that first customer feel like the only one that mattered. For months. No charging, just obsessive focus on solving their problem. The founder playbook: ✅ Say "yes" first, figure it out later ✅ Build relationships before revenue - trust comes first ✅ Make customers feel like partners, not transactions ✅ Use deadlines to drive efficiency Bennett's journey: BMX championship (free) → Netball World Cup (minimal pay) → Tough Mudder globally → 9 consecutive Super Bowls. All because one person (a customer) became their champion. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: Relationship → Product → Revenue Your first customer isn't buying your product. They're backing YOU as a founder. Watch the full conversation & tag someone who needs to hear this founder truth --> [link in comments] #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship #FirstCustomer #Bold

#COMMUNITYPOST 💡 Got an idea for how AI can connect Australia? Join AI in the Outback — a 20-day remote hackathon powered by Hackeroos, MLAI AUS & the University of Melbourne. We’re calling on makers of all kinds — coders, artists, musicians, designers, storytellers, inventors — to build something fun, inspiring, or useful with AI that celebrates Australia. Prizes include Hackeroos survival packs, AI credits, and VC mentorship. 🗓️ Submissions close 28 Sept 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eei9TkAS