The Founder Institute (http://fi.co), the World’s Largest Startup Accelerator, announced today that it is exploring a new chapter launch in Melbourne this Autumn 2014.
Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200 cities and 100 countries, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 7,000 companies, which have created over 30,000 new jobs. The company's mission is to “Globalize (Melbourne photo from Shutterstock) Silicon Valley” and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
If you'd like to help bring this great program to Melbourne, then fill out an Interest Form. If enough people complete this form by Sunday, March 16th 2014, then the Founder Institute will formally launch a Melbourne Chapter for the Autumn of 2014.
Melbourne would be the Founder Institute's third location in Australia, joining existing programs in Sydney and Perth. Since launching in Sydney in 2010, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 35 Australian companies, including highly-publicized startups like Slidefish, FoodOrbit, GeoMoby, and many more. The Melbourne launch was covered by StartupSmart editor Gavin Lower in an article titled The Founder Institute considering starting a chapter in Melbourne.
In the Founder Institute's four-month, part-time program, promising entrepreneurs “learn by doing” and launch a company through structured training courses, practical business-building assignments, and expert feedback from a large network of business mentors. Plus, aspiring founders are not required to quit their day job to participate, so they can begin building a business around their ideas without putting their livelihood at risk.
In order to test demand in Melbourne, the Founder Institute will host several free startup events;
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas (Interactive Online Event): 3:00am, May 09, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341136
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- How to Build a Fundable Start-up Brand: 3:00am, May 21, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341142
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 3:00am, May 23, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/340355
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, May 28, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/340909
- How to Quickly Establish Safe, Reliable, and Compliant AI Startups: 3:00am, May 30, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341148
- Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with a Venture Capitalist: 10:00am, Jun 06, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/340973
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 10:00am, Jun 11, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341009
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 3:00am, Jun 13, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341172
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 3:00am, Jun 18, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341166
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 3:00am, Jun 27, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341160
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 10:00am, Jul 02, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341156
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, Jul 16, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/341249
- What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 10:00am, Jul 23, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/343961
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 10:00am, Aug 29, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/345834
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 11:00am, Oct 24, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/344512
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 12:00pm, Nov 19, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/344695
- What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 12:00pm, Nov 26, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/345436
- Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 12:00pm, Dec 24, 2024 (Australia/Melbourne): https://FI.co/e/342633
Leading the Founder Institute’s efforts in Melbourne is Matt Allen, and Sebastian von Conrad. Matt has been running startups since the mid 90s, and is now focussed on helping startups avoid the same mistakes he made.
“I’m excited to bring FI to Melbourne. Having mentored the last two Sydney FI classes myself, it’s time to make it a reality in Melbourne" - Matt Allen
Sebastian von Conrad works as development manager at Envato, a Melbourne-based company running some of the world's largest online marketplaces and education sites.
"Melbourne is a quickly growing technology hub, and the focus is shifting from Sydney to Melbourne" - Sebastian von Conrad
Other successful entrepreneurs who have signed on to mentor founders in the program include:
- Abdellah Aouf: Chief Executive Officer, GO Platform
- Adam Long: Managing Director, ThunderLabs
- Adeline Chu: Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Western Sydney University
- Adrian Bunter: Corporate Advisor | Angel Investor | Non-exec Director, Modus Partners
- Aivee Robinson: Co-Founder, Catalyser
- Alan Jones: CEO, Fishburners
- Alanna Wright: Solicitor, Addisons
- Albert Bielinko: Venture / growth investor, Telstra Ventures
- Alejandro Patterson: Principal Product Manager , Honey Insurance
- Alex Guyer: Partner Firemark Ventures, Associate Partner Black Nova Venture Capital
- Alex Samson: Founder & CEO, dvhb
- Allan Lalic: Co-founder, Kebloom
- Amit Verma: Listing Manager, ASX
- Anna Cheng: Head of Growth Marketing, Turo Australia. Ex HealthMatch Ex Brighte Ex Spaceship
- Anne Moore: Work Futurist. Creator of Now to Next: Frames for the New Way We Work, Ex-CEO, Plando
- Anne Marie Elias: chief disrupter, Founder, PrimeLife Partners, innovating longevity & care
- Annie Le Cavalier: Venture Partner, FI and Former GM & Community, Stone & Chalk
- Annie Liao: Investor, Aura Ventures
- Ant Moorehouse: CEO and Co-Founder, EarthTech
- Asher Vukelic: Chair, Southwest Angels
- Ashton Bishop: CEO, Step Change hellostepchange.com
- Ben Pecotich: Design & Innovation Director/Founder, Dynamic4
- Benjamin Chong: Partner, Right Click Capital
- Benjamin Ranck: Principal, MacroReactor
- Bill Trestrail: Venture Partner, Black Nova Venture Capital
- Bill Trestrail: CEO, Market Momentum Pty Ltd
- Brendan Yell: Former Director, Twilio Startups
- Brodie Mc Culloch: Founder and Managing Director, Spacecubed
- Brodie Mc Culloch: Founder, Spacecubed, Perth, WA
- Bronwen Kaspers: Customer Success Coach, Culture Amp cultureamp.com
- Cam Walshe: Director, Pitchblak
- Caroline Lepron: CEO & Founder, Skoutli
- Charlotte Connell: Founder, The Sustainability Collective
- Cheryl Mack: CEO & Founder, Aussieangels.com + Activator at SheEO™
- Chintan Oza: Founder, Anantam Ecosystems
- Chris Clark: Chris Clark, Sportsfusion
- Chris Gillings: Venture Capital @ Five V Capital, & Founder @ Cut Through Venture
- Chris Braine: Founder, Cellr
- Chris Clark: Co-Founder & CEO of BEERLOVE
- Christopher Krainer: Director of Hardware Engineering at Zoomo, & co-founder at rk-collective.com
- Damien Messina: Manager, Impact Angel Network
- Dane Eldridge: CEO, 4mation Technologies
- Daniel Lohrmann: Managing Director, ikaros
- Darsel Keane: Director, University of Auckland
- David Isaac: Venture Building & Growth Strategy, Causality
- Dean Mc Evoy: Non Executive Director, Investor and Adviser, TechSydney
- Debra Taylor: Non Executive Director, Stone and Chalk
- Dennis Kibirev: Chief Growth Officer, Mesh Ai
- Dmitri Voronenko: CTO & Investor, virtualintegrity.com.au
- Dylan Mc Donnell: CEO, Foodini
- Ed Stevens: Entrepreneur in Residence, AGL
- Eitan Bienstock: Managing Director, Techbench Capital
- Elizabeth Kaelin: MSc, RDN & Finance Lecturer, UTS Business School
- Erwin Van Der Koogh: Founder/CEO, Linc
- Evan Wong: CEO, Checkbox.AI
- Franziska Iseli: Founder, Basic Bananas
- Gautam Mishra: Founder / CEO, inkl
- Gawin Fernando: Co-Founder, CreativeCubes.Co
- George Hedon: Founder & CEO, Pause Fest
- Greg Campbell: entrepreneur, former Ops Director, information security specialist, Current Head of InfoSec and Compliance
- Gwendolyn Ong: Director, Cultivate
- Harshu Deshpande: Start-up & Scale-up Advisor, Google
- Jack Qi: Director, William Buck
- James Moody: CEO, Sendle
- Jane Cockburn: CEO and Founder, Kairos Now
- Jared Kristensen: Co-founder/CEO, Playground xyz
- Jeeva Suresh: Founder & CEO, Helix
- Jeff Perlman: Founder, Revenue Ninja (revenue.ninja)
- Jeremy Chetty: Co-founder, Student Edge
- Jo Ucukalo: CEO, Handle My Complaint
- Jo Ann Suchard: A/Prof, Sydney Angels & University of New South Wales
- Joanna Ng: Former Early-stage investor, Investible
- Joanne Jacobs: Co-CEO, Disruptor's Handbook
- Jodi Boylan: Executive Producer, Director and Development Producer , Independent
- Jonathan Greechan: Co-Founder & CEO, Founder Institute
- Joshua Ross: CEO and Founder, Humanitix
- Joshua Boccamazzo: Head of Business Operations and Strategy, Perx Health
- Julian Luca: CEO, Trava Travel & Horizon Program Manager, Innovation Bay
- Justus Hammer: MR, Axis7
- Kate Ringvall: Co-Founder, Galactic Cooperative
- Katherine O'donoghue: Community Manager, UTS Startups
- Kevin Whitmore: CEO & Founder, www.getcashbucket.com
- Kim McGuinness: Strategic Relationships Director, SBE Australia
- Lauren Capelin: Principal, Startmate
- Leila Alem: Chief Design and Innovation and Adj Professor, ArcSense
- Magdalena Reith: Startup- and Business Consultant, Magdalena Reith Pitch Decks
- Marshall Hughes: Freight Manager, Freight Companies Australia
- Marshall Hughes: Consultant, Freight Companies Australia
- Matt Allen: CEO, Tractor Ventures
- Matthew Browne: Co-Founder @Upflowy upflowy.com, @Donesafe donesafe.com, @Whispli, Investor @Black Nova Group etc
- Maz Zaman: Managing Partner, HyperScaled
- Melissa Pye: Program Manager, UNSW Founders
- Melissa Ran: Head of Community, AirTree
- Michelle Gilmore: CEO, heyjuno.co
- Mitchell Pham: Chairperson, NZTech
- Monica Wulff: Head of WeWork Labs Pacific, WeWork
- Neil Smith: CTO, Simple KYC
- Nhat Nguyen: CEO, Otrafy
- Nicola Rushton: Product designer & lean user researcher, nicolarushton.com
- Oliver Ranck: Co-Founder | CMO | Exec Director, Future Neutral | MYSALE | Octomedia
- Paul Wenck: Chair, Co-Founder Checkbox
- Paul Grimes: CTO & Founder, OK200
- Paul Krajewski: Product Management professional, Co-Director Founder Institute Australia+NZ
- Paula Taylor: Executive Director and Co-Founder, West Tech Fest
- Pavel Reddy: Former Managing Director, Clearpoint Ventures Pty Ltd (Formerly)
- Pete Cooper: Founder, The Start Society
- Pete Cooper: Former CIO, KBZ Bank
- Pete Lead: Head of Programs, BlueChilli Group
- Pete Horsley: Founder, Remarkable Tech
- Peter Browne: Owner, Intangible Communications
- Peter Van Bruchem: Co-Founder, Techboard
- Prashant Gami: CEO & Founder, x•enabler
- Rachel White: CFO, Part time CFO / fractional CFO
- Rayn Ong: Director, Ong Heng Investments
- Rebecca Pham: Program Manager, Launch Pad Innovation Program, Western Sydney University
- Rebecca Dooley: Senior Associate, Addisons
- Richard Dale: Committee Member, Sydney Angels Inc.
- Roger Do: Co-Founder, QSearch
- Roman Kovalenko: Chief Data Officer, Reserve Bank of Australia
- Ron Hill: Managing Director, sunramp.co
- Ryan Cross: Manager for Prototyping, AWS, ANZ & APAC
- Sam Richards: Managing Director, Brightlight Impact Advisory
- Sameer Sortur: Founding Partner, SquareCircle Ventures
- Sameer Babbar: Director, SVB Group
- Sandrina Postorino: Committee Member, Sydney Angels Inc.
- Scott Crowe: Lead Recruiter, Canva
- Scott Glew: Organizer, Morning Startup Perth
- Simon Turner: Founding Partner, Groundbreaking, Managing Director, FI Ghana
- Simone Joyce: CEO/Founder, Paypa Plane
- Sorrel Osborne: Head of Growth, Playground xyz
- Srikanth Muthyala: Investor, Melbourne Angels
- Stefan Korn: General Manager, Callaghan Innovation
- Stuart Reynolds: CEO & Founder, Fullstack Advisory
- Tamar Boas: Community Manager, The Generator Bundaberg
- Tim Silverwood: Co-Founder, Ocean Impact Organisation
- Timo Kugler: Co-Founder, NASH + BANKS
- Tom Dawkins: Founder/CEO, StartSomeGood
- Tomaj Bayat: Growth, beforepay.com.au
- Tony Sinclair: Director of Venture Debt, Cataliize
- Usman Iftikhar: CEO, Catalysr
- Vanessa Mouledous: Brand-built Growth Expert / Brand Expert, Mentor, Advisor, Haus of North
- Vanessa Ronan Pearce: Head of Growth, Wych Money
- Vern Chan: Startup Coach, Your Pivot
- William Mc Cahey: Partner, Think & Grow, and Growth Advisor
- And many more to be announced.
Help bring the Founder Institute to Melbourne and fill out an Interest Form today.
About The Founder Institute
The Founder Institute (www.FI.co) is the world’s largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program, helping aspiring founders across the globe build enduring technology companies. In the Founder Institute's four-month, part-time program, promising startup entrepreneurs “learn by doing” and launch a company through structured training courses, practical business-building assignments, and expert feedback from a large network of business mentors. Plus, aspiring founders are not required to quit their day job to participate, so they can begin building a business around their ideas without putting their livelihood at risk.
Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 200 cities and 100 countries, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 7,000 companies, which have created over 30,000 new jobs. The company's mission is to “Globalize Silicon Valley” and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
The Founder Institute was founded in 2009 by serial entrepreneur Adeo Ressi.
