The Founder Institute, the world's leading pre-seed accelerator, is proud to celebrate the graduation of the Australia Summer 2026 cohort. Seven talented founders have successfully completed the rigorous Founder Institute program, joining a global alumni network of over 9,000 companies across 100+ countries that have raised more than $2 billion in funding.
On May 19, 2026, the cohort celebrated their achievement at the FI ANZ Demo Day Showcase — a live virtual event that brought together founders, mentors, and investors from across Australia and New Zealand to witness the next generation of startups pitch their companies to the world.
Program Overview
The Australia Summer 2026 cohort embarked on an intensive entrepreneurial journey guided by a curriculum designed to help founders turn ideas into fundable startups. Over the course of the program, founders were immersed in business model validation, product-market fit, customer discovery, growth strategies, and fundraising — all while receiving weekly ratings and feedback from mentors who have personally built and scaled high-growth companies.
Under the leadership of Program Directors Paul Krajewski (Co-Director, Founder Institute) and Benjamin Chong (Partner, Right Click Capital), the cohort was guided with both global expertise and deep local knowledge of the Australian startup ecosystem.
Meet the Australia Summer 2026 Graduate Founders
We proudly recognize the achievements of the following seven graduates, whose hard work, dedication, and resilience have brought them to this milestone. Congratulations to:
- Chris Mohen, Founder at ESRA — ESRA provides a reverse logistics integrated platform combined with a net zero solar panel reuse and recycling program, tackling the growing wave of solar panel waste.
- Samuel Keogh, Founder at CyQuantiFi — CyQuantiFi turns cyber risk into a live dollar figure — using real-time threat intelligence and prediction markets — so boards, CFOs, and security teams can align on where to invest.
- Lidia Hall, Founder at Resolute Ready LTD — Resolute Ready provides a global virtual hub offering accessible mental health support, resources, and transition assistance for veterans, military personnel, public safety officers, first responders, and their families.
- Vahe Arabian, Founder at State of Digital Publishing — State of Digital Publishing is a digital publishing reviews and intelligence platform designed to bring transparency, trust, and actionable insight to the rapidly growing digital publishing ecosystem.
- Ash Khalilian, Founder at Agentive — Agentive builds managed AI Employees for Australian accounting and bookkeeping firms, helping small practices serve more clients and recover hours lost to manual work.
- Dinesh Dindukurthi, Founder at Kavach — Kavach Vaults builds Australia's suburban vault network — Grade 10 automated secure storage for gold, jewellery, and irreplaceable heirlooms, located within 10 minutes of where families actually live.
- Stephen Early, Founder at Trace Supply Chain Intelligence — Trace SCI automates ESG risk and compliance checks across suppliers, meeting the growing need for companies to quickly demonstrate sustainability and ethical standards without relying on slow or unreliable self-reporting.
A Virtual Demo Day to Remember
The graduates were celebrated with the FI ANZ Demo Day Showcase on May 19, 2026 — a live online event that showcased the founders' journeys and companies to an audience of investors, mentors, and aspiring entrepreneurs from across the region.
The event featured an inspiring keynote from Cheryl Mack, CEO & Founder of Aussieangels.com, and Dave Bell, Experiences & Incubation Manager at muru-D, Telstra's product incubation hub. Selected founders delivered 3-minute debut pitches, sharing their business models, the real-world lessons from completing the FI program, and their vision for the future.
For a full replay of the Demo Day, watch the graduation video here:
A Special Thank You to Our Local Directors, and Mentors
The success of the Australia Summer 2026 cohort would not have been possible without the incredible support of our mentors, partners, and local leaders. We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who believed in these founders and invested their time and expertise throughout the program.
Our Proud Local Directors
We extend special appreciation to our Program Directors who guided this cohort every step of the way:
- Paul Krajewski — Co-Director, Founder Institute ANZ
- Benjamin Chong — Partner, Right Click Capital
Apply to the Next Founder Institute Cohort
Leaders of some of the world's fastest-growing startups have leveraged the Founder Institute to raise funding, build co-founding teams, gain entry into seed accelerators, and transition from employee to entrepreneur. If you're ready to turn your idea into a global business, applications for the next Founder Institute Australia cohort are now open.
Learn more and apply at fi.co/australia.
Once again, congratulations to all our graduate founders, and a heartfelt thank you to our local directors, partners, and mentors for being part of the Founder Institute family. Let's continue building on these strong relationships and creating even more opportunities to support founders on their journey to success!
Alumni of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $2BN in funding, and building products people love across 100+ countries worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/graduates.
