In the world of venture capital, numbers tell a story, but rarely the full story. When I recently shared thoughts on LinkedIn about gender equity in Australian VC, the flood of DMs revealed a stark truth: we’re grappling with a more complex issue than simple statistics can convey. It’s time to look beyond the numbers… Read more »
Twelve startups – with 10 having female founders – have been selected for the NSW government-backed Techstars Sydney accelerator. Artificial intelligence features heavily in the cohort, which spans health to sustainable fashion, parenting and support for women entrepreneurs, including Jamie, led by two female founders, which is developing an AI companion for women to assist… Read more »
Talk is cheap when it comes to backing women in tech. But the surprising thing is that investing in them isn’t that expensive. Accelerator and investor Startmate, winner of Startup Daily’s Best in Tech Investor of the Year, has supported more than 800 women through its Women Fellowship programs over the last four years and… Read more »
The axing of the Boosting Female Founders program this year has left a vacuum in dedicated federal funding for women. Let that sink in! As a long time senior policy adviser, advocate and mentor to many diverse female founders, I know the Government has missed something critical – how are we going to boost female… Read more »
If the belief that having more women in venture capital will help address the chronic underfunding of female founders, then a new initiative backed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) will make the Sunshine State the room where it happens. Getting more women in Queensland’s VC industry is the aim of 77 Venture Fellows, which… Read more »
More than 30 startup founders and execs, including Zonely’s Alicia Nagle and Stephanie Bofinger from FemPro Armour, have been recognised among the 100 most powerful women in Australian sports innovation. The second edition of the ‘Women in Sports Innovation’ report, which recognises the outstanding contributions of emerging and established leaders in sports innovation, was released… Read more »
The award-winning US documentary Show Her The Money, about venture funding for female founders, will have its Australian premiere later this month, with screenings in Sydney and Melbourne. The film is being presented by SheBacks.Me, a community organisation which has emerged out of SheEO to support Australian female founders and investors to close the gender… Read more »
Press Play is a pre-accelerator program for women looking at stepping outside their corporate, scaleup or startup jobs to become a startup founder. It’s designed to take them from employee to entrepreneur in 12 weeks. Thanks to the support of LaunchVic and several other supporters there are 100 scholarship, valued at $4,700 each, available for… Read more »
Data engineer and artificial intelligence expect Claire Southey is back in Sydney after six years in the UK and US working for Amazon and Google, at ecommerce marketing platform Rokt. Southey, who collected her swipe card as senior VP of engineering this week, is one of three new hires for the Australian arm of the US-based,… Read more »
There’s no shortage of debate around venture funding for female founders, but if you’re looking for a veteran canary in the coal mine, Women Who Code, which kicked off in 2011 in San Francisco as a community group of female engineers seeking connection and support in the tech industry, is shutting down. The board made… Read more »
While Katherine Bennell-Pegg is not there yet, she’s now at least qualified for the career she wanted more than two decades ago in high school: astronaut. Adelaide-based Bennell-Pegg, 39, became the first qualified astronaut under the Australian flag this week after completing her training at the European Space Agency’s Astronaut Centre in Germany and now… Read more »
Women’s healthtech startup Femtek has raised $1 million in Seed funding to give women better data around their menstrual cycle. The round was led by startup incubator and early-stage investor Arcanys Ventures, which also has an office in Melbourne led by managing partner Frederic Joye, alongside Philippines-based software outsourcing and a Swiss office. Techstars and… Read more »
Startmate has taken its support of women in startups to the next level. The “Ladymates” initiative – a term was coined by Startmate’s team in the accelerator and investment program – will support more women to work, found and invest in startups. They’ve set a goal of equal gender representation in the ANZ startup sector… Read more »
2023 was a tough funding year across the market, so many founders are looking hopefully ahead to the promise of 2024. While I believe there is going to be some recovery this year for startups seeking funding, this will be gradual and geared towards the larger end of the market, as mergers and acquisitions and… Read more »
Bree Kirkham has joined Tracey Warren’s F5 Collective, a fund established to close the gender funding gap and support female founders, as chief commercial officer. Kirkham joins F5 Collective having most recently been a general partner at Flying Fox Ventures. She has more than eight years of experience in investments, operational leadership, and international expansion.… Read more »
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