Careers

How many times have you promised yourself that you’ll sort out your finances, exercise, sleep or diet when things aren’t so busy? 

In this Q&A, Phoebe speaks about intentional culture, team structure, policy, learning and development budgets and the cultural initiatives on the horizon. This is your behind the scenes peek at what it’s really like to work at Startmate.

Send the women in your life who are wasting their time in rigid, boring or soul-sucking roles to our Women Fellowship page.

One of our 10-year goals is to build a 1-million-person technology city in Australia or New Zealand that attracts ambition, ignites innovation, boosts quality of life and fosters human connection.

Brianna Fitzpatrick is one of Mr Yum's fresh hires, working in a new role she designed for herself.

“Operations is probably one of the most misunderstood startup roles”, says Dovetail’s Business Operations and Finance Lead Kanav Bhama. But it’s also one of the most far-reaching and exciting roles on offer.

And if you take a closer look at Silicon Valley and other mature technology ecosystems today, you’ll find most VC investors come from founder and operator backgrounds.

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of a chief of staff? And how do you move into this role? I put these questions to Harrison.ai’s Thuy Thai and Forage's Anna Prell.

Blackbird Associate Mason Yates has amassed more than 50,000 listens since launching Wild Hearts in 2020.

An interview is as much of an opportunity for you to assess a startup as it is for the team to assess you. So, what red flags should you look out for and how can you spot them?

Over the next decade, there is an incredible opportunity for the next generation of media companies to rise in parallel with the success of startups across the region.

Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.

It is easy to look at May Samali's professional achievements and attribute them to talent, luck or a great life plan. But it's years of consistent hard work, effort in the face of fear, failure and honest introspection that's helped her get to where she is today.

When Tash Jamieson made it her mission to make studying fun for her stepson Drake, she had no idea she was building the first iteration of edtech startup Lockpick Games.

Dennisson Technologies is "creating a muscle that you can wear on your body" which can move up to 900 times its weight.

What if we realise that a traditional 9-5 career path isn’t for us? What if we're hungry for something more?

Many amazing founder stories have been told, and we love them all. But what about startup marketer stories?

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of someone in talent acquisition? How do you break into this space? I put these questions to EVP’s Head of Talent Fred Callaghan.

“I didn't go to university because I just didn't know what I wanted to study there. It was the best choice I’ve ever made, even if the motivation might’ve been more rebelliousness or indecision than insight.”

Stephanie Hall has long been a thrill-seeking, socially conscious generalist. So it makes sense she spent the first part of her career suing dolphin hunters, the second part calling for climate action and the third in sextech.

When re-entering the workforce after maternity leave, Bec Rozencwajg found herself seeking a role with a tangible, positive impact.

Revolutionary insurance startup Butter is the brainchild of two powerhouse, reformed lawyers who were thrown together by fate and bonded over red wine, broken laptops and a very archaic industry. 

A whopping 60% of children aged 6-17 are becoming infrequent readers — and Meena Tharmarajah is fighting this statistic head-on.

According to Blackbird's Niki Scevak, the secret to succeeding professionally and attaining long-term wealth is maximising your rate of learning.

Syndicates can benefit founders who are unable to secure much-needed capital at their earliest stages and angel investors who may not be able to access the cap table directly.

We're updating our standard investment terms to $120k at a $1.5m post-money valuation for founders that haven't raised a prior round, and we'll match the latest valuation of founders who have raised. This will come into effect from Summer22 onward.

A year in review.

"In our last session, I asked Helen how I could repay her for what she taught me and she said ‘pay it forward’. So here I am."

This story is dedicated to all the other storytellers out there with words that deserve to see the light of day.

From art licensing and plastic waste transformation to chemical procurement and social fitness for Gen Z, Startmate’s Summer22 Accelerator cohort is one of our most impressive yet.

In this article, Steppen Founder Cara Davies reflects on both of her Startmate Accelerator applications.

Founders from Linktree, Mr Yum, EntryLevel, Heaps Normal, Dovetail, MyGigsters and more share their hard-won customer-centricity insights.

It’s not uncommon to see founders solving problems they’ve faced themselves. Jessica Dove London is doing just that – and founding stories don’t get much more personal, emotional and passion-fuelled than hers.

Tractor Ventures Co-Founder Matt Allen is on a mission to help founders hold onto as much of their equity as they want to, for as long as they like. 

Learning to invest in startups is just like training as an elite athlete, says Christie Jenkins.

Thanks to some encouragement from friends, the Women Fellowship and the power of LinkedIn, Maddi Ingham has a dream role at ChefPrep.

Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.

Hitesh Mehta has a vision to create a better and more equitable healthcare system, and offers valuable insight into the value of persistence when it comes to chasing your dreams. 

Alex Pan and the Storipress founding team are on a mission to build the future of culture. 

From Culture Amp’s origin story and first product to long-standing focus on community and decision to bootstrap, there are insights galore in this AMA with Rod Hamilton.

'In a world where female founders constantly portrayed as ‘girl bosses’, I found it was hard to get authentic insights into what the journey entails for ‘regular’ women. Then I met Lauren Barber.'

Jithesh Ramesh has worked at Atlassian, Airwallex and Mastt, to name but a few, and has a wealth of insights to share.

We're proud to invest in Storipress as part of our Winter22 Accelerator cohort. Here's why.

Meet Simone Barakat, Chief of Staff @ Number 8 Bio!

Emily Casey has carved out a niche for herself and launched a healthtech venture. Here’s how she got there.

Employee Share Schemes are commonplace in the startup world... but Australia's ESS approach has typically lagged on the global stage.

When Davina Adisusila quit her job at Atlassian and accepted a job at Eucalyptus, she was prepared for and excited about a change...

Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.

It’s crucial that early-stage founders prioritise research, work systematically and embrace both validation and invalidation, according to Great Question Co-Founder Ned Dwyer.

Samuel Sentongo wants “to see a future where black founders and angel investors are participating in the startup ecosystem".

Anna Stockley Davidson credits US retailer Bonobos’ generous employee share scheme as the catalyst for her angel investing journey.

If we were to nominate a theme for our Winter22 cohort, it would be ‘game-changing, fresh thinking’.

We're proud to invest in Aquila as part of our Winter22 Accelerator cohort. Here's why.

We're proud to invest in Andromeda as part of our Winter22 Accelerator cohort. Here's why.

Underlying all of Ajay Prakash’s success (and failure) is a commitment to “rapid prototyping and testing”.

After seven years climbing the management consulting ladder very quickly, Kiara Olrich knew it was time for a change.

Rajini Carpenter took an engineering role at Deputy because she wanted to experience the rollercoaster that is startup growth.

When Alisha Geary googled “Go To Market Strategy Template”, Google let her down.

What are the right-fit career growth levels for a startup and when should you implement them? Emer McCann has done her own research

Zara and Sam just wanted to help their friends sound intelligent when they went out on dates. Now, they run a rapidly growing news platform followed by over 365,000 young people.

"My deep work schedule allows me to enter a flow state, complete key tasks, and solve challenges with more focus and energy."

We're proud to invest in Butter as part of our Winter22 Accelerator cohort. Here's why.

We're proud to invest in Xylo Systems as part of our Winter22 Accelerator cohort. Here's why.

Xylo Systems is a conservation-tech startup fighting species extinction with tech and augmented intelligence.

Katrina Hau's childhood was dominated by a strong feeling of being other, but she credits her formative years for her present-day passion for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Tsamara Ramadhanti comes from a family of accountants, so while tech has always caught her eye, she saw herself studying business and following in her family’s footsteps. 

When Mentorloop Co-Founders Lucy Lloyd and Heidi Holmes embarked on their first capital raise, they planned to find a lead investor. “But that’s not how it worked out.”

Gopi Sara is a self-confessed ‘aspiring startup founder without an idea’, but he says angel investing offers him the taste of early-stage startup life he craves. 

Customer centricity means putting the customer at the centre of everything a business does. It involves building a deep understanding and empathy with a select group of customers, promoting customer loyalty.

Time-poor founders and operators are often hesitant to take on interns. But the right intern can “be a dream”, says Normal Founder Lucy Wark.

Our new Talent Engine is a platform for startups wanting to build better teams. 

No more Minimum Viable Product for us. We're all about building a Minimum Lovable Product for our target users. 

Ambitious interns can provide enormous value to the startups they join, says Culture Amp’s Director of Engineering Enablement Paul Hughes.

Here's how Ryan Walker efficiently works through survey feedback and crafts a story that best highlights key information.

Curious about how the Startmate Accelerator works and how to get the most out of it? Cara Davies has you covered.

Anthony Xiao's angel investing journey kicked-off when he moved into a Product Manager role at Halter.

In 20 years, humanoid robot companions will be as common as the humble robot vacuum cleaner.

Lydia and Esther have both been athletes since they were teenagers. Now, they're also the co-founders of female fitness startup Femmi.

Why joining Launch Club will be the best thing you do as an aspiring or early stage founder.

SplootCode founders Katie Bell and Mattia Fregola are on a mission to make coding simple, widespread and accessible to everyone.

Tom Richardson might not be “a conventional angel”, but he did just sign a $20,000 cheque to contribute to Mr Yum’s post-seed round.

Daisy Johnson has always gravitated toward the unfamiliar (and has the passport to prove it), so it makes sense she found her way to startupland.

Happy Birthday, Startmate!

Vanessa Iezzi has long been the one her friends turn to for advice. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense she ended up in the people and culture space.

To disrupt the notion of a traditional career pathway, more students need to choose startups as their first option upon graduation.

Out of all our Student Fellowship sessions, Geena Grant was most excited about Linus Lee’s ‘Crash Course in Pulling Off the Impossible’.

As a professional creative, Izabela Barakovska was understandably drawn to James Nau’s Student Fellowship talk.

When Mike and Tracie sold their consulting business in 2017, they realised they were hungry for a different kind of professional challenge.

Dive into Startmate CEO Michael Batko's GBU update to learn what we've been up to this month.

Kyle Forster is a PhD-qualified engineer specialising in aerodynamic design and a small business owner... and up until a year ago, was an Aerodynamicist on Mercedes' Formula 1 team.

LiGR Co-Founder Luke McCoy might be playing the sportstech game, but he isn’t worried about his competitors. 

The key difference between what an elite athlete does every day and what an operator in a high-growth startup does every day is largely in the role title. 

When asked to sum up the Folklore experience in five words, Folklore Chief of Staff Bree Kirkham says bold, ambitious, unconventional, good-humoured and smart.

They say you won’t recognise your company and product by the end of Startmate’s Accelerator. When my co-founder and I heard first this, we had a little laugh to ourselves...

Calling all aspiring product manager. Here is Student Fellow Vihan Ramanayake's step-by-step guide to breaking into the space.

Joey Moshinsky, Sonny Moshinsky and Richard Mathieson are on a mission to optimise STEM education.

Carola Velazquez Silva was born in Mexico, loves figuring out how things work, and has had her dream job in sight since she was four.

Rory San Miguel, Alan Jin, Alexandra De Bonis and Mike and Tracie Thompson reflect on what to look for when choosing a co-founder.

If Muso's founding story was a movie, “Hustlin’” by Rick Ross would lead the soundtrack.

The Startmate Fellowship exists to tangibly increase the economic growth generated by startups by systematically removing the bottlenecks to finding exceptional talent and upskilling the leaders of tomorrow.