Every day, women across the ANZ startup and tech ecosystem are driving change, leading teams, and breaking new ground. But being at the top can often be isolating, and sometimes, finding the right guidance and support feels impossible. Here are (just) 5 reasons why women leaders are choosing to join the community!

At Startmate, we’re committed to building a thriving ecosystem where women succeed as leaders, founders, and innovators. To support this mission, we’ve created three distinct offerings tailored to meet women at different stages of their professional journeys. So, what's the difference between Ladymates Leadership, Ladymates Collective and the Women Fellowship?

Startmate exists to make Australia and New Zealand the best place in the world to build a startup. For us to do this, we need to pull in the most talented and ambitious people into the ecosystem and set them up for success. To do this we need to increase the amount of opportunities available to the people who are making it happen.

At Startmate, we believe in the power of visible role models. The saying “You can’t be what you can’t see” rings true, especially in leadership.‍When women see others thriving in leadership roles—whether as managers, mentors, or trailblazers—they’re more likely to believe that they, too, belong at the top. This is why we’re running the #LadymatesLeadership Award: to showcase and spotlight the incredible women leaders in the ANZ tech and startup ecosystem.

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. So, let us introduce Brinley Meagher, Corporate Transactions & Startup Lawyer at LUNA!

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. Let us introduce Zoe Keck! Zoe is a Corportate Accountant at Canva!

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. So let us introduce Rachel! Rachel is the Product Manager at pay.com.au.

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. So, let us introduce Jessica Golder! Jessica is the Marketing Manager at Vivi!

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. So why don't we introduce Jess Hope! Jess is the founder of Create Racket!

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. Let us introduce Mona Chiha! Mona is the founder of JurisTechne!

In this spotlight series we are introducing the courageous, clever and powerful women in our Ladymates community. Let us introduce Cinthya Zurita, Senior Operations Manager at Remarkable!

Finding the right mentor is like unlocking a career cheat code—someone who’s not only going to call you out when you need it but also guide you to level up in ways you didn’t know were possible. The trickiest part? Getting that relationship off the ground. In this article our COO Phoebe shares some tips and tricks.

In Córdoba, Argentina, about a year ago, two lifelong friends put their heads together to create a tech product for tech people—something to change the way teams build software all over the world. By some accident of fate (with a little romance thrown in), they’ve ended up building the foundations of their product in Australia. It’s here that they’re iterating, testing, and building. It’s here that they’re networking and onboarding their first clients. And it’s here that they’re learning some of their biggest lessons as first-time founders.

Totex is on a mission to prevent 2 trillion tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. How do they plan to achieve that feat? With their revolutionary ‘all-in-one’ heating, cooling, and hot water system (with built-in thermal energy storage larger than two Tesla batteries) that cuts energy use, saves money, and fast-tracks the global shift to renewable electricity grids.

Health tech entrepreneur, Dana Allison has led a big, beautiful life.‍“I have had this amazing life, I won't lie,” she laughs. “And it's mostly because I'm the kind of person who says yes to opportunity, even if I have no idea how it's going to work out.”

"In the world of software, technical mastery is essential—but it’s the engineers who master communication, leadership, and collaboration that rise to the top."‍The tech landscape is shifting. ‍With more engineers working remotely, AI taking over technical roles, and new waves of redundancies being announced each week, how do you stand out from the crowd? How do you get that next promotion, or work on that epic project?

In 1883, French writer Émile Zola documented the first in-store fitting room, but according to Zello co-founder Olyvia Munro, not much has really changed since then. ‍“Bricks-and-mortar fashion retail has remained largely untouched by technology,” says Olyvia, 23. 

Fairgo.ai is an interview platform designed to get the very best people into tech roles, while removing bias from the application process.‍And with decades of experience building machine learning models, plus stints at Amazon and Seek under his belt, founder Julian Bright is probably the best placed person to build it.

With record-breaking temperatures scorching the earth and 'mega-fires' threatening to devour entire landscapes and communities, combating the risks that come with extreme heat has never been more urgent.Rising to the challenge, Hurtec has invented a breakthrough technology with the potential to save countless lives, prevent billions in damages, and transform firefighting on a global scale.

‍One of the most beautiful things about being human is our ability to experience many firsts as we age. Some of these, such as first wins, first failures, or first loves, leave an unforgettable imprint on our souls. A similar profound first, for those who want to experience it, is becoming a mother. The experience of bringing a new life into the world is uniquely transformative - you’re raw, yet calm. Vulnerable and fragile, yet strong. It is the most difficult thing you’ve ever done, yet it is purported that it’ll all come to you almost effortlessly. ‍

Imagine for a moment standing at the entrance of a gigantic maze. You’ve navigated a few different mazes in your time and so are excited at the thought of this new challenge. At the end of the maze lies an incredible treasure, yours for the claiming, except for one small problem: you’re not at the entrance alone. You’re surrounded by people with a plethora of different experiences and abilities. Some have navigated this exact maze before and recall what twists and turns lie ahead. Others have been given helpful clues about what to look out for. A few are in the exact same position as you and they know this – so their plan is to copy what you do but faster and better. 

‍Paris, fashion, and never ending viral social media posts and campaigns. I’m describing the key elements of ‘Emily in Paris’, a global phenomenon that follows the exploits of Emily, a Chicagoan social media marketer and influencer living and working in Paris. We see her documenting her life in Paris on social media, always receiving love and compliments online. However what we don't see is the non-Hollywood romanticised side of social media: vile DMs, and harassment at scale waiting for her to review and escalate. 

When I meet Adam Beaupeurt, co-founder of Preve, on Zoom he is seated on his couch and propped up by pillows. He tells me that he injured his leg earlier that day and is waiting on a scan to confirm the extent of his injury. He is anticipating a gruelling few weeks of physiotherapy ahead. As someone undergoing a physiotherapy program myself, I empathise. It is genuinely hard because recovery takes time. Just how long, however, is difficult to anticipate.

‍Ron 'The Mussel King' Park has invented a new technology that's been 5 years in the making. With the ability to radically transform how we extract nutrients out of everything from fish to fungi, his new venture, NE Tech, is set to disrupt the entire global supplements industry.

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

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

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

Meet Beth, Head of Ops & People at Emmi!

If you haven't heard - We've just launched three different memberships: Ladymates Leadership, Ladymates Collective & Engineers Collective. Included in these memberships are "peer advisory groups" that meet once a month and form an incredibly valuable and popular part of the membership experience. Keep reading for more information around these peer advisory groups that we keep harping on about.

This cohort is ending online abuse, rethinking firefighting to make it safer and more effective, and building novel ways to support mothers post-childbirth. They are revolutionising the tender process, transforming the fitting room experience, finding new ways to extract oil, and re-creating the physio-patient journey. They’re creating a new thermal heating and cooling system to halve energy costs and emissions, catching bugs before your users do, enabling digital health companies to expand globally, and using human avatars for live interviews to power recruitment.

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

Startmate offers some pretty epic L&D opportunities. Here are some hot tips for persuading your employer to invest in your education – even if there’s no set L&D budget or tuition reimbursement policy. 

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

In our Spotlight series, we’re introducing you to our first ever cohort of Ladymates Leaders.

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

Since 2021, 13% (5/39) of Accelerator companies have come through Launch Club. Keep reading to learn more about the companies and what made them stand out.

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

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

Venu founders Kieran Gardiner and James McArthur are on a mission to level the playing field for independent hospitality businesses.

Telemattica is taking a ‘Check Engine Light’ and converting it into a supercharged diagnostic tool. 

Graphics et al., the startup solving the IKEA problem for healthcare communication. 

It’s a stomach-churning task, but there is hope for our planet's farmers and foodies. Queensland-based startup, Carbonaught. has exploded onto the scene with a radical new solution.

By offering proactive delivery prediction and efficiency, Keeyu is the holy grail for success that e-commerce businesses have been looking for. 

NOA The Brand is on a mission to untether humanity from the world of cords, and their breakthrough tech could change the way we power just about everything. 

KiwiFibre creates natural fibre composite materials from Harakeke - a natively grown New Zealand wonder plant, and one of the world’s strongest natural fibres. 

Angela and Mani are the co-founders of Everbility, a documentation AI co-pilot for allied health professionals, to assist them with their administrative load, and ultimately help them “provide better health services and outcomes for their patients.” 

Kite Therapy, a Victorian startup with the mission to make therapy significantly more affordable for kids with autism and developmental delays, by coaching parents to implement it at home.

Entrepreneur Lisa Lie founded Learna in January 2023. The app is a microlearning platform teaching conflict resolution, emotional intelligence and people skills you can master in under 10 minutes. 

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

Here are 10 people who have played an important role in shaping the Climate Tech Fellowship. We want to give the spotlight over to TEN of our speakers and advisors who have opened their minds (and their busy calendars) in our previous Fellowship cohorts.

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

We sat down with Lutjen Lee Winter’23 Student Fellow and founder of Farmbite an online marketplace enabling people to buy, swap, and sell locally grown produce. Since completing the Student Fellowship, Lutjen has taken a hiatus from his studies (B. Laws at RMIT University) to pursue entrepreneurship. He’s since participated in Cohort 7 of Blackbird’s Giants program, has just been accepted into RMIT’s pre-Accelerator LaunchHub and is on the precipice of launching his app.‍

We sat down with Alea Young, Summer’24 Student Fellow who is passionate about entrepreneurship and startups. Alea shared her experience of the Student Fellowship, the startup she pitched during the Founder Challenge and why she is so interested in founding. 

We sat down with Charlotte Jones, Winter’23 Student Fellow who is passionate about entrepreneurship and startups. Alea shared her experience of the Student Fellowship, the startup she pitched during the Founder Challenge and why she feels drawn to founding. 

We sat down with Archer Simmonds and Davin Karunanayake, Summer’24 Student Fellows and co-founders (alongside Dhruv Verma) of Huddled (previously Grouptag) a student-first communication platform centralising class discussions, assignments and social messaging all in one place. Archer and Davin share their experience of the Student Fellowship, the evolution of their startup and why they have chosen to pursue the founder pathway.

The Summer24 Cohort is ready for lift-off. ‍If we had to use one word to describe this group, it would be hungry: hungry to solve problems, hungry to prove themselves, hungry to leave their mark on the world. Already they have demonstrated an intensity and focus that has us incredibly excited to watch them unleash over the next 3 months.

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

Heidi Dumesich is a dedicated and skilled professional in the field of sustainability. Heidi is currently the Sustainability Manager at Ventia. In this role, Heidi is responsible for managing, reporting and implementing innovative sustainability practices for the Sydney Roads Asset Performance contract (SRAPC) with Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW).

Hear from John Keith, a banker and early stage growth investor that recently graduated from the Climate Tech Fellowship.

Hear from Shu Das, an experienced Chartered Accountant and recent Climate Tech Fellowship graduate.

Madeleine is a lawyer, writer, tech policy researcher, former federal election campaign manager, and Chief Problem Solver at circular economy powerhouse, Alchemy Global Solutions. She is also the sixth generation in a thriving family farm business and has worked with researchers, startups, and investors to develop tools and networks that support nature-positive management of farming landscapes.

Alex started her career as a corporate lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney and quickly realised I wanted to do something purpose driven instead. She considers herself lucky enough to be given a role at a small Australian AgTech scale up where she was exposed to VC and the vibrant world of startups. She knew she wanted to jump back into that world after her time abroad in London but wasn't sure how…

Fiona started her career as a clinical dietitian at Monash Hospital, before defecting from the frontline and transitioning into the product team of an early-stage healthtech startup in London called Second Nature, who are committed to solving the type-2 diabetes and obesity crisis through mindset and behaviour change coaching. Here she started out as a health coach before transitioning into the content design team, and then the product team as a program / product manager.

Jess was working for a Healthcare start-up when she found the WF. It opened her up to a world of new ideas, including the potential to change her career after 10 years of being an Executive Assistant. She’s currently working in Cloud Infrastructure and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Magda was a Data Scientist in Poland before moving to Syndey to become a Data Scientist at Cloud infrastructure company, Kablamo.

Prachi was working as a research fellow at a think tank at the time of the fellowship and is now working as a policy/financial analyst at the ACT Treasury.

Sam has spent most of her career to date working operations in and around small businesses, from being the general manager of a rum bar at 23 to rolling out full ops systems and processes across Jamie Oliver's Australian restaurants, to a tech and agile scaleup sized consultancy.

Before the fellowship Simone was a Senior Product Manager at water monitoring and management company, Farmbot. Now she’s the Chief of Staff at Number 8 Bio – a synthetic biology start-up.

From medical doctor to platform manager for Blackbird Aotearoa, hear more about Izzy's journey.

Hey there my name is Eddie Dostine and I’m a recent graduate of the Startmate Climate Tech Fellowship Summer 2023. ‍I live in Clovelly, Sydney and have a deep love for anything ocean-related. I spend most of my free time either going as fast as I can on top of it (wingfoiling, surfing or sailing) or going as deep as I can under it (which isn’t very deep at 10m but we will get there - with my latest passion of learning to freedive).

2023 was the year of experimentation. 2024 is the year of focus and depth. We’ll be doubling down on what we’re great at. Importantly, ignore trends and media scare as we’re long term investors. Keep planting seeds in the good and the bad times.

Ever had an idea that you were irrationally obsessed with? A brainchild so brilliant, it held the key to solving a big, hairy audacious problem, yet left you wondering: how do I start? Olivia Dyet found herself here. Then she decided to apply to Startmate’s Launch Club program. In a whirlwind of weeks, she validated and breathed life into their idea for Empathix, an AI-powered recruitment platform, and secured a highly coveted spot in Startmate’s upcoming Accelerator cohort. Here’s here extraordinary journey. 

Interested in one of Startmate's founder programs, but not sure where to start? We've broken it down for you here.

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

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

Discover the hurdles faced by homeowners when transitioning off natural gas to electrifying their homes, and learn from my experience to overcome this.

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

Job searches are hard. Fear and self doubt drives people to believe that they can’t land anything, so they apply for everything.Here’s a secretVery few people actually think about what they want, because they don’t believe it’s achievable. The result is that everyone ends up applying for the same roles in the market. Whilst everyone else competes for the same roles, there is an opportunity to chase a role that actually excites you. Ironically, these may be easier to land.

The Winter23 Demo Day cohort is here, and they are going to make our lives 100x better. They are running through brick walls to tackle the thorniest problems frustrating industries world-wide. From AI-powered recruitment and misdiagnosed prenatal ultrasounds to inflatable space solar panels and vaccine nebulisers, the Winter23 cohort is one of our most innovative yet.

Scared of heights? ‍A career as a rope access engineer will not be for you. ‍Those are the folks you see rappelling down high-rise buildings, checking the facade for safety and maintenance issues. ‍But for Defy-Hi Co-Founder Dr Abbie Widin, the best way to keep people safe at heights is to eliminate the risk entirely. This helps property owners meet their safety obligations.

‍For a long time, humans’ relationship to space has been characterised by NASA astronauts, high-tension countdowns and once-in-a-lifetime, billion-dollar missions.‍That’s ‘old space’, say Astrix Astronautics founders Max Daniels and Will Hunter.

Every now and again you hear about a technology that has so much transformative potential that it’s hard to wrap your head around it. ‍The team from Ubiquetherm humbly refers to their invention as ‘the next generation of heating and cooling.’ What they are actually creating, is a breakthrough product that could have dramatic and brilliant ramifications for virtually every human on earth - and give us an almighty leap towards solving our climate, energy, and economic challenges. 

When Dr. Anushi Rajapaksa was just 7 years old, she was so terrified of needles that she had to be sedated to receive a simple injection. Now, after 15 years of dedicated research, she and her team have created a breakthrough technology with world-changing potential. ‍“Misti is a multi-award winning, novel and non-invasive lung delivery system that uses ultrasound waves to turn life-saving biomolecules into a mist that can deliver treatments to the deep lungs.” No needle required. 

‍The first rule of business is to find a big hairy problem in need of a grand solution, so when Eric Fan and his team discovered a way to solve a challenge that plagued virtually every marketing manager on the planet, they knew they were onto something epic. ‍

Take a third-generation farmer with three startups under his belt and a serial innovator who’s turned algae into medicine and developed an AI mental health app for an A-league football team, and what you get is a recipe for magic. 

‍As co-founder Robhy Bustami puts it, BioticsAI sits at “the intersection where humanity and technology meet”. ‍Specifically, it integrates artificial intelligence with ultrasound imaging tech, to help detect and diagnose foetal abnormalities in unborn babies.‍

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

In an industry of shooting stars, tractors, dragons, and unicorns say hello to self-driving rocketship, Empathix. An AI-driven recruitment platform, founded by Olivia Dyet, this start-up transformed from idea to business in Startmate’s Launch Club in a matter of weeks. ‍Next, Empathix was announced as one of Startmate’s Winter23 Accelerator companies. Since then the company has only continued to grow. ‍

‍Imagine a billion-dollar idea that completely shakes up an industry. Typically, you might picture fancy new inventions or super complex tech stuff, right? But sometimes, the next big thing is just a clever and straightforward solution that revolutionises the way things work. That's exactly what Nomad Fleet is all about. ‍Will Smith, a civil engineer, and Mourad Kessas, a computer scientist, teamed up to create Nomad with one goal in mind: to be the iOS for the construction industry.

‍Imagine this: It’s 11:45 p.m. and a dedicated lawyer finds themselves deep into their nth document as they conduct due diligence for their client. Having sifted through masses of information all day, and knowing what is at stake, they ask themselves: what if there was a better way?

‍In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, a butterfly flaps its wings, and across the globe a poor business decision is made. Good decisions are at the heart of business success, however today most businesses cannot afford to spend hours contemplating the “right” decision. 

“It’s very hard for me to imagine a world without doctors, for example,” he told a packed crowd at the Melbourne Convention Centre in June 2023.‍One startup using AI to reimagine the experience is Startmate Company Lyrebird Health, a medical scribing tool that allows doctors to practice medicine, not paperwork. ‍

Sobering research from the Black Dog Institute has revealed that nearly half of Australian teachers are considering leaving the profession in the next 12 months, with workload and burnout post-COVID cited as critical concerns. ‍Ange Alcock, a former head of English at MacRobertson Girls School, says the average teacher spends about 6.5 weeks (WTF) of unpaid overtime on marking per year. Not only is this outright wrong, but the burden of extra work threatens to affect student outcomes, too. ‍

Ok. So we all hear the words “Product” and “Manager” thrown around. But WTF actually is Product Management and what does a Product Manager do?‍Why are they so flippin important? And why are they in such high demand? ‍Well. Let us tell you!!!