10th October, 2018
Closing out its second year, Australia’s only corporate and venture backed accelerator for female-led tech startups, SheStarts is doubling down on plans to support the future of female entrepreneurs.
Launched by BlueChilli in 2016, the SheStarts startup accelerator provides opportunities for women who don’t necessarily have a tech background to turn their startup ideas into scalable businesses.
The six-month program offers access to a large network of tech leaders, investors and advisors as well as development of the founders’ MVP (minimum viable product), initial funding and a comprehensive curriculum of startup advice and training to turbocharge their success.
Having successfully nurtured its second cohort of founders, the SheStarts team are launching a documentary series in partnership with LinkedIn, showcasing the stories of ambitious female founders who have taken part in the 2018 program.
SheStarts Director Nicola Hazell said the inspiring stories of the founders in SheStarts are having a ripple effect for women and girls around the world.
“These women are redefining what it means to be a tech entrepreneur,” said Hazell. “Nine months ago, they were all new to startup land, representing a diverse range of backgrounds, industries, ages and ambitions.
“But each of them shared the desire to have a positive impact, and they’ve shown great determination by stepping into this new world of tech to create companies that could change the world.
“These are stories worth sharing.”
As a flagship sponsor of the SheStarts program, MYOB contributes support through funding, workshops, mentoring as well as online accounting software to each of the founders accepted into the program.
The founders come from many different industries and they’re employing bold ideas utilising tech to solve big problems. MYOB interviewed some of the female founders from the second cohort as part of the MYOB Success podcast.
MYOB Brand Experience Manager, Belinda Watson says “MYOB sees huge potential in being able to specifically target the needs of female entrepreneurs.”
“SheStarts is a program designed to accommodate women with great ideas who don’t necessarily have a technology background,” Watson said.
“Right now, women make up only 16 percent of the population holding STEM qualifications and not having a tech background is becoming a real barrier for women trying to start their own business.”
As SheStarts ramps up for its third year in a row, a growing, vibrant network of female entrepreneurs is beginning to work against these barriers – and they’re only getting started.