Startup accelerator Startmate is reviving a tradition halted by the pandemic and will take its latest cohort to Silicon Valley in May.
The San Francisco trip gives the accelerator’s founders the chance to meet US VCs, connect with Aussie founders in the Valley, and broaden their thinking on global ambitions ran from 2011 to 2019, when a certain virus shut down global travel
CEO Phoebe Pincus said several of Startmate’s most successful alumni were part of those early trips, including cybersecurity company Bugcrowd, part of the 2013 cohort. They went on to open an office in the city and went on host subsequent visiting Startmate founders on their visits.
Valley Demo Day
The May trip will follow Startmate’s flagship Sydney Demo Day on April 30, and will also feature the first Startmate Demo Day in San Francisco, introducing the cohort to US investors.
Pincus said that as well as gaining insight into how competitive US companies operate, the trip also exposes founder to the scale of ambition required to build global technology businesses.
“It was about raising the ambition of what ANZ founders believed was possible,” she said.
Startmate head of founders Emma Grife said the US remains one of the largest and most important markets across industries.
“In a city like San Francisco, founders can meet investors, potential customers and other builders within a few blocks. Many of the most valuable conversations happen through serendipitous introductions or chance in-person meetings.”
Grife said she’s also seeing increasing interest from global investors in ANZ startups.
“From my conversations with San Francisco-based VCs over the past year, I’ve seen a growing appetite to look beyond the US for breakout companies,” she said.
“Many firms recognise the next category-defining company could come from anywhere. That shift in thinking is exciting for founders building in Australia.”
A recent example is Melbourne startup Fluency from the S25 cohort, which last month raised a US$6m (A$8.55m) Seed round led by US VC Accel, Atlassian’s first external investor, and also relocated its headquarters to San Francisco.
