From the first-time founder who created a ‘find-a-babysitter’ app to an entrepreneur whose brain training tech is used by the world’s best golfers, the ACS Labs founder community is a diverse bunch – and growing.
For the past 12 years, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) has built its reputation in the startup sector with incubators and programs under the banner of ACS Labs, or quite simply, The Labs.
More than 1000 startups have gone through their hubs in Brisbane at River City Labs, Sydney’s Harbour City Labs and the Sunshine Coast at Ocean City Labs, as well as taking part in major annual events such as Something Tech. and River Rival.
The Labs recently opened up membership to founders across Australia with a virtual platform providing access to resources, programs, mentorship and partner perks. Founders apply for membership in cohorts – the next intake coming this July.
New founders get a structured six-week Kickstarter program followed by ongoing support from The Labs’ Entrepreneur-in-Residences, Mentor-in-Residences and other programs.
Startup Daily asked three startup founders to share their Labs experiences.
Kiddo grows up fast
Rebecca Dredge, founder of Kiddo. Image: Supplied.
In 2019, former financial services professional Rebecca Dredge launched Kiddo, an app that connects parents to local, trusted and verified carers.
Today, the platform is used by more than 41,000 parents across Australia, with more than 16,000 carers including babysitters, nannies and NDIS support workers.
Dredge says that having a female mentor at The Labs helped her immensely during her raise.
“I had to overcome significant imposter syndrome,” she reflects.
“When I look back it was the fact I had a female mentor – that really gave me the confidence to believe in myself.
“Post-pitching for $1 million seed capital – I felt as though I did an amazing pitch, but deep down I know I needed a little ‘more’ to fully secure the funding. My mentor understood my insecurities from a female perspective, she stuck with me and outlined skills that were ‘incremental steps’.
“It gave me the confidence to push through and totally overcome insecurities to raise funds.”
Dredge adds that this support was “a crucial key to my success as a solo, first time, non-tech entrepreneur.”
“They gave me access to great information sessions, speakers and tools. From legal, marketing skills, PR strategies, valuation and capital raising knowledge – I could have never learned anywhere without real-life experience,” she says.
Disrupting insurance with Koverd
Fabrizia Roberto, founder of Koverd. Image: Supplied.
Fabrizia Roberto founded Koverd with a simple premise: to make the process of buying and selling insurance easier, cheaper and less stressful for everyone involved.
Before starting the digital brokerage platform in 2021, Roberto worked for 10 years at Youi Insurance. It’s there that her mission crystallised.
“In that process, I found out how difficult and expensive it is to acquire customers for insurance,” she tells us. “But also, we all know how little people love insurance and they find the process quite hard. So I wanted to find a way to connect the two in a better way.”
In late 2023, Roberto noticed The Labs’ Elevating Female Founders program and business advisors recommended she do it.
“We’ve actually run through quite a few different programs and they’re all different,” Roberto says.
“But Elevating Female Founders stood out for its really human approach to being a founder. There’s a lot of components that have been valuable in the program – one is having been allocated to a head mentor.
“There’s then the element of having the cohort. The other founders in the program come together, share challenges, wins, support and help.
“In many instances when you’re a founder, you feel like you’re by yourself fighting the fight and trying to figure out how to do certain things. When in reality, there are other people out there with different businesses going through similar challenges.”
She says that getting quick access to mentors through the virtual platform has helped solve some pointed problems.
“In my case, I needed to figure out some legal and accounting challenges that I was going through. Having access to those mentors where you can just reach out, get in touch and get some quick help, it’s been really good,” she says.
Koverd will be attending Something Tech. in Brisbane in August, as part of the Elevating Female Founders program with the Labs.
“Something they said in the first session was around the fact that the program is there for you as a person and as a founder. And it’s a subtle distinction, but an important one,” she says.
A hole in one for Neuphoria
Henry Boulton, founder of Neuphoria. Image: Supplied.
How do you think like a pro golfer? Just ask Henry Boulton, whose Neuphoria human performance platform and brain-sensing headwear has been used by former Australian world number one Jason Day.
Boulton has 15 years of experience in neuro performance under his belt. He developed the FocusBand, a wearable brain sensing headset that connects real-time brain frequency data to an app for golfers to optimise their performance.
In 2023, he extended that mission to Neuphoria’s platform to help athletes, business leaders and biohackers reach peak performance – or that elusive “flow state” – through Neuphoria’s flow performance system.
“As a founder, I believe the biggest challenge is ensuring you get your narrative right,” Boulton tells Startup Daily.
“ACS Labs played a crucial role in helping me achieve this. Their mentorship in pitching and financial modelling has been incredible.
“The second part is, when you are raising money, meeting the right people. And the ACS network was instrumental in connecting me with them.”
A few months after launch, Neuphoria took home Best Product and the Best of the Best Award at the River Rival startup competition in Brisbane last September.
The support of The Labs has been “critical in the progress and success of Neuphoria”, says Boulton. “They’ve been great at shaping our story and guidance in setting up company structure to attract investment.”
Apply to join ACS Labs’ next cohort here.
This article is brought to you by Startup Daily in partnership with ACS Labs.
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