MAP20 October Community Update
Our final update from our 2020 cohort! Learn about their final month in the 2020 program.
Accelerator Program Update
This month has been bittersweet for the MAP program as the MAP20 Cohort completed their five-month journey!
As such, we focused on post-program preparation as the teams began to look to the future and consider their growth strategies and team management.
Investment and Future Growth
Following on from last month’s ‘Investor Drop In’ sessions, October commenced with our founders engaging with some of the best investment firms in the country (including Blackbird, Melbourne Angels, Scale Investors and Airtree), perfectly setting the scene for them to consider their growth options post-program.
In line with our commitment to social impact, the founders engaged with experts in the field; delving further into impact models and growth strategies with Abhilash Mudaliar from the Paul Ramsay Foundation. In addition to this, they learned the specifics on how to secure philanthropic and family office funding with Rachel English, Foundation Manager of Mutual Trust and Cathy Scalzo, CEO of Scalzo Family Office.
They also dug deeper into how to negotiate finance and exit terms with Mark Johnson, MAP’s Global Mentor, and MAP alumni Ed Hooper, Co-Founder of Omny and Phoebe Gardner, CEO & Co-Founder of BeyondAg.
As always, the MAP20 cohort also spent time learning about how to manage any post program stress during their final wellness session with Valerie Judge, Managing Director & Founder of Melbourne Social Work and Psychology Consultants.
PR, Advocacy and Influence
The founders spent time honing their understanding of PR with Kate Dinon, Managing Director of Character + Distinction. Furthermore, they have explored how to assert advocacy and influence techniques for government decision making with Angus Crowther, Senior Strategic Advisor of SPARK Strategy.
October Special Events
We had a brilliant final ‘Fireside Chat’ for the program with entrepreneurial leaders and early-stage investors Aprill and Matt Allen of Pick & Shovel Ventures. Aprill and Matt both have significant careers and contributions to the startup community outside of their investment portfolio and the MAP20 founders loved hearing about their integrity led approach to early stage investing.
We held our final Mentor Dinner with Rachael Neumann, moderated by Prof. Colin McLeod, Executive Director of the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre. Rachael is currently focused on her role as founder of the recently launched angel group, Working Theory Angels, and is also strategic advisor and investor to a number of founders and their early stage companies. She has been sharing her passion for early stage investing through her lead instructor role in The Wade Insititute’s VC Catalyst program, and now, through Working Theory Angels. Rachael led a discussion about her journey utilised her many years of experience to address the many questions put to her by the MAP20 founders in a lively discussion.
Demo Day
On the 4th of November, the entrepreneurial community joined the MAP20 Cohort to celebrate their achievements and witness the progress they made in a remarkable year. The founders presented their startup pitches to the ecosystem demonstrating how, despite challenging circumstances, the cohort persevered and strove for ambitious goals in 2020.
The extension of Stage 4 lockdown meant that our founders had to come up with some creative ways of filming their Demo Day pitches and over 450 attendees tuned in to watch the live stream on Hopin and meet the founders in their Expo booths after the event.
Velocity Program Update
The MAP20 Velocity Program is reaching its tail end and the founders have spent the past month delving into fundamentals of selling, sales metrics, impact growth, pitching and investment readiness.
The MAP20 Velocity Showcase is also fast approaching and the founders from 10 Velocity startups are getting ready to take the stage for their virtual pitch.
You can learn more about the MAP20 Velocity Cohort here
Cohort Updates
Recovawear
Recovawear will be featured on the Runway for EveryHuman as a part of Melbourne Fashion Week (read about it here) and are also presenting at the Alfred Hospital Innovation Hub opening on the 17th Nov.
Get in touch with Penny who is looking for introductions in the retail and medical space. You can also watch Recovawear’s Demo Day pitch here
Mobble
Mobble co-founder, Jock Lawrence, has been nominated as a Semi-Finalist in the Victorian Regional Achievement and Community Awards 2020.
Check out Mobble’s Demo Day pitch here
Insight Infrastructure Solution
Insight Infrastructure have welcomed a new team member to their engineering team and have kicked off a new project with the Port of Melbourne.
You can check out Insight Infrastructure’s Demo Day pitch here
Team Timbuktu
Team Timbuktu has launched its first sustainability report (read about it here) covering the first two years of its journey. The main highlight has been that the brand has recycled 50,000 bottles into clothing (it’s since increased that up to 75,000 bottles).
You can check out Team Timbuktu’s Demo Day pitch here
MAP Alumni Updates
Acusensus (MAP18)
Results from Victoria’s 3-month trial of Acusensus’ ‘Heads-Up’ solution are now out — with over 4,000 drivers having been detected illegally using a mobile phone during the first month 4,000 drivers have been detected illegally using a mobile phone.
Navi Medical Technologies (MAP17)
Navi was awarded a prestigious NHMRC Development Grant worth almost $900,000 to help them translate research to the proof-of-concept stage, a critical step to successful commercialisation.
You can read about it here
Phoria (MAP14)
Phoria has recently announced the launch of their latest project — REWILD, with over 1200+ people downloading REWILD since the announcement. REWILD is the future of cinematic, immersive AR nature content and an experience you can enjoy anywhere in the world, with 4K video and 4K gameplay.
Learn more here
BindiMaps (MAP19)
Congratulations to BindiMaps who have been chosen as winners of the Australian Technologies Competition 2020 Smart Cities category!
You can learn more about BindiMaps here
EIR Updates
This year we are thrilled to welcome 10 Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIRs) who are working closely with the MAP20 Cohort. Learn about them here
Simon Murphy: Founder and CEO of RefLIVE
Simon Murphy is the founder and CEO of Sports Technology company RefLIVE, a proud MAP17 alumni. RefLIVE tells the story behind the score and protects the integrity of sports. RefLIVE is used by sports organisations all over the world to improve the sideline environment.
What inspires you?
Sport is one of the best ways for people to connect and create memories. Ever since I was a kid my life revolved around sport, from sleeping in my favourite teams colours (which I may or may not still do) to dragging my parents out of bed early on the weekends to drive me to my games. I want to give everyone the opportunity to connect through sports, for parents to never miss a moment of their families games, for players of any age to have an amazing experience on and off the field and to create an inclusive environment at all matches. I’m inspired by the opportunity to have an impact on the next generation of kids and families to connect and create memories through sports.
Jimmy Zhong: Founder of Syncio
Jimmy is the CEO and founder of Syncio, a collaborative commerce platform that is making virtual inventory shareable across websites. By democratising virtual inventory, Syncio enables endless collaborative selling opportunities for retailers and brands.
Syncio has grown to help over 4,500 businesses, helping sync over $1bn in GMV between online stores.Syncio was part of MAP18. Previous to Syncio, Jimmy co-founded Ethi, an ethical and sustainable lifestyle marketplace, and Akagu, a reverse auction marketplace for designer fashion. Before startups, Jimmy worked as a management consultant at a big four professional services firm for five years.
What inspires you?
Life is inspiring. Everyday, a tree grows a bit taller, a bird learns how to fly, and people pursue their vision, goals, and dreams. Understanding that challenges and suffering is part of life, and still giving it your all is inspiring. But more specifically, my biggest inspiration is my baby daughter — if you think startups move fast, they have nothing on how much a baby grows and learns, and how resilient they are facing such an explosion of new experiences and challenges that they must overcome, often with the cutest smile and laugh!
See you next month!
The MAP Team