muru-D announces 10 startups in new SYD6 cohort with Alan Jones as lead EIR
The future of local workforce optimisation, farm connectivity, prevention of work stress, and personal loan financing, are some of the ideas being developed in muru-D’s new SYD6 cohort.
The ten successful applicants, selected from a field of nearly two hundred, are aiming to deliver innovative and simple product experiences for customers through next gen data platforms, predictive AI, IoT, fintech and WiFi networks.
Each startup will receive $75,000 in seed capital investment and over the course of the six-month program have access to a highly developed network of mentors and industry professionals to help accelerate their businesses to the next stage.
Unlike other accelerators, muru-D tailors the program according to the requirements of the founders in each cohort. The program structure is flexible and the curriculum is created around the founders, not the other way around. This means each founding team can extract maximum value from their time at muru-D.
SYD6’s newest Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) is startup industry veteran, Alan Jones. He has founded several startups, mentored hundreds of founders, and is an active investor in the startup ecosystem. He has been involved in the selection of SYD6 and will work closely with the founders to help them to grow their businesses and get them investment-ready.
“I’ve worked with many of Australia’s best-known startup accelerators but it’s long been an ambition of mine to serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence for a muru-D program. I’m stoked at the strength of the teams in this year’s SYD6 cohort; I’m looking forward to bringing my 20+ years of tech startup experience as a founder, angel investor and accelerator mentor to the program,” Mr. Jones said.
muru-D is focused on working with exceptional founders who are solving high impact, global problems. As part of the SYD6 program, led by Program Manager, Nicola Farrell, they gain access to a purpose built co-working space in Sydney CBD, three entrepreneurs in residence, a global network of mentors, alumni, investors and partners, an international trip to a startup hub, and many additional perks.
Head of muru-D, Julie Trell said the accelerator program invests in great teams with innovative technology and global ambitions and has been taking digital opportunities to a global market since 2013. Over the past five years, muru-D has accelerated over 140 startups – one of the largest startup accelerator portfolios in Australia – and has created hundreds of jobs.
“The muru-D accelerator program is uniquely positioned to respond to founder needs with the essentials for growth that will continue to challenge and evolve their startup. Over the next six months, our teams will enter a series of learning experiences to accelerate their thinking, advance their mindset and bring focus to their venture. And at the end of the six months, the startups will put everything they’ve learnt to the test as they pitch to investors at a showcase event attended by the who’s who of the Australian startup ecosystem,” Ms. Trell said.
Speaking about the SYD6 cohort, she said, “It was important to find teams who are building out technology solutions where Telstra could provide support as well as benefit from their journey and business model. Interestingly a large portion of our cohort are working on data-focused ventures, proving there is hunger to create new markets or challenge existing established players. We are looking forward to continuing connecting our cohorts with Telstra to increase collaboration of ideas and projects, potentially work on proof of concepts, and prove to the industry that startups and corporates can work together in a mutually beneficial way.
The 10 companies accepted into SYD6 are:
1. Agrinet provide easy to install Farm Wide WiFi networks that enable fast connectivity for voice, video, internet & IoT backhaul.
2. Clipboard is the new way for schools to manage their extracurricular programs.
3. GeoSnapShot provides a global platform that enables any photographer to upload and sell photos.
4. Luboo is a GPS/BLE/Cellular wearable tracking wristband and mobile app which gives peace of mind to parents of wandering young children at large events and venues.
5. Littlescribe provides a platform for digitising, sharing and printing children’s writing and illustrations.
6. Pioneera is a SaaS platform that predicts and prevents workplace stress
7. Personifi is Australia’s only purely online marketplace specialising in personal loans, and supporting thousands of Australians each year with some of life’s most important financial decisions.
8. Seer Data & Analytics is a Data Platform that lets non-technical people easily find, share and use data to solve social problems collaboratively
9. Staybil develops and provides B2B workforce geo-optimisation (WGO) software as a service.
10. WallSync provides a SaaS platform that allows teams to digitise their workshops.
