State Library Victoria’s StartSpace and Study Melbourne have teamed up to launch the Future Founders Festival, Australia’s first digital startup festival for international students.

Running from 23–27 September 2020, this free online event will give you the knowledge, skills and networks you need to start a business in Australia. Connect with likeminded innovators through a series of expert-led workshops, panel discussions and networking events. Hear from successful business founders and entrepreneurs about how to develop a viable startup business in Australia, and join a vibrant community of business founders and emerging entrepreneurs.

You’ll be able to:

  • meet and connect with a network of international students and alumni with a passion for entrepreneurship
  • access expert advice from industry leaders from within the international student community
  • enter our startup pitch competition for the chance to pitch your idea to our expert panel, and be in the running for $2000 seed funding to help kickstart your business
  • put your new business design skills into practice in our Hackathon, where you’ll work with a team to build a product in 48 hours and compete for cash prizes.

The festival will include various interactive workshops, networking sessions and speaker interviews including the How not to start a startup masterclass, Female founders forum and a Design thinking 101 for startups workshop.

Speakers

More than 30 of the world’s leading business founders from around the world will speak at the event, including:

  • Grace Wong – lawyer turned award-winning tech entrepreneur and the founder of Liven, a mobile payment and rewards online wallet
  • Ivan Lim – CEO and co-founder of Brosa, a leading home and living consumer retail brand
  • Devarshi Desai – co-founder of Internash, a media company that specialises in creating content for current and prospective international students in Australia
  • Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu – founder of Little Green Panda, originally a side hustle to combat plastic straws and now a thriving business and part of a global sustainability movement
  • Usman Iftikhar – co-founder and CEO of Catalysr, a startup pre-accelerator that empowers migrant and refugee entrepreneurs to launch their own startups in Australia
  • Rachel Bui – editor-in chief at Asian Pioneers, and founder and CEO of media startup Ingeniousli.

Pitch your startup idea

Enter our startup pitch competition for the chance to pitch your idea to our expert panel, and be in the running for $2000 seed funding to help kickstart your business. Three finalists will have their pitches played during the festival and will take part in a live Q&A with a panel of expert judges to determine the winner.

Hackathon

Put your new business design skills into practice in our Hackathon, delivered by Hacker Exchange. You’ll work with a team to design, build and pitch a product in 48 hours, for a chance to win cash prizes. You’ll also get invaluable time with industry mentors over the course of the event.

The Future Founders Festival recognises that international students face unique obstacles when trying to start a business in Australia, including cultural and language barriers, smaller networks, difficulty getting visas and access to funding. The festival will let you hear from other people who have been in your shoes and found success.

Entry is free, but you’ll need to register your attendance via the Future Founders Festival website.

To register and for more information, including the full speaker list and program, visit the Future Founders website.