From fintech to edtech, web3 to AI, a few of Australia’s most enjoyable and numerous startups and scaleups have chalked up main success since becoming a member of Stone & Chalk.
It takes a village to construct a startup and a distinctive group of vivid sparks to scale one. That’s the raison d’etre behind innovation hubs like Stone & Chalk, which connects founders with the individuals and companies they want in any respect phases of startup progress.
Boasting Australia’s largest innovation group, Stone & Chalk has the numbers to again up that declare: their residents and alumni have raised greater than $1 billion of capital and created greater than 100,000 jobs since becoming a member of the group. With places in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, Stone & Chalk has greater than 515 startups inside its group – and counting.
They’ve received the perks you’d anticipate from a startup hub: beer on faucet, free espresso and ambient plant-filled co-working areas the place lightbulb moments occur (usually at ungodly hours). Founders level to one thing a lot deeper, although: the sense of group, the extent of assist and unparalleled entry to collaborators, companions and traders you might not get elsewhere.
Why startups select Stone & Chalk
As the house of tech disruption, Stone & Chalk tailors applications and companies to suit each early-stage startups and scaleups. For youthful startups, they provide progress, advertising and technique applications to assist convey an concept to market efficiently. Scaleups can entry tailor-made capital and funding applications, just like the Investor Prepared program, which gives entry to a world community of potential traders.
For startups of all levels, the networking alternatives are large. There’s common networking occasions with trade leaders, corporates and collaborators, in addition to mentoring, masterclasses and casual ‘founder circles’ and ‘Chalk Chills’ each fortnight.
A gaggle of Stone & Chalk residents at Stone & Chalk Melbourne. Picture: Equipped.
Founders at Stone & Chalk in Sydney. Picture: Equipped.
Whereas the scope of startups within the Stone & Chalk universe is broad, a significant areas of focus proper now’s web3. In December 2022, Stone & Chalk launched Australia’s first Web3 Innovation Centres throughout their hubs, in partnership with the Australian DeFI Affiliation, to attach web3 founders with traders, media, corporates and governments. It’s a transfer that goals to assist web3 startups develop extra secure, profitable and aggressive Australian blockchain, crypto and digital property applied sciences.
What startups say about Stone & Chalk
Paytron
International funds platform Paytron helps companies and accountants simplify their spend administration. Co-founder Francois Henrion says they first got here to Stone & Chalk searching for desk area, however stayed for the group.
“It’s two sides of the group, it’s the precise Stone & Chalk employees which might be actually supportive and the contribution that they make to the broader group, but in addition the individuals sitting round you,” says Francois. “The blokes that had been a couple of metres from us had been actually our first prospects. So it’s these friendlies that you could take a look at the waters and get suggestions from.
“It’s a particularly collaborative and clear setting. You’ll be able to let your guard down, you may share your commerce secrets and techniques, your know-how, and know that it’s a secure place to speak about your challenges and get some suggestions from the opposite guys.”
Fulle
As a current resident of Stone & Chalk’s Melbourne hub, cleantech startup Fulle has created fast e-bike battery common chargers that work extra sustainably with much less waste. Founder Molly Fullee says they had been in a position to overcome among the frequent hurdles of early-stage startup life due to structured assist and networking alternatives at Stone & Chalk.
“Being part of that group was like a dream come true for me,” Molly says. “Throughout my residency, I had entry to top-notch amenities, a community of mentors and traders, and an entire bunch of different entrepreneurs who had been simply as passionate and pushed as I used to be.
“It was so stimulating to bounce concepts off different individuals and see all the superb tasks that had been being developed proper earlier than my eyes.
“Being in an setting surrounded by different entrepreneurs who had been all pushing the boundaries of what was attainable, empowered me to shoot for the moon. I began pondering larger, pushing more durable and taking dangers that I won’t have taken in any other case.”
Training Excellent
Becoming a member of Stone & Chalk’s Sydney scaleup hub at Tech Central in July 2022, Training Excellent is an edtech firm with an internet digital studying platform utilized by greater than 1.2 million college students and 50,000 lecturers throughout 50 international locations.
“We felt that this place suited us as a result of we needed to be round like-minded individuals,” says Heather Rizzo, Head of Operations at Training Excellent. “We felt that it was area the place innovation and collaboration and variety is widely known and that was an area that actually speaks to the values of our enterprise.”
Heather says that their workforce participate in common networking rituals like Candy Spot, the place founders share wins and updates collectively. “It’s actually introduced our workforce collectively,” she provides.
The flexibleness of the area has additionally been helpful for his or her dispersed workforce to drop out and in of, in addition to maintain particular occasions.
“We’ve had buyer occasions right here. We’ve been in a position to convey our entire management workforce from everywhere in the world into Sydney and it’s been an area that’s allowed us the pliability to try this alongside a number of assist that’s been given by the employees right here.”
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Pathways Digital
Melbourne-based startup Pathways Digital is on a mission to simplify contract administration for small and medium companies. Co-founder and CEO Andrew Tiernan says Stone & Chalk has helped speed up the expansion of their early-stage startup.
“Becoming a member of the residency program at Stone & Chalk was a key milestone for Pathways Digital,” Andrew says. “Shifting our firm from our kitchen tables, lounge rooms and residential research provides us extra than simply an workplace location. Stone & Chalk immerses us in an ecosystem of different startups, mentors, and assist together with authorized, advertising, know-how and extra. This transfer has actually helped us speed up our growth.”
Andrew provides that getting access to individuals who have achieved it earlier than has been an enormous asset. “Startups want to resolve issues at a quick tempo, and being on this group, each time we now have an issue, by the tip of the day we could possibly be linked to any individual else who might assist us remedy it simply by reaching out to the group supervisor,” Andrew says.
“We additionally like the power to have hall conversations with friends. Whenever you’re a startup and dealing from dwelling, you may’t stumble upon individuals and ask for recommendation. That’s why shifting right into a group like Stone & Chalk helps foster that setting the place we are able to converse in an natural and advert hoc means. And that’s actually highly effective.”
Lateral Imaginative and prescient
Based mostly in Stone & Chalk’s Adelaide hub, Lateral Imaginative and prescient creates interactive and immersive digital experiences for companies. By way of digital actuality, augmented actuality, 3D modelling and drone operations, the workforce has created experiences for the likes of The College of Adelaide, The Ghan and Seppeltsfield Barossa.
“The factor we love most at Stone & Chalk is the group,” says co-founder Laura Tolson. “We’ve made actually nice pals with the Stone & Chalk workforce and all the opposite companies which might be right here as effectively. Immersing your self in a relatable group is actually vital – significantly as a founder with a small workforce.
“If we had been working in our personal little workplace someplace within the metropolis, we simply wouldn’t have that group and we’d really feel actually small. However by being immersed right here with tons of of different individuals, we really feel a lot larger.”
Be part of Australia’s largest innovation group at stoneandchalk.com.au.
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