Post by Startmate

In 2011, we started a tradition. Every Startmate cohort would travel to San Francisco at the end of their Accelerator for 1 week. 3 months ago, we decided to bring it back, and last week that tradition started all over again. Some of our biggest success stories have come from when the SF trip existed. Bugcrowd (2013 cohort) did the SF week, and opened a US office that same year. Last year, Fluency (Summer '25 cohort) raised a US $6M seed round, led by Accel and soon after relocated to SF. And on Friday, 1st of May 2026, it began all over again. Fireside chats with top US VCs including a16z speedrun, GV (Google Ventures), Accel, Sequoia Capital (just to name a few!) Our first ever Demo Day in SF, hosted at Stripe HQ. And meeting with other ANZ founders who have successfully done the same. The energy in SF is unlike anywhere else. AI is the centre of gravity, and the investors are already thinking 10 steps ahead. ANZ founders have everything it takes. The talent, the ambition, the ideas. Startmate exists to unleash that potential and help them compete on the world’s biggest stage. The trip is now a permanent part of the Accelerator program (yes, you heard that right!!). We’ll be taking every cohort as we expand founders’ networks, open doors to global capital and customers, and continue building the bridge between the ANZ startup ecosystem and Silicon Valley. You have until Sunday to apply for our W’26 Accelerator: https://lnkd.in/gTMiZ5uq