Thursday, 20 July 2023
SBE Australia and x15ventures to host Global Showcase Event
- Seven award-winning businesses feature in the 2023 SBE Global Cohort
- Business span industries including fitness, wellbeing, human resources, and more
- 2023 Global Cohort builds on SBE’s decade of supporting women-led businesses
SBE Australia, the leading Australian accelerator and advisory for women-led businesses, is hosting a Showcase Event for the ventures in the 2023 SBE Global program. The Showcase is the final event of SBE's flagship Global program, which supports ambitious women-led ventures to expand internationally by connecting them with the resources, networks, and capital needed for growth.
The Showcase will be held at the Melbourne offices of program supporter x15ventures, a venture scaler powered by CommBank, on Thursday 27 July from 9am-12pm.
The multi-award winning 2023 Global Cohort features:
- Laura Henshaw & Steph Claire Smith, Co-founders, KIC
- Joanne Howarth, Founder & CEO, Planet Protector Packaging
- Jodi Geddes & Kate Pollard, Co-founders & Co-CEOs, Circle In
- Christine Khor, Founder & CEO, Peeplcoach
- Ami Bateman & Sian Murray, Co-founders, Pleasant State
- Renata Sguario, Founder & CEO, Maxme
- Shaeri Datta, Co-founder, Autism 360
Nicole Cook, CEO at SBE Australia said, “This is a group of exceptional founders that are truly building organisations that will scale globally. One of my favourite quotes from a founder in this cohort during a debrief was ‘I feel like I fell down the rabbit hole and found wonderland’. This made me smile because she articulated what many know about the value of the international SBE network of specialists, experts, advisors, alum and mentors - they all come together to ensure these women are going to succeed - giving them the social capital that leads to securing financial capital and ultimately changes the cultural capital structures that move metrics and change economies. It's what we aim to do at SBE.”
Kate Pollard, the co-CEO of cohort business Circle In, said, “There aren't many programs I can say 'hand on heart' have truly had a tangible and long lasting impact on your business, but I'm proud to say that the SBE Global program is one of them! It has been an absolute game changer and given us incredible confidence as founders in the future direction of our business. The real difference comes with having an amazing group of advisors who are experts in their field so generously spending time with us across all aspects of our business. And also the camaraderie and support of being part of this journey with other exceptional female founders.”
x15ventures Portfolio Director Laura Faulconer said that x15ventures was pleased to host the Showcase because “There are so many things that stand in your way as a founder. It’s absurd to think gender could still be one of them. Despite 2022 hitting a record 1 in 4 funded Australian startups having a female founder, the share of total funding to female founders still lags, and we've got a lot more work to do to ensure women founders are supported by the ecosystem. That's why programs like this are so important. In an increasingly noisy world, creating cut-through for amazing founders today will reap exponential benefits over the years to come. It’s a privilege we are able to host so many ambitious, exceptional founders – who also just so happen to be women.”
SBE Australia has supported over 250 national mid-stage graduates in its Evolve program and over 130 Global level companies who have successfully raised over $2 billion in capital, with 15 successful exits and 2 IPOs since launching in Australia in 2012. SBE Australia takes no equity in the businesses it supports. SBE alumnae include the founders of brands who are now household names such as Modibodi, Canva, OpenAgent, Thrivor, IntelligenceBank, Coviu, LVLY and others.
Interested media are invited to attend the Global Showcase event, where all 10 founders from the seven companies in the 2023 SBE Global Cohort will be available for comment, along with SBE CEO Nicole Cook and x15ventures Portfolio Director Laura Faulconer. Interested media can register their interest here.
Further details on SBE Australia and the 2023 Global Cohort, along with imagery, headshots and video from each of the businesses can be found here.
About us:
About SBE
Initially started through a partnership with US based Springboard Enterprises, SBE Australia is the flagship for purpose organisation supporting women entrepreneurs who transform industries in Australia & New Zealand. Our programs and services fuel the growth of globally viable and sustainable businesses to transform industries, facilitate disruptive and impactful solutions and solve big local and global problems. We believe in collaboration to ensure exceptional and bespoke support to these women entrepreneurs to lift the profile of women's economic and cultural empowerment.
For more, please visit www.sbeaustralia.org
About x15ventures
x15 is a venture scaler powered by CommBank. Founded in 2020, it builds, buys, and invests in startups that would benefit from connections to Australia’s leading bank, and could improve the lives of its 16 million customers, either reimagining existing CommBank products or services, or offering solutions not traditionally classed as finance, but that could extend the bank’s relationship and relevance with customers.
x15’s platform model combines the latest cloud technology (running on a stand-alone, x15-developed tech stack) with enterprise grade controls, enabling its ventures to innovate at pace in a 'bank safe' environment, and scale through access to CommBank assets – capital, brand, and customer distribution – when ready.
For more, please visit www.x15ventures.com.au
Contact details:
Media contact
Jack McLintock
+61 450 608 022
