Our 2021 Cohort

2021 WINNERS

Sarah Crowe

Founder @ 4eyesVision

Etta Watts-Russel

Founder @ Lactamo

Dr. Sarah Crowe

Founder @ 4eyesVision

4eyesVision was founded by Dr Crowe to address the biggest cause of avoidable visual impairment worldwide affecting over 1 billion people: lack of access to glasses. 90% of these people live in the remote and developing communities.

Three main barriers prevent people from getting glasses: lack of professionals to test vision, geographic isolation and cost.
Dr Crowe and her team created the 4eyes Vision Kit which contains everything a layperson needs to test vision and dispense customized, affordable glasses on the spot: the 4eyes Testing Wheel, vision charts, adjustable spectacle frames and pre-cut lenses. A mobile application ties the whole process together, from training through to payment and inventory control.

The 4eyesVision Kit is a complete system which can be used by local people within their own communities, thus providing employment and empowerment in addition to improved vision.

Please work with 4eyesVision to create a better looking world!

Etta Watts-Russell

Founder @ Lactamo

Etta is the founder of Lactamo, a corporate lawyer turned entrepreneur and Mum of 4 young children. Disappointed with the low breastfeeding rates, high rates of problems and lack of solutions, Etta put together a team of experts and founded Lactamo.

Lactamo is a massage ball specifically developed and designed for the elasticity of breast tissue; internationally IP protected, it has hollow surface lumps filled with hot/cold gel, and is simple, reusable and affordable. Lactamo is a social impact product which uniquely supports breastfeeding, addressing the most common problems (including oversupply, undersupply, blocked milk ducts, engorgement).

Deakin University and the Western Health Partnership recently independently conducted a successful clinical trial on Lactamo. Lactamo has won multiple awards, and a leading Australian lactation consultant has hailed Lactamo as “a potential game-changer in breastfeeding”. Lactamo has received interest from retailers and global healthcare providers, and will be launching in Australia on August 1st.

Zoe Piper

Founder @ Ethitrade

Consumers are increasingly demanding more information and seeking assurances that the goods they purchase are safe and ethically produced. Many emerging economy micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) struggle to provide this level of information in a provably authentic way.

Partnering with The Asia Foundation and DFAT, Ethitrade have developed a blockchain-based provenance platform. Farmers, traders and exporters can use a simple mobile interface to enter transactions and upload certifications, with data then stamped to the blockchain. Consumers can then scan a QR code to view the journey of that good took through the supply chain. By digitally tracking goods from farm to plate, the Ethitrade platform provides consumers full access to relevant information and delivers supply chain participants greater insight into their business performance. Through such projects, Ethitrade is working to digitally uplift emerging economy MSMEs with a focus on identity, provenance and access to markets.

Deborah Fairfull

Founder @ Blisspot

Blisspot, is a B2B focussed SaaS platform delivering a turnkey solution for wellbeing that enables organisations to support their team’s mental health, which enhances employee engagement, retention rates and productivity, positively impacting the bottom line. Our users have been global since day one, based in over 175 countries.

Blisspot’s mission is to democratise wellbeing to make stress a condition of the past by 2028. The Blisspot solution is unique, using technology, to meet people where they are at on their wellbeing journey, while being scalable to provide for the growing wellbeing demands, of large organisations. Blisspot delivers human-centred wellbeing, backed by science, in a convenient, curated and affordable way. Blisspot is growing via direct to market channels, but we are also building using co-selling partnerships to achieve scale. Some examples include GO1, Work180 plus other leading tech companies, and we are about to begin a pilot with Canva and Hubspot.

Zoe Condliffe

Founder @ She’s A Crowd

She’s A Crowd uses crowdsourced data to make cities safer for women and gender diverse people. Through our storytelling platform, we collect qualitative and quantitative data on experiences of gender-based violence and connect this to decision-makers and government agencies to inform their policy and planning.

9 in 10 women have experienced street harassment in Australia and have had to modify their behaviour as a result, however, our vision is that through our stories we are able to create a world where safety can be a reality for all.

Rechelle Leahy

Founder @ iDecide

iDecide provides guidance, education and resources to plan, store and share your end of life documents with family and trusted advisors. We open the conversation about death and provide support to navigate the journey of this stage of life. Over 50% of Australians do not have a valid Will not to mention other end of life planning documentation in place.

iDecide.co was born from the lived experience of founder Rechelle Leahy who lost her mother, grandmother and husband in the space of ten years to cancer, with each of these losses having vastly different levels of organisation.

The platform provides reassurance in life’s most difficult moments. A place to find resources, learn about end of life planning and start the conversation with loved ones about the importance of being prepared. iDecide ensures your wishes are heard and everything can be accessed when you need it most.

Serena Christie

Founder @ KOBI

The fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter. Consumers are waking up, with a third of people buying from brands based on their social and environmental impact.

KOBI is the premium and ethical alternative to leather and plastic-based handbags. Handcrafted in Portugal, KOBI bags are durable and 3 times lighter than leather equivalents.

KOBI’s FSC certified cork is harvested from living trees. This preserves the ecosystem and the tree absorbs up to 5 times more CO2 as the cork regenerates.

For every purchase, KOBI customers directly support sustainable harvesters and the artisans who ethically handcrafted each item. In addition a cork tree is planted for every purchase as part of an official reforestation program.

Ananya Sinha

Founder @ Indus Global

Ann Suen (left)

Co founder

Indus Global is a sustainable tech start up combatting the global issue of e-waste. With the average Australian changing their phone every two years and only 20% being recycled, this e-waste does not just affect our environment, but is also extremely detrimental for our health.

Our solution is a digital platform which provides monetary incentive for Australians to recycle their e-waste. We’re trying to redefine how people consume and repurpose the goods that they have sitting around. The start-up works via our web application, where customers fill out a simple form, which generates a customised automated quote depending on factors such as phone condition, model and issues. The customer will get sent a free prepaid package to send us their mobile device. Once Indus Global receives the phone, we send customers funds within 24 hours and find the device a new home in a developing country.

Preethi Mohan

Founder @ Vodited & Lyve.Shop 

We’re a new media company looking to enable easy content creation for creators of all capabilities. Vodited takes the difficulty out of creating audio and video editing and saves hours of your time by making audio and video editing, as easy as editing a word document.

Lyve.Shop aims to disrupt the billion-dollar shopping industry by creating more authentic shopping experiences online. With brands struggling to make real connections and customers struggling to trust brands, the shopping experience needs to change.

Lyve.shop helps consumers experience products and experiences live, enabling them to interact, ask questions and buy the product. For brands, we provide them with a captive audience of customers waiting to buy their products and connect them with influencers who genuinely care about their brand to promote their products. .

Sallie Kendall

Founder @ SmartFIDO

Australians living with disability increasingly report the need for personalised services at home, in the community, and at work. SmartFIDO allows people with disability to experience the joy of independence.

Betty Andrews

Founder @ WooWoo

Finding friends who are as spiritual as you, as well as finding spiritual services is hard. It’s time-consuming and often a bad digital experience.

This is where we come in. Woo Woo is a platform that will match and connect you with tarot readers, mediums, energy healers and all things woo. Connecting both sides of the community URL with an app and IRL with events.

Tonia P.

Founder @ Glydeit

Glydeit – As a team we are passionate about beneficially changing the trajectory of young women for the future. We want to stop the sleepwalking that happens within the sanitary hygiene category and stop the barbaric process of pushing hard plastic into fragile and vulnerable space. This innovation in application will address this invasive emotional trauma and plans to reduce the waste stream of plastic pollution in our waterways.

KEY DATES

21st July: Launch Event [4-5pm AEST]

28th July: Bootcamp [2-5pm AEST]

11th August: Workshop [2-5pm AEST]

18th August: Partner Link Event [3:30-5pm AEST]

26th August: Pitch Event [4-6:30pm AEST]

30th August: Top 3 Announcement: Media Release

30th August: Office Hours [Full Week]
6th September: Alumni Induction [Full Week]