From Day 0: How I Built This (Student Founder Evening) | Melbourne
FROM DAY 0: HOW I BUILT THIS
An evening for Melbourne's most ambitious students and builders
📅 Date: Tuesday 3 Feb
⏰ Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm
📍 Location: Melbourne
🎤 Speaker Line-Up
Alex Naoumidis is the co-founder and CEO of Mindset Health, AI Therapeutics for physical health conditions. A Monash Business graduate, Alex is a Startmate Accelerator ’18 and Y Combinator S19 alum, Forbes 30 Under 30 (Asia – Healthcare & Science), and has raised US$19m to date from the likes of Blackbird, Giant Leap, and King River Capital.
Jarrod Webb is the founder of Blinq, a fast-growing digital business card platform. He holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Melbourne and founded Blinq while working as a software engineer at Uber. Jarrod was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 (Asia – Consumer Technology), and has raised venture funding from the likes of Touring Capital, SquarePeg, Blackbird.
Steph Brook is the founder of Rave, a platform for sharing recommendations with people who share your taste. Steph holds a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) from The University of Melbourne, and was previously a Software Engineer at Atlassian. Steph is an alumni of the Startmate W25 Accelerator cohort, where received $120k investment.
Registration closes Monday 2nd February.
What does it actually look like to build a startup from day zero?
FROM DAY 0: HOW I BUILT THIS is an intimate evening designed for students, recent grads, and early-stage founders who want a real look behind the curtain of company creation - the messy starts, early decisions, near-misses, and inflection points that don’t make it into pitch decks.
We’ll be bringing together a small group of ambitious student founders and builders for a fireside-style conversation and open AMA with founders who’ve been exactly where you are: starting with an idea, no roadmap, and a lot of uncertainty - and turning it into something real.
This isn’t a polished “success story” panel.
It’s about day zero thinking, honest lessons, and practical takeaways you can apply immediately to what you’re building (or thinking about building).
Expect candid stories, tactical insights, and plenty of time for questions - plus space to connect with other students who are serious about startups.
⚠️ Limited to 50 attendees. Registrations will be reviewed to ensure a high-quality room. Successful applicants will receive venue details upon confirmation.
Who this is for
Students or recent graduates building a startup (or about to start)
Technical or non-technical founders exploring their first company
Builders curious about what it really takes to go from idea → execution → first momentum → traction → pitching → first cheque
What you’ll get out of it
Honest insights into the earliest stages of startup building
Practical lessons on getting started before you feel “ready”
A clearer picture of founder and funding pathways available for students
New connections with like-minded student builders, and opportunity to meet potential co-founders
✨ Plus: A select number of student attendees will be selected to shadow a founder for a day, gaining firsthand exposure to what life actually looks like inside an early-stage startup (make sure you tick the box in the registration form).
Agenda
5:30 – 6:00pm — Arrival & light networking
6:00 – 6:45pm — Fireside: From day 0
6:45 – 7:15pm — Audience AMA ("ask me anything")
7:15 – 7:30pm — Pizza, Drinks, Networking & close
7:30pm onwards — Casual drinks at State of Grace bar (1 min walk)
About Startmate
Startmate is Australia’s leading startup accelerator, backing exceptional founders to build globally ambitious companies. We run programs for founders at every stage - including students - and invest early to support founders long before they’re “obvious” successes.
About Scalare Partners
Scalare Partners supports early-stage startups with capital, community, and hands-on support across the founder journey, helping ambitious teams scale faster with the right foundations in place.