VC Catalyst

VC Catalyst

An immersive executive education program for active investors to gain the best practice tools and skills to make successful early-stage high growth venture capital investments.

Program overview

Access Australia’s most innovative entrepreneurial network and supercharge your investment portfolio with the skills, tools and knowledge to invest in high- growth, early-stage startups.

Led and delivered by world-class local and international VC experts, you will access Australia’s most innovative and diverse entrepreneurial network.

Alongside an online intensive, you’ll receive 6 months 1-on-1 mentoring and support, and continued learning through in-person events and bespoke masterclasses.

We welcome experienced angel, corporate venture, family office, and investment professionals to express their interest in the program.


Who is it for?

We are primarily seeking participants with the capacity to invest and who possess the ability to make a sizeable impact on our startup ecosystems. Past participants have included:

  • Family office investment managers
  • Corporate venturing team members
  • Emerging and future venture fund managers
  • Founders turned funders
  • Current and potential angel investors.

Program details

10-day online program, delivered in two 5-day sprints, Demo Day and ongoing mentoring

Program intensive dates for 2025 will be announced soon

Delivered by Wade Institute
of Entrepreneurship,
Parkville, VIC

$12,590pp (+GST)

Questions?

Enquire with Midsy

Andrew ‘Midsy’ Middleton
Program Director

Program structure

Intensive

Brings together industry practitioners and academics to deliver immersive content.

Demo Day

An opportunity to put your learnings into action and get front row access to exciting startups.

1-on-1 Mentoring

Your mentors will help you over six months as you seek to implement what you have learned.

Online and in-person

Flexibility and unlimited playback designed to facilitate connection and accelerate learning.

Program benefits

  • Discover how to manage a portfolio of investments
  • Gain insights and tools to focus investment in your own interest areas
  • Explore the importance of stage-appropriate due diligence in the investment process
  • Stay connected to participants and speakers with exclusive alumni events
  • Learn the playbook for angel and venture capital investing from world-renowned investors and academics
  • Understand how to build deal flow through selection, evaluation and follow-on analysis using your own data-backed investment thesis and philosophy
  • Network with some of the region’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, alongside angels and venture capitalists from around the world
  • Enjoy support from Wade Institute through lifelong networks and ongoing professional development

Program partner

LaunchVic is Victoria’s startup agency. Established by the Victorian Government in 2016 as an independent agency responsible for developing Victoria’s startup ecosystem.

Their investment into our program is improving the local investor education landscape and supporting the creation of the next generation of startup Angel and Venture Capital investors.

Program schedule

1

10-day online intensive delivered in two sprints, each across 5 half days

2

Six months of mentoring
Mentors are on hand to provide guidance over 6-months post-program, to help you implement your learnings

3

Demo Day
Program alumni pitch session

4

Ongoing professional development and events

Program facilitators

Rachael Neumann

Founder, Flying Fox Ventures

Rachael is a former Chair of the Board for StartupAus, Partner in Startmate and was a founding Board member of LaunchVic. In her previous role as Head of Startups ANZ at Amazon Web Services, she was charged with growing out the market, driving quantity and quality of startups in ANZ. Additionally, Rachael is a strategic advisor and investor to a number of founders and their early-stage companies. She shares her passion for early-stage investing as co-creator and Lead Facilitator for VC Catalyst and Founder of Flying Fox Ventures.

Colin McLeod

Professor and Executive Director, Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre

Colin is a Professor at the Melbourne Business School and was Academic Director of the Master of Entrepreneurship from 2015-18. He is currently a Director/Investor/Co-founder of six early stage companies in retail technology, online training, wireless technology, employee management, aged care and wearable biotechnology and co-created the VC Catalyst curriculum with Rachael Neumann.

Pedram Mokrian

Adjunct Professor, Stanford University

A founding faculty member of Stanford’s VC Unlocked program, former Principal at Mayfield Fund and instructor at UC Berkley’s Haas School of Business, Pedram brings extensive VC knowledge and experience to the Wade Institute. Whether early-stage startups, Fortune 50 companies or the World Bank, Pedram shares his experience from working with hundreds of business leaders and entrepreneurs across five continents.


Program speakers


Alumni stories

Scholarships

Up to full fee remission for eligible VC Catalyst participants

Thanks to the generous support of LaunchVic, we are pleased to offer both the Diversity Scholarship and the AgTech Scholarship to a limited number of eligible participants each year.

LaunchVic provides further support to VC Catalyst participants, with a 20% fee reduction for eligible Victorian investors.

Diversity Scholarship

The VC Catalyst Diversity Scholarship is for investment-ready Victorians who will utilise their skills and learnings from VC Catalyst to promote and support a more diverse and inclusive startup and investment ecosystem in Victoria.

Potential recipients may elect to apply for the scholarship during the general VC Catalyst application process. Applicants must detail how they have contributed to a more diverse ecosystem in the past and how VC Catalyst will enable them to supercharge their impact in the future.

AgTech Scholarship

Three scholarships to study VC Catalyst valued at $15,000 each will be made available to sophisticated investors from the agricultural sector to increase their understanding of and awareness of early-stage investment in the Victorian startup sector.

Potential Scholarship recipients must submit a one-page Scholarship application outlining their background, interest in AgTech and approach to future investing. The Scholarships will be awarded by a panel consisting of one member of Wade Institute, one member of LaunchVic and one member of Agriculture Victoria.

Collaborators