People's Choice Awards

 

In December we went out to the public to nominate individuals who have made a difference in the startup ecosystem in 2021.

A panel of independent experts whittled down 83 incredible submissions from the public to a shortlist of 13 finalists, which was then put to a public vote closing on December 20.

The winners will be announced at an invite-only awards ceremony at Government House in February 2022.

Now, it's time for you to decide the winner.

 

VOTE NOW

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Ecosystem Hero of the Year

The Ecosystem Hero of the Year award celebrates the people behind the scenes of startup success. This one's for the community builders and master connectors who deserve their moment in the sun. 

 

Judy Anderson

CEO, Startup Victoria

Judy runs Startup Victoria, Australia’s largest network for entrepreneurs, where she organises Australia’s largest startup events and provides world-class founder memberships.

 

Rohit Bhargava

Startup BDM, AWS; Host of Startup Playbook Podcast

Rohit is a podcaster, connector and ecosystem builder. For the last 5.5 years he has been helping to support the ecosystem through his podcast, The Startup Playbook Podcast.

 

Cameron Ensor

Student Fellowship Associate, Startmate

Cam is helping to grow the startup ecosystem by actively promoting this as THE desirable career choice for talented and motivated university students.

 

Cristabel Gekas

Women Fellowship Associate, Startmate

Cristabel runs the Startmate Women's Fellowship, a two month program helping ambitious women to kickstart their careers in technology.

 

Aiman Hamdouna

Co-Founder & CEO, Hatch Quarter

Hatch Quarter is a global innovation hub harnessing the value of diversity to bridge the gap between technology, industry and humans.

 

Jonathan Jeffries

Co-Founder, Think&Grow

JJ created the Re-Trained platform to help connect humans displaced during the pandemic. The platform has helped 171 people re-enter the workforce and secure employment in the Victorian startup ecosystem.

 

Ilena Young

CEO, Startup Shakeup (and Former Chair)

Ilena is a champion of our regional startup ecosystem having launched Startup Shakeup across North East Victoria and supported scores of regional founders.

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Investor of the Year

Victoria's investor community is famous for supporting startups with not just capital, but the networks and know-how they need to win.

The Investor of the Year category recognises individuals who have been crucial to shaping Victoria's VC landscape this year

 

Aprill & Matt Allen

Co-Founders, Tractor Ventures

Tractor Ventures provides a flexible, revenue based financing alternative for founders who want to lead profitable technology companies.

 

Chelsea Newell

CO-CEO, Scale Investors

Chelsea leads Scale Investors, Australia's first and only network of angel investors who invest in exceptional female founders.

 

Rachael Neumann

Founder, Flying Fox

Rachael is passionate about helping companies scale and increase their impact through differentiated customer experiences and new product development.

 

Nicole Small

Investment Director, Rampersand

Nicole works with visionary early-stage founders addressing emerging problems for individuals, companies and society.

 

Hugh Stephens

Founder & General Partner, Galileo V

Galileo's mission is to enable first time emerging founders. After three years of raising, Galileo launched its inaugural $10m fund in 2020.

 

Rachel Yang

Partner, Giant Leap Ventures

Rachel backs exceptional, rapidly scalable businesses that blend financial returns with deep social and environmental impact.