This program is for women who have an idea for a tech startup. The program covers all of the key steps required to test and launch your idea. You are ideally in the early stages of developing your business and you feel like you’re missing some key skills and knowledge to help you to get it to market. 

 You also do not have to have prior experience in order to apply. 

We welcome female founders from underserved communities including women who are diverse, based in regional communities, CALD, Women of Colour, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and/or returning to work.

We recognise and acknowledge the intersection of race and gender identities. Our program is offered to marginalised genders including women, women-identifying individuals, and non-binary and gender non-conforming people who are comfortable in a community space that centres on the education, mentoring and business support of women in the startup ecosystem.

Please note: Program scholarship positions are for NSW residents only. 

You can apply online with two simple steps. First register through our website. You will then be sent an email with the application form.

Application close dates are advised on the website and included in the application email.

Applications for our 2025 February intake are closing at AEDT 5 PM on Monday, 9 December 2024.

Once we have received your initial application you will be notified if you have been shortlisted. The top 50 applicants will be selected for the program and will be notified via email and/or phone.

Application outcomes will be notified during the second and third week of January 2025.

Thanks to the support of the NSW Government, 73% of the program participation fee has been subsidised. There are 50 scholarships available for the cohort.

If your application is successful you will be offered a part scholarship of $723+GST ($2,723+GST).

Criteria for judging are based on the following:

• You self-identify as a woman or you are a non-binary and gender non-conforming individual who is comfortable in a community space that centres on the education, mentoring and business support of women in the startup ecosystem
• You have an idea for a startup, or have already started building one (see definition of startup in our FAQs)
• Your connection to the idea and why you are the best person to build it
• Clarity in the application (how well you can articulate your idea)
   

The judging panel consider the criteria outlined before along with the additional information provided by the applicant via the application form to determine whether the application is successful. This assessment is performed case by case.

This program is proudly supported by the NSW Government, therefore, scholarships are offered to NSW-based founders only. Regrettably, this means that if you're not based in NSW, we will not be able to offer you a spot in this program. If you have any questions, please contact one of our team members at [email protected].

We will spend time reviewing each application before deciding on the final participants to ensure those selected will benefit the most out of the program. 

Places are limited so if your application is not successful for this round we will encourage you to reapply for the next intake. We want to see you succeed so will also refer you to other programs and communities that can support your stage of business.

Yes, you definitely can. For this, there is a question in the application form where you will need to provide your business partner's name and contact details. Please consider that if you're applying with your business partner or co-founder, it means that each of you would like to take the program, therefore, each of you would need to pay the program fee separately.

If this is not suitable for you, we also suggest one of you apply and take the program to then, pass on your learning to your co-founder. In this case, you don't need to write any details about your business partner in the application form.

This program is for permanent residents and Australian citizens. If you're a visa holder, we won't be able to offer you a spot in this program.

A startup is a company in the initial stages of bringing technology and innovative products or services to market in a new way.

This includes small businesses selling products or services online, an app to make people’s lives easier, a platform to help businesses be more efficient, and many others. The beauty of startups is that there are infinite possibilities to innovate and bring solutions to our communities.

We encourage startups in both technology and innovation to apply. We are looking for scalable startup ideas, i.e. a business model that can increase revenue, without a direct increase in expenditure.

Our 8-week program supports women in the early stages of developing a startup idea. Typically, you will have:

• A startup idea unformed and looking to up-skill through expert teachings and mentor assistance
• A startup idea formed and looking to create a business product from the idea during the program with feedback from mentors
• A startup idea fully formed and some research conducted with a focus on connection to mentors and industry experts
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in the market but not yet commercialised or reached product market fit

Yes, we will not disclose your application details to any unauthorised parties or sources. We ensure confidentiality of the information with the data that you provide to us via the application form.

If you are concerned about your startup idea IP, you don't need to share with us anything you wouldn't share in a public forum.

The 2025 February TRW Female Founder Startup program starts on Monday, 3 February 2025 and runs for 8 weeks until Monday, 31 March 2025.

If the start or end date is moved, we will update communications and let you know as soon as possible.

The program is an 8-week hybrid program. Week 1 will be conducted as a face-to-face session out of Sydney Startup Hub and will be live-streamed for our regional founders. Weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be held virtually with 1.5 contact hours required each week.

You will have a facilitator and mentors to support and assist you with your questions and to implement your learnings. Our activities and exercises are specifically designed to improve your success rate, when it comes to building sustainable technology products and services.

You will have also access to office hours sessions every week with mentors and experts.

The online modules have been created by industry experts in startups, UX design, software development, product strategy and investment. We’ll provide you with templates, resources, and activities to help you develop your idea, tech product or service.

In general, during the course of the program, you will get access to:

• Weekly online workshops (from 12.30 PM to 2 PM on Mondays)
• E-learning modules
• Weekly small group office hours with experts and mentors
• Additional Lunch & Learns or Ask Me Anything with special guests
• Bonus Hack The Activities sessions with our Entrepreneur In Residence
• Community platform: TRW Female Founder Connect
• A supportive community of female founders

Yes. Tech Ready Women’s programs are designed for non-tech female founders. There will be unfamiliar terms, but the mentors and experts are there to explain any concepts you may have questions about.

We have a payment plan option available:

• 2x monthly instalment payment plan (x2 $361.50+GST) = $723+GST

The first invoice will be paid before the program starts.

The Payment plan is approved based on a review of your personal case.

If a company purchases the course, that company can claim the GST. The course is tax-deductible, however please seek advice from your accountant.

Typically, there is a 2-hour digital e-learning & activities per module delivered by our experts and 1.5 hours of live workshops per week. The first three weeks will require more time than most due to the activities set. We recommend you set aside at least 4-5 hours per week outside of the weekly workshops to implement the activities and attend office hours.

We want you to maximise as much time with the mentors as possible so all of the learning content is offered via our e-learning platform. This means you will have the opportunity to do pre-work before the workshops, giving you time to implement some of the learnings, and gain valuable feedback from our mentors. The content is taught via video so be sure to take notes of any questions so the facilitators and mentors can answer them on the weekly online workshops.

You get 1.5 hours per week with mentors during the weekly online workshops. Each online session has approximately 10 mentors. 

Also, you will get access to additional sessions as small group office hours every week and Ask Me Anything sessions with experts and mentors.

Program participants can contact mentors via our community platform that you will get access to if you have any questions about course content.

Office hours are held in small groups of 4 founders for a total of 60 minutes with one of your mentors. These sessions are a great opportunity for founders to ask questions about their startups and the content of the program, as well as connect with other founders in small settings.

Each week, you will get access to the calendar of office hours available with our mentors for you to book.

Yes, you can. If you would like a personalised experience during your office hours, one-on-one 60-minute office hours are available on-demand at a subsidised extra cost of $180/session (valued at $280).

All of our experts have a minimum of 5 years of experience but mostly 10 to 20 years of experience in UX design, product management, technology and entrepreneurship. Please speak to one of our team for a list of who will be teaching your program.

Workshops will be held online through Zoom. You will receive calendar invites with dial-in details to Zoom prior to your workshop.

Workshop sessions are held on Mondays (or Tuesdays if the date falls on a public holiday). 

Every online workshop starts at 12:30 PM AEDT sharp so you are required to log in to the Zoom room by 12:25 PM AEDT. You will be queued in a waiting room and let in at 12:30 PM. The workshops run for 1.5 hours and will finish at 2 PM AEDT.

The calendar of weekly workshops is available on our website.