After an intensive first phase of masterclasses, mentoring and one-on-one coaching, nine startups have progressed into Phase Two of our milestone 10th Plus Eight Accelerator cohort.
Over the next 11 weeks, these founders will continue working through the program with access to weekly masterclasses, Entrepreneur in Residence sessions and ongoing mentorship, alongside two major milestones: an international immersion trip to San Francisco and Plus Eight Demo Night in November.
A new funding partner, Spinifex Foundation, brings the Investment Pool to $1M
At the start of the year, we announced $700,000 in seed funding available to this cohort. We're excited to share that this figure has grown, with the addition of a new funding partner, Spinifex Foundation, bringing the combined seed funding pool to $1,000,000.
Thank you to Spinifex for joining us, and to our continued partners, the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification, BetterLabs, Kaizen West, CFC Group, Hawaiian, Entrepreneur Trainer Andy Ford, DFK Gooding Partners, Insight Advisory Group, and K&L Gates, whose ongoing support makes this program possible.
Meet the Phase Two cohort
Romi | Founder: Alice Abba
Romi is a real-life social platform for women built around hiking, helping women connect in person through shared outdoor experiences and build meaningful, lasting friendships.
“Being part of the Plus Eight cohort has pushed Romi's pitch, model and growth story further in such a short time. And what's exciting me most about Phase Two is the upcoming San Francisco trip; the global relationships and the blue sky thinking the trip will unlock - as well as our San Francisco/Bay Area launch for Romi. And of course, the countdown to Demo Night is well and truly on and I can't wait to see what's possible by then,” Alice shared.
TradieScribe | Founders: Kyan Jones, Kyle De Souza and Daniel Hardej
TradieScribe is a voice-first AI platform that turns spoken job notes into professional reports, quotes and invoices within seconds, giving trades and construction businesses more time back on site.
RecruitMate AI | Founders: Zad Hossain, Jigar Mistry and Shreya Prajapati
RecruitMate AI is an AI-powered Recruitment Operating System that automates sourcing, screening and business development, freeing up recruiters to focus on relationships and placements.
Momentify | Founder: Imogen Blow
Momentify is AI culling and delivery software for event content creators. One wedding produces 500+ clips and hours of sorting before anything reaches the client. Momentify cuts that to minutes.
“Plus Eight has guided me into a pivot into a $500M market. Marcus knows exactly when to push and when to support, and that balance has let me scale beyond what I thought was possible”
“I'm really excited for the mentorship from all the partners, and to go to San Fran with such an epic group of founders. Knowing I'll be part of the Plus Eight fam in many more years to come is reassuring,” Imogen shared.
TRUXE | Founders: Srilekha Mucharla and Nishanth Tedla
TRUXE is a logistics optimisation platform using intelligent load planning and 3D visualisation to help transport and supply chain businesses maximise vehicle and container utilisation.
OreNova Engineering | Founder: Brad Skajko
OreNova is transforming mineral processing engineering through automation, giving mining operators faster access to high-quality design and optimisation services.
“Plus Eight's support in driving growth and product development has been invaluable through Phase One. We're excited to carry that momentum into Phase Two, building toward San Francisco and OreNova's North America tour,” Brad shared.
Ocean Hex | Founders: Oscar Backhouse and Jurgen Valckenaere
Ocean Hex is a nature-tech startup transforming coastal infrastructure into regenerative environmental assets through habitat restoration hardware and autonomous monitoring systems.
Semester Student Planner | Founders: Nathan Marr and Joe Hilton
Semester Student Planner partners with universities and colleges across Australia, the UK and the US to improve student retention, now expanding into an AI-powered personal development platform.
CaseMate | Founder: Drishti Bindra
CaseMate is a digital legal companion helping everyday people navigate court forms and legal processes with step-by-step support, improving access to justice for self-represented individuals.
Looking forward, in October, this cohort will travel to San Francisco for an international immersion trip designed to expose them to global markets, capital and networks.
The itinerary includes meetings with Austrade, Silicon Valley Bank and Plug & Play, connecting founders directly with the people and institutions shaping how Australian startups scale internationally.
The program will culminate at Plus Eight Demo Night on Tuesday, 10 November at Regal Theatre, Subiaco where the cohort will pitch on stage to a room of investors, founders and industry leaders.
Demo Night sells out every year, with 400+ people registering to see our founders pitch. Tickets aren't live yet, but register your interest now to be the first to know when they open, and avoid missing out. Express your interest in attending here!