LaunchVic has unveiled its new 30X30 program which aims to help 30 Victorian scale-up companies reach unicorn status by 2030.
The fully subsidised leadership program, designed by the state’s start-up agency, is tailored to support scale-up founders and help them address some of the biggest pain points to a scale-up’s growth such as HR, operations and finance functions.
LaunchVic Chair Leigh Jasper said upskilling senior leaders in these areas would be crucial in helping Victoria’s best scale-ups reach their full potential as unicorns (a valuation of more than $1 billion).
“From experience with the Aconex journey, I know that later stage founders face significant challenges scaling up their businesses. Access to LaunchVic’s new 30X30 program is exactly what’s needed at this stage” Jasper said. “By providing Victoria’s best scale-ups with leadership training that helps streamline day-to-day operations, founders can free up time to focus on key strategic priorities.
“So far, Victoria has seen 18 scale-ups reach unicorn status, including A Cloud Guru, CultureAmp, MessageMedia, Airwallex and Afterpay,” Jasper added. “I’m looking forward to seeing more incredible businesses follow in their footsteps after participating in the 30X30 program.”
LaunchVic GM of Startups, Peter Goldsworthy, added that the program would also leverage LaunchVic’s networks as Victoria’s start-up agency.
“Having sat in the hot seat as a founder of a scale-up, I understand the feeling of building the car while driving it,” Goldsworthy said. “Some of the biggest challenges came once we crossed the $1 million in monthly revenue and raised more capital. Keeping the back-office functions up to the speed of commercial demands is the ultimate balancing act. By leveraging LaunchVic’s networks and providing support to the founders’ executive team, we can help these founders navigate the road towards unicorn status.”
Eligible scale-ups must have either 50 full-time employees, a valuation between $AU30 million-$200 million, a monthly revenue of at least AU$1 million per month or have raised a single venture capital round in excess of $5 million. Three four-month programs will run between 2022 and 2024, with the first cohort commencing in May this year.
