Victorian startups will be recognised for their achievements in the inaugural Governor of Victoria Startup Awards.
Initiated by the Andrews Labor Government, the awards celebrate the outstanding contribution to the fast-growing sector.
Victoria's startup ecosystem value has grown by more than $3 billion in the past 12
months to $10.5 billion. The valuation in 2018 was $2.2 billion.
The awards are supported by the Hon Linda Dessau AC, Governor of Victoria, and will be presented at Government House early next year with winners to be named in five categories:
- Best Newcomer for firms less than three years old
- Startup of the Year for firms less than 10 years old
- Scaleup of the Year for firms that have had a minimum Series A in the last four years;
- Investor of the Year as nominated by the founder community
- Ecosystem Hero of the Year - featuring a People's Choice and Experts' Choice.
The awards for Best Newcomer, Startup of the Year and Scaleup of the Year categories will be selected from a shortlist of the top 30 Victorian startups based on criteria that includes money raised, age of firm and job creation or number of employees.
This data will come from LaunchVic's startup database findingstartups.launchvic.org.
Nominations for the Investor of the Year and Ecosystem Hero of the Year categories are being sought from the startup community, which will then be put to a public vote.
The Ecosystem Hero award celebrates the people behind the scenes of startup success, and the Investor of the Year award recognises individuals supporting startups with not just capital, but the networks and know-how they need to grow.
To find out more about the Governor of Victoria Startup Awards and to nominate go to launchvic.org/governor-startup-awards.
As stated by Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford
"We're backing Victoria's startup sector to keep delivering outstanding results for the state - driving economic growth and creating new jobs."
"These awards will acknowledge the Victorian founders, investors and community builders who are making great things happen across our startup ecosystem and we look forward to receiving many nominations from the sector."
