Application for Swinburne Elevate Program

Applications close at 11.59pm AEST on 8 July 2026.

Fields marked with an * are mandatory.

A little bit about you (and your team)

We are seeking startups with market-ready products or services, led by founders eager to scale rapidly and preparing for a pre-seed or seed-fundraising round. Eligible startups must qualify for funding from Swinburne Venture Limited, which includes: (1) startups founded by Swinburne students, staff, or alumni (not all founders need to be associated with Swinburne, but the founder with an association must hold 10 percent equity), (2) spinout companies leveraging Swinburne-generated intellectual property and (3) startups with strong research and development connections within Swinburne's research community.
Association with Swinburne
Please specify if you answer "other"
First name*
Last name*
Email address*
Phone number*
Which most closely describes your gender?
Which Swinburne school / area are you part of?
Please specify if you answer "other"
When will / did you graduate from Swinburne (if applicable)?
Provide the full names and email addresses of your co-founders who would be participating, along with their connections to Swinburne. If you are a sole founder, please answer "sole founder".*
Do you or any of your co-founders identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?
Do you or any of your co-founders have a disability?
Please specify if you answer "other"
How did you hear about this program?
Please specify if you answer "other"
Have you watched the recording or attended the Info Session? This is required before requesting a meeting to discuss your application.
Please specify if you answer "other"

About your startup

What is the name of your startup?*
What problem is your startup solving, and for whom? Describe the pain point or opportunity and your target customers. *
What is your solution, and what makes it unique? Explain your product, service, or approach, and why it stands out from existing alternatives.*
Why is your team the right one to solve this problem? Highlight relevant experience, skills, and commitment of the founders.*
What is your vision for growth and scalability over the next 12–24 months? Describe your goals, potential impact, and how program support could accelerate your progress.*
Does your startup have an online presence (e.g. website or socials)? If yes, please list them.
What stage is your startup currently in?
Please specify if you answer "other"
Is your business established and operating as a legal entity?*
Please provide your ABN (if available).
Does your startup rely on IP developed at Swinburne? If yes, please elaborate on the IP status and if it has been managed by our IP team and assigned to your startup. Please include if an invention disclosure has been lodged with our IP team and if any patents or other IP protections are in place.
Please enter your answer*
For all startups (regardless of IP origin), please indicate whether any patents or trademarks have been filed or acquired for your IP. Please provide details on the status, type (patent or trademark) and scope of these protections.
Please enter your answer.*
Does your startup have any current or planned ties to a research group at Swinburne? Specifically, do you have plans to perform paid research at Swinburne using the funding we provide or funding from your next fundraising round? If yes, please provide details about the researchers, research groups or research capabilities you are currently working with or intend to work with.
Please enter your answer.*
Have you received any funding for your startup (e.g. equity funding, grant funding, R&D tax incentive, etc.)? *
Please list the dates of your key milestones (e.g. 1 March 2025: completed customer survey, 14 March 2025; launched social media accounts, 6 June 2025: developed MVP, 10 June 2025: received seed funding, etc.)
Please enter your answer.*
Do you have any employees (other than the co-founders)?
Please specify if you answer "other"
Do you consider your startup or idea to be a social enterprise? A social enterprise seeks to generate positive social or environmental impact, whether nonprofit or for-profit.
Have you completed a startup program before or something similar with the same startup (pre-accelerator, accelerator, hackathon, etc.)?*
Have you or any of your co-founders completed a startup program or worked on or in a startup with a different idea (e.g. founder, pre-accelerator, accelerator, hackathon etc.)?*
Why do you want to join the program? Please describe (in 250 words maximum) how you believe this can support your startup's growth and development, including specific resources, mentorship or opportunities you hope to leverage and if you're not affiliated with Swinburne, which parts of Swinburne's ecosystem appeal to you?*

About your pitch video

Please record a 3-minute video including the following:
1. Introduce yourself and your team.
2. Describe the problem your startup is addressing.
3. Present your solution and explain how it works.
4. Highlight the traction your business has so far
5. Explain what you hope to gain from participating in our program.
We recommend filming your video horizontally and uploading it to Vimeo or YouTube. Please set it as public for us to download.
Please provide your pitch video URL.*
Please provide your pitch deck URL (set to public for us to download).*
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