Venture Catalyst Space is a globally competitive program which supports founders, entrepreneurs and startups, to develop and grow innovative or disruptive ideas in the space sector.
Delivered by the University of South Australia’s Innovation & Collaboration Centre and supported by the State Government's Space Innovation Fund, the program gives founders the support and tools they need to plan and successfully build a scalable and investment ready business.
The one-of-a-kind program delivers tailored support and guidance working with a global pool of expert advisors including former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy, the Australian Space Agency, Airbus, Nova Systems, Fleet, Myriota and the Smart Satellite CRC.
Participants will also receive one-to-one mentoring from the ICC's three Entrepreneurs in Residence; Kirk Drage and his company LeapSheep; former Techstars Adelaide Managing Director and Co-Founder of Gold Systems, Terry Gold; and serial entrepreneur and founder of Regency Food Services, Regency Staffing and Zen Energy, Richard Turner.
With South Australia home to the Australian Space Agency and a bustling and thriving startup community, especially within the space and defense sectors, apply now and join our growing community of likeminded startups whose shared experience of successes and failures, benefits everyone.
About the ICC
The Innovation & Collaboration Centre is the University of South Australia’s startup incubator. The ICC engages with the community through the delivery of community events, workshops and programs which draw on the research and professional expertise of UniSA and our partners, to support the generation of new startrups and the growth of existing companies.
The Innovation & Collaboration Centre is part of the Supporting Innovation in South Australia (SISA) pilot program to attract promising overseas seed-stage entrepreneurs to develop their concepts in South Australia. This means temporary visas will be issued to those that meet all the Department of Home Affairs’ criteria and requirements. If you are building a company using space technologies or creating tech, services or products for the space industry, we want to hear from you.
A series of capability workshops designed for founders (two per month).
One-on-one mentoring and group sessions.
Workspace in a modern co-working environment including access to meeting spaces, kitchen and Wi-Fi at the ICC in UniSA’s new $247m Cancer Research Institute and the regional ICC.
A stipend of $10,000 per company. Relocation grants available for eligible companies.
Access to a pool of global expert advisers from the space industry.
The opportunity to pitch for a sponsored overseas tour to the United States or Europe to network with relevant space industry primes, investors and other space startups.
For example:
The term 'space' no longer means the same as it did five years ago.
In the past, space exploration was just that, going out and exploring the galaxy. In 2020, more companies are contributing to the space economy than ever but utilizing existing space technology to solve real-world problems.
These new companies may not appear to be connected to the traditional space industry as they may only use space signals and data in their own products, typically concerning satellite communications, satellite television, geospatial products and location-based services, but this information can benefit many different industries (examples above).
There are also other areas becoming more accessible to smaller companies such as sending items into space for testing, space manufacturing, asteriod mining and even innovative ideas on how to supply fuel to space missions while in space to lengthen their trip.
Space companies can therefore be those who utilise space data, or those who utilise existing space technology to solve a problem on earth - both contribute to the space industry.
Venture Catalyst Space alumni, Lux launch their first atmospheric balloon with payload provided by another alumni, ResearchSat late 2019.
| Applications open |
Applications are now open |
| Applications close |
Australian applicants 9:00am 23 April 2020 International applicants 9:00am 23 March 2020* |
| Notification of application outcome |
Early June 2020 |
| Program starts |
29 June 2020 |
| Program ends |
18 December 2020 |
*International applicants are strongly advised to make their submission as soon as possible to ensure adequate time to apply for, and process, visas.
Venture Catalyst Space Startups during their 2019 sponsored US trip to SpaceX in California.
Local, national and international startups have participated in the Venture Catalyst Space program over the last two years. From South Australia, New South Wales, Canada and India, many companies who have completed the program have grown, hired more staff, raised significant capital and ticked off goals faster with the support and network of the University. Companies such as Ping Services (South Australia), Tekuma (New South Wales) and Lux Aerobot (Canada). Read more about these companies.
This program is for startups of all stages, from those with a simple but scalable idea to those with early customers. The program is free, taking no equity, to simply provide the support you need at the stage you are specifically at.
"As the founder and owner of an established business, I had optimistic but measured expectations for the value I’d glean from a startup program. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at the quality and breadth of support which has really helped us apply our resources more productively and I believe boosted our chances of startup success. The program identifies a number of processes and models for logically approaching our startup rather than leaving it to chance."
Matthew Stead
CEO, Ping Services
"We are fast learning what a rollercoaster journey building a startup can be. The program has provided us with amazingly structured support that has helped us make sense of the chaos and enabled us to push forward with more confidence."
Bez Mohammadi & Kosta Canatselis
Co-Founders, Wright Technologies
"I’m unbelievingly passionate about growing an industry cantered on microgravity research in space. The commercial realities of creating a sustainable business model seems like a nebulous program too early to tackle. The program has really opened my mind to the approaches I can use to address that risk."
Ravi Duggineni
Founder, ResearchSat
"We have the technical skills to make the product, but we were lacking in the business skills. So we wanted to go into an incubator program that would give us that, which is what this program did."
Vik Minhas
Chief Scientific Officer, ResearchSat
"We are able to come in and speak with like-minded individuals, work with other people who are in relevant fields and industries and really bounce ideas off each other."
Kosta Canatselis
Co-Founder, Wright Technologies
"If you have a space related product then this program is perfect."
Michael Griffin
Co-Founder, Tekuma
Applications for 2020 are now open.
Open information pack below to find out more detailed information about the process.
Applications from within Australia need to be submitted by 9:00am, 20 April 2020. International applications need to be submitted by 9:00am, 23 March however all international applicants are strongly advised to make their submission as soon as possible to ensure adequate time to apply for, and process, visas.
If shortlisted, you are likely to be asked to attend a short (45 min) informal interview to expand on your idea and allow the Innovation & Collaboration Centre (ICC) to meet the key members of your team.
You will be contacted in early June 2020.
A meet and greet will be planned prior to the program starting. All successful applications, program leaders and expert advisors will be invited. If successful applications wish to visit the ICC before the meet and greet, we will arrange this at your request.
The founder of the business must be based in South Australia and committed to establishing the business here. If you are based interstate or overseas, there is a stipend and relocation grants available to those eligible.
The stipend of $10,000 can be used for any purpose you choose including towards relocation. Outside of this, there are relocation grants available to eligible companies. The SISA visa is also available. For more information, visit the SISA webpage.
If you application for Venture Catalyst Space is successful, you will be awarded a $10,000 stipend. We will pay 50% to you when you begin the program and the final 50% once we have assessed whether you have met the terms of your contract.
Email us your enquiry at venturecatalyst@unisa.edu.au
We expect you to commit at least 50% of your time to working on the business concept, work from the ICC in Adelaide, and attend all of the workshops and mentoring sessions that are arranged for you. The ICC will support you at all stages of this process.
There are no restrictions; you may use the stipend however you see fit.
This program is 100% equity free. You retain any and all of your equity as a participant of this program.
As mentioned above, the ICC is part of the Supporting Innovation in South Australia (SISA) pilot program that will issue temporary visas to those that meet all the Department of Home Affairs’ criteria and requirements. Please visit the SISA webpage for more information and to apply. As mentioned above, there are also relocation grants available for eligible companies.
If you have any further questions, please email VentureCatalyst@unisa.edu.au
