Plus Eight, a Perth-based accelerator, has announced the participants for its first cohort.
A NASA jet propulsion lab intern, a trans-cranial direct current stimulation researcher and medical doctor, and a former F1 racing engineer are among the founders of the six companies accepted into Perth’s first cohort of the Plus Eight Accelerator Program. The aim is to provide entrepreneurs access to the global connections and dedicated support of partners Spacecubed, Hawaiian, Seven West Media, Telstra and muru-D.
Each team will receive: up to $40,000 seed funding on a convertible SAFE note and six months of resident desk space at FLUX, the latest co-working space provided by Spacecubed – Perth’s largest entrepreneurial community supporter. The program is a six month undertaking which includes access to world class business networks, expert mentorship, professional development and an international trip. All designed to accelerate WA tech companies to compete globally.
The six successful startups and scale-ups in the first cohort of the Plus Eight Accelerator Program are:
Cribber – a remote site employee engagement application currently on trial with Chevron and Light Source Energy in the United Kingdom.
Ovass – a cloud based geospatial platform allowing businesses & enterprises to get actionable insight from aerial imagery
HUMM Technologies – a neurotechnology company harnessing breakthrough research in AI and neuroscience to expand human capabilities and drive progress in society.
Farmsave – the world’s first cross-border agricultural brokering platform, servicing farmers sourcing broadacre agricultural chemicals.
FeedMee – a restaurant discovery app, partnered with UberEats and Deliveroo, with the aim of donating a meal to help someone in need for every 5th meal ordered.
QuizJam – a free multi-player trivia game, recently voted the world’s number one trivia app.
Photo credit: Josh Fernandes Photography, from [L] to [R] 1st row: Carolina Serrat Mora, Mike Watson, Brenda Lai, Chris Norman, Glenn Morton, Joel Steel, Tim Brewer, Nesh Sooriyan 2nd row: Ahmud Auleear, Ravi Nichani, Dave Newman, Jasmin Ward, Hans Butter, Blade Shaw, Aaron Dark 3rd row: Tim Fiori, Iain McIntyre, Tyler Spooner and Dirk Butter
The program received applications from Australia and internationally.According to Tim Brewer, Plus Eight Accelerator Entrepreneur-in-Residence
“The Plus Eight program is geared to help startups accelerate growth domestically and globally. We hope that this diverse group of founders and their teams will go on to become role models, inspiring and enabling others to take their part in the thriving innovation culture of Western Australia, a critical part of our economic future. ”
Julie Trell, Head of muru-D, said:
“The muru-D team is thrilled to be working with Spacecubed, Seven West Media, Hawaiian and the talented staff leading the first Perth cohort. The companies in this group are tackling an exciting range of challenges – from supporting farmers, to expanding human capabilities, engaging employees,and providing meals to those in need. muru-D is delighted to be a part of the growing startup ecosystem across Australia, and I look forward to seeing what these amazing teams will achieve throughout the duration of the program.”
