Aussie startups shine at 500 Startups’ demo day

Three Australian startups from the Sydney-based seed funding program Startmate stood out at 500 Startups’ demo day for its ninth batch.

Venturebeat selected over-50s online dating service Stitch, photo organiser and enhancer Lumific, and crowdsourced sport predictions service SportHold as three of the five startups that caught the publication’s eye at the demo day.

Stitch was co-founded by Andrew Dowling, who is one of the Startmate program mentors, while both SportHold and Lumific were both took part in Startmate’s 2014 program.

The mentor-driven program offers $50,000 in investment in exchange for a 7.5% stake and access to countless networks and mentors.

Startmate co-founder Niki Scevak was not surprised they were making an impression.

“This is all fantastic evidence that Australia is producing great tech founders,” he says.

Scevak played down Startmate’s influence, crediting the Australian startup ecosystem more broadly, saying Australia and its startups continue to punch above its weight.

“5 startups that caught our eye from 500 Startups’ Batch 9” – 3/5 are Aussie & from @startmate. Truly great program. https://t.co/wGqabRmruR

— Mike Cannon-Brookes (@mcannonbrookes) July 30, 2014

In addition to highlighting three Australian startups, Venturebeat went even further, suggesting in a separate article that Dropbox should look at acquiring Lumific.

“I sure hope file-sharing company Dropbox sent someone down to 500 Startups’ demo day today because they should really talk to a nifty little startup called Lumific,” the article says.

“…Lumific would actually make for a perfect addition to the way Dropbox’s users interact with the photos they store in their Dropbox accounts, which the company has been increasingly refining,

“And Dropbox should really buy it.”

Scevak chuckles at the suggestion, noting it’s not Startmate’s preferred outcome.

“It probably does make sense but we don’t want them to sell,” he says.

“The core value of Startmate is to try and create something really big and durable that will last a really long period of time.

“Sure some exit early in their lives, and people fail lots of the time, but the passion we have at Startmate is for playing the long game.”

Applications are now open for Startmate’s 2015 intake.