UQ Ventures harnesses QIC funding to combine early and later-stage accelerators ilab and Momentum

The merged program creates a two-stream accelerator for early and later-stage companies, aimed at maximising founder support, deepening venture capital (VC) engagement, and expanding the deal pipeline for Queensland innovation.

The announcement comes just over a year after UQ Ventures was selected as one of five accelerator-focused beneficiaries of the Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF).

Administered by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), the funds were designated for the UQ Ventures Momentum Accelerator helping founders to advance commercial strategies and growth through four tailored accelerators.

The first two of these - Digital and Software as a Service (SaaS), and Female Founders - have been completed, with a cohort announcement imminent for the third under the banner National Security and Dual Purpose.

The fourth accelerator envisaged under the QIC-managed funding is where the merger comes into play, oriented towards UQ alumni, students and Queensland founders.

To date the Momentum Accelerator program has been managed by Yazz Krishna, who previously co-founded digital customer experience solutions startup Five Faces which he successfully exited in 2021.

Krishna tells Business News Australia the Momentum Accelerator has been very commercially focused, often attracting founders who are either looking to raise capital or grow, either with proven commercial success or intellectual property (IP) with a defensible position.

"Our background is in sales and go-to-market, so it’s been a deep focus for these companies to have a commercial outcome as well as a venture capital experience," Krishna explains.

"From the first stream we have a company in the hospitality space called PEISO, and its founder Ivan Brewer who is based out of Townsville raised hundred of thousands during the course of the program. He's now going for his next sophisticated investor round which is imminent and promisingly led by a Queensland-based venture capital group.

"We had Frethan Technology which is a commerce platform connecting sourcing from China to quality delivery in Australia, and that raised over $500,000 over the course of the program. Then there's Exam Insights that’s doing 20 per cent growth and is focused on helping our grade-11s study in preparation for their annual exams."

From the Female Founders accelerator, Krishna highlights the success of multi-million-dollar cosmetics brand Fitcover - founded by former Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs lister Nova Ward - which "hit their growth stride" over the course of the program.

"We also had a patented electric vehicle fire suppression system called EV Power Pro that did their testing and got some global distribution agreements since, and that was pretty fantastic," he says.

"Then there's Nadu which does lightweight pharmaceuticals and topical creams to support masks for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), sleep apnoea and for surgical wear. They also hit its strides over the course of the program and is now looking into international export markets."

Krishna will be the entrepreneur-in-residence (EiR) across both streams of the ilab x Momentum Accelerator, alongside others to be announced, while ilab manager Tyson Jennings will lead the combined accelerator as program manager.

"Together we bring a dual-lens approach: operations excellence and founder-first venture building," says Krishna.

"What you find in the startup world is there's a lot of cross pollination between companies that have been there before and companies that haven’t."

Jennings says ilab has reached new heights over the past 18 months, supporting bold founders, backing breakthrough ideas, and driving real impact.

"Startups like Flashback have redefined what early-stage innovation can look like, Blunge is now taking on global markets with their recent trip to Hong Kong, and we're thrilled to see follow-on investment flowing into Xplainable and Recovery Metrics," he says.

"This momentum has set the stage for something even bigger, bringing together the ilab and Momentum cohorts into one super cohort, uniting the best of both worlds to drive the next generation of standout startups."

Krishna says the first stream, including a $15,000 investment from UniQuest for each venture, will focus on early-stage activities with all the relevant training and events with specialist speakers, helping founders get their minimum viable products (MVPs), mentors and legal structure right.

"Then we have the later stream which is going to be focused on product-market fit, customer acquisition strategy, things like this, but there's an overlap between them in terms of the education and preparing for capital raising," he explains.

"We have that model of having the two streams of programming mixed into the one program where the founders will be together in the first half collaborating, and then break off into their streams in the later half and have a different goal in mind for each stream.

"For the later stage there’s a lot more engagement from actual venture capital organisations coming in to review the companies, and angel groups. A lot more of the sophisticated investor connect will be on the Momentum side of the program."

Krishna says that fundamentally ilab will be run with the same concept as a 15-week program culminating in a pitch night, but instead of just the pitch night UQ Ventures will make a splash with a new festival.

"To cap off the cohort, we’re launching a new large-scale event - ScaleUp Festival, a one-day founder showcase and celebration of innovation, entrepreneurs, industry and investors at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

"The aim is for the festival to be Queensland’s biggest public celebration of startup talent, and a platform for national visibility. We have exclusive sponsorship opportunities for industry and partners alike to be part of a festival this large."