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APPLICATIONS OPEN · CLOSE 5 JUNE 2026

Female Founders in Tech

Accelerator

A specialised pathway for WA Female Founders in Tech. A holistic 6-month accelerator delivered by We Are Emersyn and ACS Labs.  Equity-free.

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POWERED BY

SUPPORTED BY

Innovation Pathways Program via the New Industries and Innovation Fund

POWERED BY

SUPPORTED BY

Innovation Pathways Program via the New Industries and Innovation Fund

DURATION

6 months · Jun – Nov 2026

FORMAT

Virtual-first + Perth workshops

INVESTMENT

Equity-free

APPLY BY

Friday 5 June 2026

DURATION

6 months · Jun – Nov 2026

FORMAT

Virtual-first + Perth workshops

INVESTMENT

Equity-free

APPLY BY

Friday June 5

THE OPPORTUNITY

Fueling innovation with no boundaries, just breakthroughs.

Six months to grow your tech business — with a mentor matched to your stage, a national network behind you and the milestones to take you from where you are to the next level.

New customers and partners.

Connections that grow the business — through the cohort, the ACS Labs ecosystem, Demo Day and the national community.

Capital readiness.

New knowledge of how to approach capital raising and navigate the ecosystem when the time is right.

A national and global expert network.

A roster of mentors, advisors and connections across Australia and beyond — built to support future growth.

Tracked progress on milestones.

Six months of measurable growth — moving the business from where it is now to the next stage.

WHAT YOU GET

Mentors, network, frameworks, capital — backed by a national tech ecosystem.

Mentor-led growth, matched to your business

A mentor matched to your sector, your stage and your next challenge — paired with you for the full 6 months. When you hit a wall, we bring in challenge-specific advisors for marketing, product or sales. Plus 1-1 investor readiness coaching, calibrated to where you are right now.

A national tech network you can actually access

Plug into Australia's national tech founder ecosystem from day one. ACS Labs brings 14 years of accelerator experience, 50,000 ACS members, national workshops, a partner marketplace and an online founder community — beyond WA, beyond your industry, behind your business.

Tools and frameworks to give you the operational systems to grow

Six in-person Perth workshops delivered by We Are Emersyn — the operational systems and frameworks that move tech companies from startup to scale-up. Goal-setting, dashboards, execution, strategic rhythms, scalable operating systems. Built to apply directly to the business you're running.

A path to capital and a Demo Day that puts you in the room

Investor readiness coaching tailored to your stage. Two pitch clinics — one virtual, one in-person in Perth. Demo Day in November in front of customers, partners and investors. Capital readiness on your timeline, not someone else's.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Six months. One pathway. Built around how you actually grow.

A virtual-first program with in-person Perth workshops anchoring each stage. From CEO mindset to Demo Day pitch — the months map a clear path from where you are now to the next level.

  • June
    Onboarding • Mentor matching • First group cohort session • In person workshop #1
  • July
    1:1 mentoring commences • In person workshop #2
  • August
    In person workshop #3 • Group cohort call #2 • 1:1 mentoring continues
  • September
    In person workshop #4 • 1:1 mentoring continues
  • October
    Virtual Pitch Clinic • In person workshop #5 • 1:1 mentoring continues
  • November
    Final 1:1 mentoring session • In person pitch clinic • Demo Day (Perth)
  • December
    Final group cohort call

WHO THIS IS FOR

Built for WA female founders solving problems with technology.

This is for you if

  • You are a WA based woman, building a tech-enabled business — software, hardware, AI, fintech, healthtech, climatetech, edtech, or another tech vertical
  • Have something built or in market — past idea only
  • Are ready to grow: new customers, new markets, new capital pathways, new operational systems
  • Want a structured 6-month program with sector-specific mentoring, a national peer cohort and access to Australia's biggest tech network
  • Can commit to a virtual-first program with six in-person Perth workshops and a Demo Day in November

This isn't the right fit if

  • You're at idea stage with nothing in market yet
  • You're looking for a community only or content drip program — this is mentor-led, milestone driven and structured
  • You can't commit time across six months to mentoring, workshops and pitch preparation
  • You're looking for a quick fix and are not interested in scaling your business

OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS

The right mentor can be the difference between a good idea and a business that compounds.

Founders are matched with one of our Mentors-in-Residence or Entrepreneurs-in-Residence based on the stage of their business and the challenges they're working on.

Laura Ashmole

HEAD OF GROWTH, ACS LABS
Community builder and connector, partnerships, people and sales expert

Marlon Juenemann

MENTOR IN RESIDENCE
Exited founder, investor, operational expansion expert, international venture builder

Marlon Juenemann

MENTOR IN RESIDENCE
Innovation, investment

Pauline Fetaui

DIRECTOR, ACS LABS
Startup founder, emerging tech expert, corporate enterprise, social justice advocate

Shahirah Gardner

MENTOR IN RESIDENCE
Award-winning fintech founder, early-stage investor, Web3 and Crypto expert

Dickie Currer

MENTOR IN RESIDENCE
Startup founder, tech advocate, ambassador for ecosystems globally, partnerships expert

Daniel Johnsen

MENTOR IN RESIDENCE
Exited founder, AI adjunct professor (USA), GTM, product and zero to one expert

Megan Del Borrello

FOUNDER, WE ARE EMERSYN
Startup founder, marketing expert

INVESTMENT

$200/month. Six months. Equity-free.

This is an equity free, fee based program (normally $7,000) that has been heavily subsidised through the support of the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification via the Innovation Pathways Program from the New Industries and Innovation Fund. A small monthly fee applies.

Normal program value

$7,000+ per founder

Your investment

$200/month × 6 = $1,200

Equity taken

0%

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TRUSTED BY FOUNDERS

Built on programs that work.

This program has been a game changer for my business! Before joining, I struggled with building a cohesive and effective team, but this program provided me with the skills to make it happen. The guidance was clear, actionable, and tailored to my unique needs, and I felt supported every step of the way. Thanks to their expertise, I now have an amazing team in place and my business is up 40% this year.

Lisa • Happy Tummies

Scale Advisory Program Alumni

The 1:1 mentorship has been a game changer. It’s helped me stay focused, make better decisions, and push further than I thought possible. The traction I’ve achieved over the past year simply wouldn’t have happened without access to the ACS Labs network. I met investors, built genuine connections and finally connected properly with those peers I was looking for.

Claire • Kidmaps

Elevating Female Founders Alumni

DELIVERED BY

The team behind the accelerator.

PROGRAM LEAD

We Are Emersyn

Closing the growth gap for female founders by providing the knowledge, resources and networks they need to navigate the unique challenges of scaling past $1M. WAE delivers the in-person Perth workshops, the cohort experience and the program lead, founder Megan Del Borrello — former CMO, ScaleUP WA mentor, Ubuntu Ventures advisory partner.

DELIVERY PARTNER

ACS Labs

Australia's longest-standing tech founder ecosystem, supporting emerging tech entrepreneurs and their communities who are solving global problems with Technology. ACS Labs brings the national mentor pool, virtual ecosystem, pitch clinics, investor coaching and the wider ACS national member network.

SUPPORTED BY

Department of Energy and Economic Diversification

Heavily subsidised through the WA Government via the Innovation Pathways Program from the New Industries and Innovation Fund. The funding makes this an accessible program for female founders.

Since 2021

WAE has delivered female founder programs to over 80 participants

Since 2012

ACS Labs have been delivering founder programs at River City Labs

50,000+

ACS members nationally

More about the program.

INCLUSIONS

  • Access to ACS Labs virtual ecosystem: 6 months access of regular building business education workshops and group mentoring, community mixers, digital library of resources to access as required, a partner marketplace of discounts and credits, a qualified mentor pool of deep domain expertise and an online community of founders and tech/ business talent.
  • Subscription to Emrie: 6 months subscription to the intelligent guidance platform built to take female founders to $1M AR through phase-aligned logic. Emrie diagnoses your exact business phase, identifies the gaps holding you back and delivers a sequenced roadmap with priority actions, revenue tracking and operational rhythms — all adapted to your specific business model and capacity. Think of it as your fractional COO: direct, data-driven, and laser-focused on what actually moves the needle.
  • Program merch: Ooh yeah...you'll receive our branded program t-shirt to officially join the cohort.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA & APPLICATIONS

Entry criteria

- You must be a female identifying founder or co-founder.
- Must be a resident or have a Business registered in Western Australia, Australia.
- Must be a Tech Startup or Scale up company, therefore delivering new technology to the market; or disrupt and transform existing products of services with Technology, or creating new markets. Tech Startups or Scale ups have a high growth potential and sits across multiple Markets.
- Your company is for-profit or has a for-profit component.
- Founder must own a majority share of the business or have majority voting rights in the business. 
- Ability to start the program in June 2026 and commit the time and effort to succeed and excel and go the distance of the program. 
- Ability to submit a 3 min recorded video of yourself and your business and the support you need, only used for the application review.
- Not currently partaking in a startup program or plan to in the immediate term whilst doing this program.

- All applications will be reviewed and select applicants will go through a selection process.
- Successful applicants will be invited to the Program.
- Unsuccessful applicants will be notified prior to the program starting.
- 20 successful companies will be part of Female Founders in Tech Accelerator for this intake.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Got questions?

Who is eligible?

WA based female founders building a tech-enabled business with something built or in market. Pre-revenue is fine — pre-product is not. The WA Government funding ties eligibility to WA-based ventures.

Plan for around 3-5 hours a week — 1-1 mentoring, workshops, peer cohort touchpoints. Workshops are spaced roughly once a month, so you can plan around them.

Virtual-first, with six in-person workshops in Perth and a Demo Day in November. The rest is virtual — group mentoring, advisor calls, ACS Labs ecosystem access.

Applications close 5 June. Selection happens the week of 8 June, and all applicants — successful or not — are notified by 12 June. Onboarding starts 15 June.

Pre-revenue is fine. Pre-product is not. If you have a product or service in market — even with no paying customers yet — you're eligible.

The WA Government funding ties eligibility to WA-based ventures, so this program is for WA founders. ACS Labs runs national accelerators if you're outside WA.

The program is for women solving problems with technology. If technology is core to how your business delivers value — software, hardware, AI, fintech, healthtech, climatetech, edtech, or similar — you fit.

APPLY NOW

Six months. One cohort. Your business in a different place by Christmas.

A specialised pathway for WA Female Founders in Tech. Six months. Mentors matched to your business. A national network behind you. A Demo Day in front of customers, partners and investors.

APPLY NOW

Applications close Friday 5 June 2026, 6pm AWST.

We Are Emersyn × ACS Labs.

A specialised pathway for WA Female Founders in Tech. Supported by Department of Energy and Economic Diversification via the Innovation Pathways Program from the New Industries and Innovation Fund. Equity-free.