Study Melbourne
Future Founders Festival
Explore entrepreneurship at the

Future Founders Festival

Are you considering your career options? 

The Study Melbourne Future Founders Festival, brought to you by Study Melbourne and StartSpace allows you to step into the world of entrepreneurship and explore future opportunities, hear inspiring founder stories, gain valuable insights and connect with others. 

The festival includes a full day and evening featuring informative panel talks, interactive sessions, the Pitch Competition Final sponsored by Scape and an evening party with networking among international students, aspiring founders and business leaders. 

The 2023 Festival was held on Friday 24 November, 10:00am - 9:00pm at State Library Victoria. It will be back again in 2024! Stay tuned for updates in the new year!

Take a Sneak Peek

Inside The Festival

This video gives you a glance at what to expect at the Study Melbourne Future Founders Festival.  Get your free ticket to take advantage of a full day and evening of programming surrounded by international students, aspiring founders and business leaders.

Festival 2023

Keynote Speakers

Speaker portrait
Grace Wong
Founder & CEO, Liven

Grace Wong is a lawyer turned tech entrepreneur redefining hospitality through technology as the founder of Liven. Grace travels the world spreading Liven’s vision, forging relationships with industry legends like Bill Tai and Richard Branson.

Past speaking engagements include the Milken Global Conference and Asia Summit, Consensus, and the very first Future Founders Festival in 2020!

Her awards include the B&T 30Under30, SmartCompany Smart30Under30, JPMorgan’s 100 Powerful Women in High Growth Businesses Asia, and Grace was a Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Awards finalist.

Speaker portrait
Rebecca Scott
Co-founder & CEO, STREAT

Rebecca Scott is the Co-founder and CEO of STREAT, a Melbourne-based social enterprise that works with marginalised young people aged 16-24 years and provides them with a healthy self, job and home. The organisation runs a portfolio of 12 foodservice businesses, including cafes, an artisan bakery, a catering company, and a coffee roastery.

Rebecca is also heavily involved in building Australia’s social enterprise sector through her work with SENVIC, ASENA, peak bodies, incubators, universities, government advisory bodies and board positions. She’s currently collaborating on the development of the Purpose Precinct, a new social enterprise retail precinct in Melbourne’s CBD, and also on Moving Feast, a social enterprise network creating a fair and regenerative food system for Victoria.

Festival 2023

Guest Speakers

Offering a range of expertise, tips and practical advice, be sure to catch as many as you can of our festival guest speakers who are experienced founders and leaders, many of whom have international student or migrant backgrounds. We can all learn a lot from their journeys.

Festival 2023

Events

10:00am - 10:30am
30 mins
Festival Registration and Morning Tea
10:30am - 10:50am
20 mins
Official Festival Opening and Welcome to Country
10:50am - 11:40am
50 mins
No Room for Doom: How to Create a Purpose Led Business with Rebecca Scott, Founder of STREAT
11:40am - 12:40pm
60 mins
Building Communities & Networks: Female Leaders & Their Stories
12:40pm - 02:00pm
80 mins
Lunch & Networking Break
02:00pm - 02:55pm
55 mins
The Migrant and International Student Founder Journey: Unlocking Your Superpower
03:05pm - 04:00pm
55 mins
Parallel Session A: Interactive Networking Workshop with Kaley Chu
03:05pm - 04:00pm
55 mins
Parallel Session B: Startup Ecosystem 101
04:00pm - 04:30pm
30 mins
International Student Founders: Fireside Chat
04:30pm - 05:00pm
30 mins
Break / End of Festival Day & Registration Open for the Evening
05:00pm - 05:20pm
20 mins
Official Festival Evening Welcome
05:20pm - 06:05pm
45 mins
The Art of Quiet Disruption with Grace Wong, Co-founder of Liven
06:05pm - 07:05pm
60 mins
Future Founders Pitch Competition Final sponsored by Scape
07:05pm - 09:00pm
115 mins
Future Founders Festival Party and Networking Night
10:00am - 10:30am
30 mins
Festival Registration and Morning Tea
Catch up

Festival event recordings

Watch our Future Founders Festival 2022 event recordings to catch up on insights and tips from experienced founders and leaders covering everything from lived experience, the startup ecosystem and how to get started, to funding and networking. 

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Help

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Have you got any questions about the 2023 Future Founders Festival? Hopefully you will find the answers below. If you still have questions please email the team at StartSpace: [email protected]

Where can I find the Code of Conduct for the Festival?
The information about the Code of Conduct that applies to the Future Founders Festival can be found here: https://startspacehq.com/future-founders-festival-code-of-conduct/
How do I book for Future Founders Festival?
To book for the festival, simply follow the registration link below and book via Eventbrite. The festival ticket gives you access to the full day and evening of festival programming. It's entirely free to attend and we encourage you to join as many sessions as possible. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/study-melbourne-future-founders-festival-2023-tickets-721833612767?aff=FFPweb
What are the different tickets available for the festival?
There are two tickets available for the festival on Friday 24 November 2023 and they are both free. The day ticket gives you access to all festival sessions throughout the day from 10:00am to 4:30pm. The evening ticket gives you access to the entire evening program from 5:00pm to 9:00pm including the live Pitch Competition Final sponsored by Scape. It's entirely free to attend and we encourage you to join as many sessions as possible across the day and evening.