Lisa Ring and Family Scholarships Terms and Conditions

Delivered by StartSpace powered by State Library Victoria, individuals who meet the following criteria can apply and be eligible for one of two Lisa Ring and Family Scholarships for 2023:

    1. The applicant must lead an early stage startup – “early stage” as defined as idea stage or validation/testing stage that is pre-revenue or minimal revenue according to the City of Melbourne Startup Action Plan (PDF – page 41) and LaunchVic’s Startup Framework (PDF – page 14)
    2. Submit an application before 11:59PM (AEST) on Sunday 30 October, 2022.
      1. Apply by completing the Lisa Ring and Family Scholarship
      2. Application details include:
        1. What is your given name?
        2. What is your family name?
        3. Contact phone number
        4. Email address
        5. LinkedIn Profile of applicant (URL) – if you have one
        6. What is the name of your idea or business?
        7. What is your Australian Business Number (ABN) – if you have one
        8. Website of business (URL) – if you have one
        9.  Social Media Profiles of business (URL) – if you have one eg Instagram, Twitter & Facebook.
        10. Please specify your age bracket (Please note: applicants must be over 18 years old at the time of application. We collect data on age to ensure age representation in awarding scholarships)
          1. 18 to 19
          2. 20 to 24
          3. 25 to 34
          4. 35 to 44
          5. 45 to 54
          6. 55 to 59
          7. 60 to 64
          8. 65+
        11. Provide a summary of any specific access requirements you may have – Optional
        12. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Please provide a brief biography [up to 150 words]
        13. Who is the specific target audience of your business and what problem are you are solving for them? [up to 150 words]
        14. What is your business or startup idea? Provide a short summary [up to 150 words]
        15. How did you come up with the idea? [up to 150 words]
        16. What progress or traction have you achieved so far? [up to 150 words]
        17. If your application is successful, what would the scholarship mean to the roadmap of your business idea? What would you do with the funding and support? Please provide a short outline of the stages and main tasks you would like to achieve in the 6 months [up to 250 words]
        18. If successful, how many hours per week do you think you will be able to commit to working on the business?
        19. Upload a succinct pitch proposal about you and your business idea in one of the following formats: a PDF of no more than 10 slides (hosted on Dropbox or Google Drive) OR a three minute (max) video (hosted on Vimeo/YouTube/Dropbox or Google Drive) and provide the URL Link – Optional
        20. Agree to the Scholarship Terms and Conditions.
      3. Late applications will not be accepted
    3. Applications will be assessed based on how well you have captured on the following criteria.
      1. Market & problem – tell us about your specific target audience and the problem you are solving for them – Can you show how well you know the audience and problem you are trying to solve? (20%)
      2. Solution – explain how your offering, service, or product solves this problem – Can you show how your solution addresses the market & problem e.g. product market fit (20%)
      3. Fit – describe how you are particularly setup for success to deliver your solution – why are you best placed to deliver on this idea e.g. lived experience, networks, knowledge (20%)
      4. Traction – demonstrate to us what have you achieved so far – what evidence can you show even at this early-stage (10%)
      5. Impact – how would this scholarship and investment change the runway of your business – how much of a difference would this make to what you are trying to achieve (30%)
    4. StartSpace staff will assess the applications based on the criteria in section 3 and select a shortlist of 10 applications to be assessed by a selection panel including representatives from the donor, SLV Board and SLV staff.
    5. Based on the criteria in section 3, the selection panel will determine the scholarship recipients. Follow up calls via telephone or teleconferencing between the shortlisted applicants and the selection panel may be held in the determination of the final recipients. Selection will occur and assessments will be sent to the StartSpace team for collation and endorsement by 2 December 2022. Any conflicts of interests will be managed in line with Library policy.
    6. Selected recipients will need to be contactable on 28 November 2022 and after reasonable efforts, non-response may lead to forfeiting the opportunity. 
    7. Scholars will be eligible to receive the following benefits:
      1. 6 Months StartSpace Loft Membership (January – June 2023)
      2. $10,000 AUD ex GST in seed funding
      3. Bespoke program of supports which may include mentoring, coaching, training, conference, events and/or additional Loft memberships for team members. The scope of these benefits available to any individual recipient will be assessed on a case by case basis, and their total value shall not exceed to be of up to $20,000 in value.
    8. Successful scholars will need to be able to enter into a scholarship agreement with SLV prior to 2 December 2022, and funding is conditional upon commitment being demonstrated throughout the scholarship term via meeting with Staff and other reporting requirements. Scholars who cannot demonstrate meeting these requirements may have their funding ceased, reduced or reallocated at the election of the SLV.
    9. Successful scholars will be required to attend the StartSpace End of Year Showcase Event in-person (13 December).
    10. The seed funding will be transferred by electronic transfer in 3 payments at specified milestones of the Scholarship Experience
      1. $4,000 AUD ex GST at the commencement of the Scholarship in January 2023
      2. $3,000 AUD ex GST following the completion of a Progress Update in March-April 2023
      3. $3,000 AUD ex GST following the completion of a Final Scholarship Update in June 2023
      4. Details and specific format of the Progress Update and Final Scholarship Update will be agreed upon through the course of the Scholarship between the Scholars and StartSpace staff members
    11. The StartSpace Loft membership defined as follows:
      1. Access to 1 hotdesk will be provided to each Scholar
      2. This access will be complimentary with regular fees waived
      3. The access will begin after the completion of a StartSpace Membership Application form and induction in January 2023 and last for 6 months of time collectively based on when the Library is permitted to have the space open in accordance with public health directives. Access commencement cannot be postponed to a further date
      4. At the completion of the 6 months, the scholar will meet with the StartSpace team who will decide ongoing options for access.
    12. The results will be published via StartSpace and SLV website and channels.
    13. By submitting an entry, all participants consent to having their name publicised on the StartSpace and SLV websites and channels as a scholar recipient if successful.

Privacy

The Library is committed to protecting user privacy. Your personal information is managed in accordance with privacy legislation, including the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and any other applicable laws.

The personal information you provide will be used for assessing your application and contacting you about your application. We will publish your name on the StartSpace and Library websites if your application is successful.

For more information about how we use your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about privacy, please contact [email protected] or Privacy Officer, State Library Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

For more information please contact the StartSpace team at: [email protected]

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