Pre-Accelerator

Mentoring to accelerate early-stage startups and impactful research.

INCUBATE’s Pre-Accelerator Program is a free part-time mentoring program created to support individuals and teams from the University of Sydney community who are committed to building a startup or delivering impactful research. Delivered by INCUBATE, the award-winning Pre-Accelerator Program is backed by 1:1 mentorship with industry-leading professionals and facilitated by our Program Managers with a wealth of experience in startups and research commercialisation.

Our Pre-Accelerator Program has a range of specialised program streams:

ProtoX: Students

Exclusively supporting early-stage founders who are current students at The University of Sydney, providing them with the resources, mentorship and connections needed to turn their ideas into successful startups.

ProtoX: Arts

In partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts, empowering members of the Australian arts community with the tools, skills, and networks to transform creative ideas into successful businesses.

Pre-Accelerator: Ideation to Creation

Supporting startup founders from the University of Sydney community (students, alumni, researchers and staff) to refine and grow their early-stage business ideas into thriving ventures across any sector.

ProtoX: Research to Impact

Enabling the translation of groundbreaking research into commercial opportunities, supporting University of Sydney researchers to transform their work into real-world solutions.

ProtoX: First Nations

Fostering Indigenous entrepreneurship within the University of Sydney community, with a focus on cultural awareness to help amplify the influence and impact of Indigenous-owned businesses.

Female Founders Pre-Accelerator

Supporting startups with over 50% female-identifying founders, helping them overcome challenges in the startup space and grow their ideas into businesses.

Not sure which Program is for you?

Program Overview

Pre-Accelerator offers you

12-week program comprising of 2-hour weekly workshops
1:1 weekly mentorship meetings with an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR).
Key theoretical learnings.
Hands-on customer testing and experimentation.
Opportunity to pitch your business idea to the community and industry.
Access to INCUBATE’s community of dedicated mentors, investors and industry professionals.
Equity-free grant pending successful completion of program.

2025 Key Dates

Trimester 1: Ideation To Creation

Applications Open: 14th Jan

Applications Close: 7th Feb

Cohorts Announced: 17th Feb

Program Dates: 26th Feb – 13th May

Trimester 2: Ideation To Creation

Applications Open: May 2025

Applications Close: May 2025

Cohorts Announced: June 2025

Program Dates: June 2025 – August 2025

Time Commitment

2-hour weekly workshop in-person or online – attendance required.
1-hour weekly meeting with EiR to discuss goals, updates and action items.
Workshops, networking or community events hosted on alternate weeks – non-compulsory but attendance encouraged.
At least 5 hours per week should be spent focused on completing theoretical workshop tasks & customer testing outside of abovementioned events.

Hear from one of our Pre-Accelerator Founders

“I absolutely would not have made the progress I did without Pre-Accelerator. It gave me the confidence, opportunity and motivation to conduct my first customer interviews and get my first paying customers. The program made me accountable, and gave me an opportunity to pitch my ideas and demonstrate my progress.

During Pre-Accelerator, I was able to ask for support or ideas from the Program Manager and the other founders, who came from different industries, experiences, and stages of life. It gave me a more rounded view than just working alone.”

Victoria Edghill

founder of Relievables
Pre-Accelerator Alumni; INCUBATE Accelerator Class 15