Kelvin Liao
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3 min read

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How to get into the startup space in Melbourne

Getting into the startup space is more a matter of mindset and attitude rather than pure networking.

startups

Where to find startup jobs and people

  1. Startmate — startmate.com
    • Talent Engine: universe.startmate.com/talent-engine — explicitly built for operators who want startup jobs.
    • Operator community / events: they run events and list them on the ANZ Startup Events Calendar at lu.ma/ANZStartupCalendar.
    • Newsletter, mentorship, and a huge portfolio (Canva, Who Gives A Crap, Propeller, etc.).
  2. Aussie Founders Club (AFC) — events on Luma, e.g. "Startup Sips" and "From Idea to Shipped". Weekly "Startup Shortlist" email with jobs shared via their Slack.
  3. VC job boards (highest-signal job sources):
    • Blackbird: jobs.blackbird.vc/jobs — 1,071 roles across portfolio companies.
    • AirTree: jobs.airtree.vc/jobs — 1,660 roles.
  4. Physical hubs / event hosts in Melbourne:
    • Stone & Chalk Melbourne Startup Hub — events, residency, community rituals.
  5. ANZ Startup Events Calendar on Luma — lu.ma/ANZStartupCalendar — the central calendar for almost every startup event in ANZ.
  6. Y Combinator — follow their content on YouTube; it's a masterclass in what startups actually care about.

The mindset that actually gets you in

The channels above get you in the door. But what keeps you there — and what founders are actually screening for — has nothing to do with your network. It's about whether you have the mentality that makes you useful in a resource-constrained environment.

Here's what that looks like in practice.

Startups are looking for evidence of hard work. Not talk. Not potential. They want to see that you've done something that required sustained effort — a side project, a tough problem you stuck with, a thing you built from nothing. If you're on the technical side, that means shipping software. Open source contributions, a product you launched, a tool you built to solve your own problem. If you're a designer, it means a portfolio that shows real work, not mockups. Show proof.

They want people who figure it out. Startups don't have the luxury of perfect onboarding or well-scoped tickets. You'll be handed problems you've never seen before, and the expectation is that you'll get the job done anyway. The question isn't "do you know how to do this?" It's "can you figure it out?" Fast learners who are comfortable being outside their depth are worth more than subject matter experts who need clear instructions.

They want people who question whether something is worth doing at all. Resources are finite. Every hour spent on low-impact work is an hour not spent on something that moves the needle. The people who thrive in startups are the ones who look at a task and ask "what's the ROI on this?" before jumping in. Not to avoid work — to make sure the work matters. If you're just taking orders and coasting, you won't last. Startups need people who think in terms of leverage.

And above all, they want people who give a damn. The can-do attitude. The desire to improve and grow. The belief that work should mean something. The people who get hired — and who stay — are the ones who treat the startup's mission as their own. They want to contribute to something they believe in, not just collect a paycheck.

If that sounds like you, the channels above are a great starting point. From there, the rest is showing up and proving it.