No next step
A good idea is built in class, then the semester ends. Accelerators want traction. Investors want introductions.
University venture funds
Every idea.
Every person.
Heard.
Seedhall is the venture partner behind university-named funds. Everyone pitches, everyone gets feedback, and a licensed team backs the best with a seed cheque and a 12-week program.
A Startupbootcamp and Watkins Bay venture
The problem
Good ideas die in silence.
Every semester, good student ideas end with the semester. Not because they were bad, but because nobody heard them.
No answer
Most applications disappear into silence, and silence reads as no. Talented people quietly stop trying.
No network
The students most likely to give up are the ones with no warm introductions: technical, international and women founders.
1.6%
of Australian businesses collaborate with universities on innovation, against an OECD average of 14%.
58%
of 2025 Australian startup capital went to the 20 largest deals: more money, fewer doors at the first step.
2%
of total capital went to all-women founding teams in 2025, virtually unchanged on prior years.
How it works
From the hallway to a first cheque.
Seven steps, the same rubric on every campus, and written feedback for every pitch within 10 business days.
- 01
Spark
Submit an idea. Join the Studio.
- 02
Build
Work it through with the AI Mentor.
- 03
Committee pitch
Pitch to the Student Investment Committee.
- 04
Iterate
Go deeper. Re-pitch on video.
- 05
Alumni Choice
Verified alumni vote. The winner goes through.
- 06
Pitch session
Live pitch to the Seedhall committee.
- 07
Backed
A seed cheque and the 12-week program.
Not yet is not no.
At the committee pitch, Alumni Choice and the pitch session, a team can hear “not yet”. It always comes with specific feedback on what landed, what to sharpen and what to do next, and an invitation to pitch again.
Who decides.
Interns curate and recommend. Alumni vote in Alumni Choice. Only Seedhall’s licensed committee decides who is funded. The university never decides.
Seed cheque size and fund terms: [to confirm]
For universities
Your name on the fund. Our licence behind it.
The university lends its name and its channels. Seedhall carries the licence, the governance and the investment decisions, so the university never picks winners among its own students.
Founding partners
Startupbootcamp + Watkins Bay
Accelerator program, capital, governance and the Studio platform.
The venture partner
Seedhall
Licensed investment team, committee, rubric and reporting.
The university fund
[University] fund
Carries the university’s name, “powered by seedhall”.
The Studio
Students and alumni
One place to submit ideas, work with the AI Mentor, book a pitch, get feedback and vote.
The university gets
- A venture fund in its name, professionally run
- A door for every student and alumnus with an idea
- Real venture experience for student Interns
- A new way to engage alumni: vote, mentor, invest
- A semester report on pipeline, access and outcomes
- No investment decisions, no conflict, no operational load
The university gives
- Its name, and approval of the fund’s identity
- Access to student, faculty and alumni channels
- Space for pitch nights and the Studio
- A named lead from its entrepreneurship team
- Support for Intern recruitment and recognition
Commercial terms are covered in a separate partnership proposal.
Who it’s for
Five audiences. One promise.
We go out of our way for people who don’t yet see themselves in startups: women founders, international students and technical students. Engineers start companies too.
Student founders
Anyone with an idea, a skill or a problem worth solving, from any faculty, in any year.
“Every idea gets an answer.”
Seedhall Interns
Ambassador, Scout and Committee Interns learn venture from the inside, with real responsibility.
“Sit on the other side of the table.”
Alumni
Graduates who want to give back: vote in Alumni Choice, mentor a team and, if eligible, invest.
“Back your own.”
Universities
Enterprise, entrepreneurship and student services leaders who want student outcomes without the conflict or the load.
“Your name on the fund. Our licence behind it.”
Investors
Wholesale investors, family offices and corporates seeking curated access to university-born ventures.
“Early access, professionally run.”
Governance
Who decides what.
Arm’s length, always. The fund is separate from the university, conflicts are declared, and one rubric applies on every campus.
| Role | Does | Never |
|---|---|---|
| The university | Lends its name, opens student and alumni channels, receives semester reports | Decides or vetoes an investment |
| Seedhall investment committee | Makes every investment decision, under the licence | Lets a sponsor or relationship decide |
| Committee Interns | Hear pitches, score with one rubric, write feedback, recommend | Make investment decisions |
| Verified alumni | Vote in Alumni Choice; eligible investors may invest in the fund | Override the committee |
| Startupbootcamp | Runs the 12-week program for backed teams | Chooses who is funded |
Licence route (own AFSL or authorised representative) and investment committee members: [to confirm]
For investors
Early access, professionally run.
Curated, rubric-scored deal flow from university-born ventures across campuses, managed by a licensed team.
Wholesale investors only. This is general information, not an offer of investment, and no returns are forecast or promised. Fund terms, eligibility and risk wording [to confirm] and are subject to licensee approval.
Talk to the investment teamFor alumni
Back your own.
Vote for the idea you’d back first in Alumni Choice, mentor a backed team, and, if you are an eligible investor, register interest in investing in your university’s fund.
Alumni Choice voting is advisory; funding decisions stay with Seedhall’s committee.
Who’s behind Seedhall
A Startupbootcamp and Watkins Bay venture.
Startupbootcamp Australia
Accelerator programs and a mentor network. Runs the 12-week program for backed teams.
Watkins Bay
Capital, governance and the Studio platform.
Adam Ryan, co-founder
Professor of Practice at Monash University, where he teaches entrepreneurship. Part of SEEK’s founding team; founder, investor and board member.
“Each semester I’d see ideas that deserved a real shot and had nowhere to go. Seedhall is what happens when you stop asking students to find the door and build one on campus.”
Bring a fund to your campus.
Start with a conversation about what a fund in your university’s name could look like. A non-binding letter of intent is the first step.