Tuesday 21 October buzzed with excitement, drive, and entrepreneurial flair as Ventures proudly presented the debut ScaleUP Showcase alongside the first-ever combined ilab x Momentum Accelerator Pitch Night.
The event marked the culmination of our 15-week combined accelerator program, during which 19 startups engaged in intense growth and development with our seasoned Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.
As the name suggests, the event focused on scaling up - celebrating our mission-driven founders and their bold ideas and connecting them to the incredible network of supporters at the ready to help them advance to their next phase. Across the day, we saw over 400 people in attendance, ranging from investors, mentors, and industry professionals. The top 10 startups of the current Accelerator took to the stage to pitch their ventures, showcasing solutions across health, AI, and societal impact.
See the Photo Galleries from ScaleUP Showcase and Pitch Night
ilab x Momentum Accelerator Pitch Night Winner
Rise
Awarded as the winner of the Accelerator’s Pitch Night, Rise emerged as the standout team of the evening. Together, co-founders Giselle Torres Pabon and Jesse Costelloe created Rise, a person-centric digital platform focusing on better healthcare and simplifying compliance and auditing of these healthcare systems. They now also have the opportunity to be awarded up to $100,000 in funding thanks to UniQuest Extension Fund (subject to due diligence).
Giselle and Jesse, who have first-hand experience within both NDIS compliance, organisational auditing, and tech startup environments, created Rise to address the ever-present issue of healthcare providers getting and staying compliant and the difficulty surrounding this process. Rise’s platform creates tailored solutions to suit individual providers, AI-powered policy updates, and 24/7 real time compliance monitoring to ensure registration, auditing, and remaining compliant is as seamless as possible.
The judges praised Rise for their strong market validation, clear impact to the wider community, and the ability to integrate into existing healthcare systems in the future. With the prize money and continued support from Ventures, Rise is currently testing with NDIS providers. They believe the operating system can also support rural hospitals and Rise has started building connections to also move in that direction.
ilab x Momentum Accelerator Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Award
Tripzy
The Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiR) Award, selected by the Accelerator’s current EiRs Yazz Krishna and Vanessa Garrard, went to Tripzy, a travel tech startup which turns your liked social media posts into travel itineraries, with the aim to ultimately reimagine how young Australians plan and book group trips.
Founded by UQ students Varun Pillai and Jay Gandhi, Tripzy simplifies the group travel experience by combining itinerary planning, shared payments, and real-time coordination into one seamless app.
People's Choice Award
activATAR
The People’s Choice Award, voted on by the audience, went to activATAR, a platform helping high school students improve their academic performance through physical activity.
Founded by 2 high-achieving UQ medicine students Widjan Rahim and Ethan Lee, activATAR provides curriculum-aligned content using a gamified approach to learning and studying. It aims to help students achieve their utmost potential for ATAR results through proven motivational tactics, smart analytics, real-time performance tracking, and expert-built resources.
The crowd resonated with Wijdan and Ethan’s mission to make study more active and engaging, especially in a time when screen fatigue is at an all-time high.
More than just pitches
The University of Queensland’s Acting Head of Entrepreneurship Dr Veronica Nolan reflected on the showcase and pitch night, saying
“We are so proud of our founders – they demonstrate the best of our community’s entrepreneurial spirit, continuously turning up with curiosity, courage, and a commitment to collaborate and create change. They’re not just building startups - they’re shaping the future.”
Beyond the evening’s Pitch Night and awards, the ScaleUP Showcase was a celebration and showcase of current ilab and Momentum communities, Ventures Accelerator and program alumni, as well as industry partners, mentors, facilitators, and startup supporters alike.
View the Photo Galleries from ScaleUP Showcase and Pitch Night
We were thrilled to hear practical insights, considerate discussions and impact across tech, sustainability, health and more. The speakers and moderators at ScaleUP Showcase were carefully chosen to share strategies and stories that help businesses scale and to highlight why Queensland’s moment is now.
Thank you to all our ScaleUP Showcase Speakers and Moderators, including our keynote speaker Vinnie Lauria, Founding Partner, Golden Gate Ventures.
Looking Ahead
As the inaugural combined ilab x Momentum Accelerator program draws to a close, the journey for these startups continues to scale. With new connections, fresh momentum, and the backing of the Ventures network, this combined cohort is poised to make a lasting impact.
We’re already gearing up to announce the 2026 ilab Accelerator, with applications to be announced very soon - you can learn more about ilab at ventures.uq.edu.au/ilab
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