LAUNCHVIC MOVES TO TERMINATE 500 STARTUP PARTNERSHIP 

Last Updated: Thursday, 10 August 2017

LaunchVic has today announced the termination of its partnership with 500 Startups following the resignation of 500 Melbourne lead Rachael Neumann.

LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick said without trusted local leadership, we don’t believe that 500 Startups will be able to build a strong and inclusive culture and the social capital it needs to be able to successfully roll out its accelerator program in Victoria.

Last month, LaunchVic put 500 Startups on notice, requiring 500 Startups to develop a remedial plan, that was to include addressing sexual harassment and lack of diversity in the startup ecosystem.

The successful implementation of the redemial plan was required before LaunchVic would give the company the green light to roll out its accelerator in Melbourne.

Dr Cornick said: “While I am deeply disappointed at how this has ended, I feel confident in LaunchVic’s strong course of action over the past month to give 500 Startups an opportunity to show leadership to improve culture in the startup sector and fix the issues at hand.

“Unfortunately, as we’ve expressed to 500 Startups, that without Rachael Neumann at the helm we don’t believe it will work,” Dr Cornick said.