Building in MelbourneMEL --:--
Founder-in-Residence

We work with exceptional operators, founders, technical leaders and domain experts to turn validated opportunities into companies.

The exchange

Manuka provides
  • Validated opportunities
  • Venture systems
  • Product support
  • Engineering leverage
  • Strategic support
  • Network
  • Company-building infrastructure
Founder contributes
  • Judgment
  • Leadership
  • Domain expertise
  • Customer understanding
  • Execution
Who we look for

Operators

People who have run the thing, not only advised on it.

Founders

Have built a company before, and want to do it again with better odds.

Technical leaders

Engineers and product leaders who can take a prototype to a product.

Domain experts

Deep knowledge of a market, customer or regulated industry.

Where founders join

Founders are matched at stage seven — after an opportunity has survived evaluation, validation and early customer contact. You inherit evidence, not a brainstorm.

  1. 01/ 08

    Signal

    Identify a meaningful market or technological shift.

  2. 02/ 08

    Idea

    Turn the signal into structured venture hypotheses.

  3. 03/ 08

    Evaluation

    Stress-test the opportunity before anything is built.

  4. 04/ 08

    Validation

    Take the hypothesis into the real world.

  5. 05/ 08

    Prototype

    Build only what is necessary to test the critical assumption.

  6. 06/ 08

    Early Customers

    Find evidence of genuine demand.

  7. 07/ 08

    Founder

    Match the opportunity with the right venture leader.

  8. 08/ 08

    Spinout

    Build the company when the evidence warrants it.

Founders, operators and venture builders

Tell us what you have built, what you know deeply, and what kind of company you want to build next.