77 CHALLENGE

Beyond the pitch deck.

The 77 Challenge is a 12 week program designed to help early stage founders raise their early stage round.

The 77 Challenge is where you sharpen your investment strategy, understand how the deal process really works, and get unfiltered, battle-tested insight from operators and investors who’ve built, scaled, and backed global companies.

Ventures don’t have to pay money or issue equity to participate in the program. By the end of the program, at least one venture is offered an investment from 77 Partners of at least $100,000.

Our Alumni

  • Daniel Gibbon

    CO-FOUNDER AT EDEXIA

    “Through their extensive US network, the 77 Partners team played a pivotal role in helping us secure a spot in Y Combinator.”

  • Carolina Dreifuss

    CO-FOUNDER AT SYNC TECHNOLOGIES

    “The 77 Partners team supported us to close our pre-seed round and connected us with leading founders, investors and partners.”

  • Laurie Nicol

    FOUNDER AT TENDL

    “The 77 Challenge is in my opinion the best program in Australia for founders learning about the nuts and bolts of a capital raise.”

  • Voulla Fronis

    FOUNDER AT GELLIBN

    “The 77 Venture Challenge was incredibly valuable and motivating. It pushed me to really audit what I was doing and challenged my thinking with real-world perspectives from people who’ve actually done it.”

  • Rahul Moudgil

    FOUNDER AT PACTIFY

    “The 77 Venture Challenge gave me what most programs don’t: unfiltered, battle-tested advice. It wasn’t just theory or slides. It was real founders, real investors, and real conversations.”

  • Nina Owen

    CO-FOUNDER AT SNAPI

    “The quality of the guest speakers, and the frankness of their responses and advice to questions, really made sessions a refreshing source of insights and inspiration.”

  • Tim Hall

    CO-FOUNDER AT GREASEBOSS

    “The 77 Venture Challenge was a great program. It was very flexible and practical, tailored to the individual circumstances of our business. There have been nuggets of gold in every conversation with the 77 Partners team. I would highly recommend the program.”

  • Riley O'Donnell

    CO-FOUNDER & CEO AT ENDLA

    “The 77 Venture Challenge was a great program with a balance of general and tailored advice. The 1:1s helped us tackle problems unique to our situation and the group events added to our pool of knowledge to draw from.”

  • Christel Hadiwibawa

    CO FOUNDER AT NOA THE BRAND

    “The 77 Venture Challenge has been eye opening for us, from hearing about fellow founders’ journeys, struggles and successes, along with the invaluable conversations and feedback we’ve had with the 77 Partners team. I would highly recommend startup founders to take part in the program before tackling bigger challenges that will inevitably have to be dealt with along the startup journey”

  • Tim Vale

    CO-FOUNDER AT TELEMATTICA

    “The 77 Venture Challenge has been invaluable in understanding the process of raising capital and the demands of a high growth venture in general. It is a crash course in the real world of venture capital and the larger startup community which we had very little exposure to before the program. It forced us to think deeply about what we wanted for our business and how best to achieve those goals. It also gave us access to amazing guest speakers who generously give you invaluable insights into their experiences and advice specific to you.”

  • Corey Vaughan

    FOUNDER AT 2CENSOR

    “The journeys I was exposed to by my fellow participants and the guest speakers was inspirational. The 1:1 sessions with the 77 Partners team challenged my thinking. The advice now has me looking at the direction we are heading in with a more open mind. When you are so passionate about what you have achieved you can still have blinkers on looking forward. Having someone's opinion that has experience in this space has been business changing. I am very grateful for the opportunity to complete this program.”

  • David Jones

    FOUNDER AT AIRCONNECT

    “The knowledge that the 77 Partners team bring to this much needed program is second to none, and the way they can home in on your individual startup needs is only possible due to them having come before us as successful entrepreneurs in their own right. They helped me gain clarity in areas that I was struggling to focus on and where I had creative blocks and blind spots. Testament to their standing in the ecosystem is the quality of guest speakers they were able to bring in for additional outside perspectives.”

What To Expect - Light Touch - High Impact

The 77 Challenge is designed to deliver real outcomes - not just pitch practice. It’s remote, time-efficient, and built for early-stage founders actively building and raising.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • Curated 1:1 meetings with top-tier investors, including QIC-backed VC funds

  • Weekly 1:1 sessions with the 77 Partners team - tactical, honest, and personalised

  • Fundraising strategy support to help you prepare, pitch, and close your next round

  • Help applying to global opportunities like Y Combinator - just ask GreaseBoss, Endla or Edexia

  • Cohort workshops on capital stack design, investor readiness, and founder decision-making

  • World-class guest speakers from global VC firms and unicorn-scale companies

  • A clear view of your investability - and if VC is the right path for your business

Just 2 hours per week - remote, flexible, and founder-first.

Past Guest Speakers

  • Geoff Ralston

    FORMER PRESIDENT AT Y COMBINATOR

    LinkedIn

  • Christina Cacioppo

    CEO & CO-FOUNDER AT VANTA

    LinkedIn

  • Michael Berolzheimer

    FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR AT BEE PARTNERS

    LinkedIn

  • Qasar Younis

    CO-FOUNDER AT APPLIED INTUITION

    LinkedIn

  • Holly Liu

    CO-FOUNDER AT KABAM & FORMER YC PARTNER

    LinkedIn

  • Joseph Walla

    CO-FOUNDER & CEO AT HELLOSIGN

    LinkedIn

Who Should Apply?

The 77 Venture Challenge is currently open to high-potential, Queensland-headquartered ventures working on FrontierTech - emerging technologies that are reshaping industries.

  • AI & Machine Learning

  • IoT & Edge Computing

  • Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics

  • Energy & Smart Infrastructure

  • Quantum & Cybersecurity

GET IN TOUCH

FAQs

  • No, ventures are not required to issue equity or make payment in order to participate in the program.

  • ​The program is best suited to ventures approaching pre-seed, seed or pre-series A investment. As long as you are at this stage you are encouraged to apply, no matter if you’ve already raised capital.

  • The program is delivered online, except for the kickoff and end-of-program events, which take place in Brisbane.

  • ​The program requires about two hours of contact time per week. It is designed to allow for maximum flexibility. We let each venture confirm the areas they want to concentrate on. Of course, the more you put into the program the more you’ll get out of it and the better prepared you'll be to raise the next stage of support.

  • The terms of the investment will be negotiated fairly and by mutual agreement by the end of the program.

  • The program is currently open to ventures headquartered in Queensland.