Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes recruiting climate tech army in partnership with Startmate

The tech billionaire has partnered with start-up accelerator Startmate to recruit 300 new people into climate tech start-ups over the next 18 months.

Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is using his philanthropic venture to recruit and upskill 300 new founders and workers into climate tech start-ups over the next 18 months, partnering with start-up accelerator Startmate to launch a Climate Tech Fellowship program.

Startmate will run the eight-week virtual program for 100 people across Australia and New Zealand every six months, with backing from Mr Cannon-Brookes’ philanthropic arm Boundless Earth, which is led by entrepreneur Eytan Lenko.

Mr Lenko told The Australian that his aim is to get hundreds of new people into climate jobs, for a sector he said needs hundreds of thousands of Australians over coming years. He would not disclose the dollar figure of Boundless Earth’s investment but said it has funded the program for an initial two-year period.

“What we’re seeing right now is a huge demand to move their career into climate. People see this as a great opportunity. But the challenge is there aren’t many structured ways to do this. Programs like the Startmate fellowship provide a pathway for talented people into taking up climate jobs as quickly as possible,” Mr Lenko said.

Eytan Lenko. Picture: Josh Robenstone

“The number one thing that anyone can do on climate is take their skills and career into it. This has an outsized impact in terms of the change it can drive. The faster we can turn passion into action and get people and businesses to commit time, resources and energy in this direction, the more of a chance we have to be on the front of the wave as a renewable energy superpower.

“Australians should know that climate jobs are good jobs, and they’re extremely diverse jobs, too. Any job can be a climate job. As long as you are putting your skills towards the service of the climate, it’s a climate job.”

Just over a year ago Mr Cannon-Brookes, who most recently ranked as Australia’s sixth-richest person, and wife Annie announced they would invest $1.5bn into climate projects by 2030.

“On the philanthropic side, this is a huge raise in our ambition, and just seeing the scope of the problem and the amount of things that need to be addressed and changed,” he said at the time. “My suspicion over the next eight years is that we’ll need to do a lot more than a lot more, so we’re gonna go out and do that.”

Startmate program manager Julia West said that 1200 people have applied for the program so far, and participants will learn from climate tech founders, employees and investors across Australia and New Zealand.

The first cohort includes speakers and advisers from Climate Salad, Grok Ventures, Wedgetail, Artesian, Vow, Goterra, Great Wrap, Brighte, Fleet Space, ReGen Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, Xylo Systems, Loam Bio, Emmi, HydGene Renewables, Gridmo and Pollination.

“The Climate Tech Fellowship is designed for individuals who want to figure out how to make a tangible impact on climate change,” Ms West said.

Startmate's chief of staff Phoebe Pincus at Demo Day. Picture: Supplied

“Fellows have the opportunity to explore the full range of climate problems and identify where their skills and passion can make the most significant difference. Whether they join a start-up or found one themselves, the Climate Tech Fellowship is there to empower action.”

Mr Lenko said that he is optimistic about the federal budget next week when it comes to funding climate action.

“At Boundless we’ve put effort into encouraging the government to go further on programs like electric vehicle policy, home electrification and growing the climate workforce, so we hope to see these areas also reflected in the budget,” he said.

“Boundless has been around for a little over a year now, and the overwhelming takeaway is that there’s huge energy and enthusiasm in all pockets of the country to accelerate climate solutions at the scale and speed required to do what’s needed to avert the global climate crisis.

“I think, 10 years ago, being in a climate job felt a bit lonely, and a lot of the work in the climate space was trying to convince people there is a problem. Today, there is way more focus on action. We’re incredibly grateful to work with partners like Startmate who share a similar vision to us of catalysing the next wave of this action.”

Originally published as Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes recruiting climate tech army in partnership with Startmate