Forging STEM Founders Early: How UNSW’s New Wave Program Helps Women Start Something New and launch their start-up
MULTIPLE HATS: STEM Careers | Reinvention | Entrepreneurship |Thought LeadershipShow Notes
🎙️ Forging Founders Early: How UNSW’s New Wave Program Helps Women in STEMM ( and others) Start Something New Victoria Rose Tucker on why it’s never too early to explore entrepreneurship—and how women can take the first step with support, structure, and community
🔍 What You’ll Learn: Why the startup world needs more women founders—and how programs like New Wave open doors How to test your entrepreneurial curiosity without quitting your job or degree What makes UNSW’s New Wave program unique in lowering the barrier to entry How mentorship and confidence-building are just as important as funding Real-life outcomes: from AI health tools to inclusive innovation leadership
🧠 About the Guest: Victoria Rose Tucker is Program Manager of UNSW’s New Wave, an accelerator designed to empower women entrepreneurs—many from science backgrounds—to take the first step into the startup world. Victoria shares how the program’s structure, community, and low-barrier entry approach is helping women build confidence, test ideas, and change the face of early-stage entrepreneurship.
📌 Episode Highlights: 03:15 Overview of UNSW Founders’ entrepreneurial programs 05:13 Who can join and how it works 06:07 New Wave structure & what participants actually do 07:15 The real challenges women face—and how the program supports them 09:45 Success stories & future vision 16:46 Debunking the myths of what a founder “should” look like 32:22 Early-stage ideas: discreet solutions to real-world needs 32:37 Spotlight: AI-powered chronic illness management (Team Toastie) 34:05 Addressing the gender data gap in health 34:53 Mentorship, peer support & community 37:01 Building purposeful, diverse teams 39:02 Celebrating wins: showcase & awards 42:35 Victoria’s own path into entrepreneurship 48:21 Momentum Month: sustaining progress beyond the program 53:22 The future of inclusive entrepreneurship 54:39 How to create more opportunities for women in STEMM 59:48 Final reflections and call to action
🔗 Resources Mentioned: UNSW Founders – New Wave Program
🤔 Reflection Time: Could a program like New Wave help you take your first step toward entrepreneurship? What stories or stats shook your assumptions in this episode? Is there an idea you’ve been sitting on that’s worth testing—just to see?
Want to craft a career story that opens doors? I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you. 📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn
⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers If you enjoyed this episode, please: ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏 ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from MULTIPLE HATS: STEM Careers | Reinvention | Entrepreneurship |Thought Leadership
You have promising science. But is there actually a commercial opportunity behind it? And if you’re considering moving from scientist to entrepreneur, how do you know whether your research has the ingredients for a biotech company?
What happens when scientists stop presenting their research to other scientists and put it in front of biotech and drug development experts instead? The questions change. Suddenly it isn’t only, “Does the science work?” It’s also: Who is the patient? What is the indication? What evidence do you need next? What could stop this programme? Who needs to partner with you? And what would a credible path to the clinic actually look like?
Should your research become a medicine? And if it has commercial potential, should you be the scientist who takes it forward? For academics considering the move from scientist to entrepreneur, that decision starts well before forming a biotech company.
A rapid-fire conversation on transferable STEM skills, working smarter, visibility and what is actually good enough to start.
How a nurse turned a recurring healthcare problem into NeedleCalm, and what ten years of building taught her about medtech entrepreneurship.