Hey crew! A huge shout-out to everyone who packed the house last night for “How to Raise Your First Million.” Your questions, hot takes, and relentless note-scribbling gave the panel all the good vibes — and the nuggets below are too good not to share.
1. Event Recap – How to Raise Your First Million 💰 Sponsored by Boab AI
Quick-fire insights straight from the panel to your inbox.
Ben Southall (Talked): Funding ≠ goal. Start with personal clarity: lifestyle, control, ambition. Align the raise (or non-raise) to that.
Renata Sguario (Maxme): Soft skills > spreadsheets. Investors feel confidence; EQ is the multiplier on IQ.
Shuyun (Betty) Zhang (Boson Ventures): What VCs crave right now: high-agency teams who prove they can sell the story and execute fast. PMF isn’t just numbers — it’s conviction + traction + narrative.
Amir Nissen (Boab AI): “Move fast, talk to users, fix later.” Worry about fancy structures after people actually want what you’re building.
Theme of the night? Clarity, conviction, execution. Big thanks to Dr Sam Donegan (MLAI), Enactus Melbourne, and Boab AI for making it happen.
Reminder: Boab’s Generation AI program is accepting applicants for cohort 3 NOW
2. 🚀 $1000 prize! – AI Pitch Competition · 29 May 2025
Got a killer AI idea? Time to put it on stage.
Game plan
Record a 3-minute pitch. (Canva and Loom have free recording tools)
Email it to hi@mlai.au using our How to Pitch Guide template.
Top 8 teams (≤ 6 people each) battle it out live in front of VCs, founders & AI experts.
🏆 Cash prize + ETERNAL bragging rights
📅 When: Thu 29 May 2025, evening
📍 Where: University of Melbourne (full details soon)
🤝 Sponsors: Huge thanks to Boab AI & Antler
Whether you’re still polishing an MVP or already shipping code, this is the stage to get noticed, get funded, and get building.
3. Sneak Peek – Pesto 🪄🤝
We’ve been quietly cooking Pesto, an AI-powered super-connector that matches you with the perfect contact across Melbourne’s startup scene — investors, co-founders, domain gurus, you name it.
For now it’s invite-only, and you (our newsletter fam) are first in line.
👉 Hop on the waitlist: https://foggy-bun-a76.notion.site/1e5cd06323e68007b876cd524886befe
4. Coworking
Melbourne's two largest AI Communities are coming together to bring you a fantastic day of building and co-working!!
This event is great for those who want to work on their AI products, see what others are building, get to know Melbourne's awesome AI community more, and just hang out and have a great time!
Register here as spots are limited and they ALWAYS fill up too quickly
5. Quick Bits 🔦
Photos from “How to Raise Your First Million” are dropping next week — keep an eye on our socials.
Volunteers wanted: Love AI + community? Reply to this email; we’ll plug you into upcoming events.
Thanks for riding the AI wave with us. Big things are brewing — can’t wait to see (and fund!) what you build next.
Stay curious,
Your MLAI crew 🤖✨
P.S. Forward this to a friend who should pitch on 29 May — future unicorns welcome.
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