The founder ads open with the strongest offer in Australian early-stage building: A$3m committed per venture, 30% equity for the founding team, and founders set their own salaries. The ad says it will stay on the website "for people who find their own way here". But the site says "$2m committed from day zero" in one list and "$3m" in another, the FAQ on five pages says "up to $2M", and no page mentions the 30% or the salaries. A candidate who checks the site before applying finds a smaller, vaguer deal than the ad.
First action
Change the $2m figures to A$3m today.
How to measure it
Website-sourced founder applications
- Now
- –
- Target
- +50%
- By
- 60 days
Steps
Agree the wording
The three terms exactly as in the ads.
CEO 1 day
Fix the figures
$2m to A$3m on /builders and in the FAQ.
Head of Ecosystem, Events & Comms 1 hour
Add the deal block
Top of /builders and /jobs.
Head of Ecosystem, Events & Comms 1 day
Add "what you inherit"
Prototype, demand data, idea tree, growth engine, desk.
Head of Venture Research & Product 1 day
Clean the job cards
Real department or remove the field.
Head of Ecosystem, Events & Comms 1 hour
Tag the source
UTM on site Apply links to Ashby.
CTO 1 hour
Review monthly
Applications by source and quality.
Head of Talent monthly
Why it works
Add "The deal" block to the top of /builders and /jobs with the three terms exactly as the ads state them, and a short "what you inherit" list (prototype, demand data, idea tree, growth engine, Tech Central desk). Correct the $2m figures and the FAQ answer to A$3m, and remove the "Department" placeholder from the job cards. Track Apply clicks from the site separately from LinkedIn.
Senior operators decide on equity, runway and pay before anything else. Stating them plainly, and identically, removes the first doubt and makes the website a recruiting channel in its own right.
Ready to use
ChecklistThe deal block
[ ] A$3m committed per venture, about two years of runway [ ] 30% equity for the founding team [ ] Founders set their salaries inside the budget [ ] What you inherit: prototype, demand data, idea tree, growth engine [ ] Where: Tech Central, Sydney [ ] Same figures in the FAQ, ads and job posts [ ] Apply link with a website source tag
Risks and how to handle them
Terms change for later ventures
Date the block and keep one source of truth for ads and site.
Evidence
- HiringConsumer Growth Founder (Sydney, posted October 22, 2026): "The deal, up front": "A$3m of committed capital per venture, roughly two years of focused runway", "30% equity for the founding team" and "Founder salaries are paid from the A$3m, and the founders set them". The founder inherits demand data ("reach, conversion, cost per signup") and "the tree" of scored variations. "About 40 prototypes sit in the pipeline today"; many are subscriptions "where the person who pays isn't always the person who uses it. Retention is harder than acquisition there". Partnerships "with a telco, insurer, retailer, health or community organisation" are a plus. Repeat Builders is "launching its first five ventures over the next six months", with "over 2,200" ideas scored. The ad will "remain live on our website for people who find their own way here".Source
- Your websiteBuilders page (checked October 22, 2026): the benefits appear twice, once as "Pre-funded venture starts - $2m committed from day zero" and once as "$3m committed from day zero". No page on the site mentions the 30% founder equity or that founders set their own salaries. Each job card on /builders and /jobs shows the placeholder word "Department".Source
- Your websiteFAQ, repeated on the home, builders, ecosystem and FAQ pages: each venture receives "up to $2M of capital", and "We don't run an application process and we don't match strangers to ideas". Meanwhile /jobs and /builders list four roles with "Apply" buttons.Source
- HiringTechnical Founder, AI-Enabled Product & Data Engineering (posted September 29, 2026) and Technical Founder, AI-Enabled Engineering (posted August 26, 2026): the same A$3m, 30% deal; ventures arrive "with a validated MVP and real demand behind it, whether a waiting list or early customers willing to pay"; "Every venture runs on the AI-native operating system we've built", including "the talent system for your first hires" and "the growth analytics engine that validated your demand".Source