Kickstart Factory

We understand that if we don't grow the next generation of seedlings we won't have more Australian startups to fund

Our investment in these start-ups allows them to create financial structures that focus first on the success of their business and second on getting their product to retain its origin in Australia.

About Us — "You know, find something to celebrate, well that's just so important...to have a dream, that's why you're there."

Hicko

We’re also not blind to our current environment in Australian S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, and Engineering & Maths) skills – we understand that if we don’t grow the next generation of seedlings we won’t have more Australian start-ups to fund.

To this end, a proportion of our fund and all future earnings will be spent on youth S.T.E.M. programs.

Our Founder

Our founders, Sandy Eastman and Greg Miller, have spent a combined 58 years in the tech industry and are passionate believers in building a stronger Australia... one that will be globally competitive in the face of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Sandy Eastman

Greg Miller

Sandy has over 35 years of experience in the Technology industry. She started her career at SAP and after leaving SAP in 1998, founded Link2People and implemented SAP HR/Payroll across the Asia Pacific region. In 2002, ADP purchased the assets and most of the employees from Link2People.

In 2009, Sandy took on the role of CEO for ROC Group ANZ & Asia and was named as #4 on the Inside SAP Top 10 most influential people list. Her client list of large multinational organisations is truly enviable including: Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Procter and Gamble and Cisco Systems just to name a few.

In 2014, Sandy decided to use her collected experience in IT to build a new product under the Approach Solutions banner using the SAP Global OEM Partnership. SAP Cloud Platform has allowed her take a design that has been on the drawing board since 2000, prohibited by costs; to come to life using the SAP Cloud Platform.

In 2015 Sandy and Approach Solutions were awarded the SAP Excellence Award for Outstanding Innovation on the SAP Cloud Platform.

Greg joins Kickstart following a 23-year career in the IT industry spanning Silicon Valley & Australasia. Until recently, Greg worked at SAP where he held the roles of Chief Operating Officer and VP & GM Global Partner Operations, ANZ. Prior to that, Greg held senior roles at Unisys, PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems & Oracle. Greg also chairs the Young ICT Explorers youth S.T.E.M. program, part of an Australia-wide push to restore the focus, and increase student uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects in primary and secondary schools across the country.

He is a passionate believer that results are driven by highly engaged people and that the highest level of engagement is achieved when you connect those individuals with the communities in which they live and work.

As such, Greg has a strong interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) having led both PeopleSoft & SAP’s CSR programs. He remains a National Ambassador and advocate for The Australia Indigenous Education Foundation and The Smith Family.