What Fishburners does

Fishburners Ltd is an Australian private company, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Sydney, that operates the country's largest community for technology startup founders. It delivers value through an integrated model combining physical co-working memberships, a digital Founders Hub portal (built on the third-party Bisner Europe B.V. platform and billed via Stripe), and structured programming including mentorship, pitch events, and curated investor introductions. The company monetises through three recurring subscription tiers: Passport Hub at $700/month (no lock-in), Residency Flexi at $380/month (12-month, part-time), and Residency at $700/month (12-month, full-time), plus a separate Founders Hub digital membership at $53/month billed annually. All fees are GST-exclusive and no equity is taken from members. Distribution is primarily direct and self-serve via the fishburners.org and foundershub.org websites, supplemented by events on Humanitix and the WeWork partnership at 64 York Street. In December 2025 Fishburners launched The Ascent Project, a free national program for women founders built on a coalition of 30+ funding partners including Airtree, Tractor Ventures, OneVentures, Techstars, and Birchal; it is also developing an Ecosystem Navigator tool to aggregate ecosystem events and opportunities. As of May 8, 2026, Fishburners entered voluntary administration after accumulating approximately $2.2 million in rental debt owed to Innovation NSW through its Sydney Startup Hub tenancy, with administrators pursuing an accelerated sale and recapitalisation.

Name

Fishburners

Legal name

Fishburners Ltd

Website

https://fishburners.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fishburners is an Australian startup community founded in 2011 that runs Sydney co-working spaces, a digital Founders Hub membership platform, and programs such as The Ascent Project for women founders, monetising through recurring subscriptions without taking equity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ultimo

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees (Passport Hub, Residency Flexi, Residency): Fishburners generates revenue primarily through membership fees for its co-working and community programs. Three tiers are offered: Passport Hub ($700/month, dedicated full-time desk with no lock-in), Residency Flexi ($380/month, part-time desk with 12-month lock-in), and Residency ($700/month, dedicated full-time desk with 12-month lock-in). All fees are GST exclusive.
2. Digital Founders Hub Subscription: A separate digital membership (Founders Hub) provides online community access, resources, tools, perks, and networking features for $53/month billed annually (saving 40% vs monthly). Includes 500+ founder videos, Slack community, mentor sessions, and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fishburners operates Australia's largest startup community, offering paid physical co-working memberships (Passport Hub and Residency) and a separate digital Founders Hub subscription that together deliver workspace access, mentorship from 35+ pro bono advisors, investor introductions, founder events, 500+ educational videos, and $250K+ in partner perks. All programs are delivered without taking equity from member startups.

Product overview

Fishburners is Australia's leading startup community organization offering a comprehensive ecosystem of programs and services for founders from first idea through to Series A. The portfolio includes: the Passport Hub (flexible virtual membership with global workspace access), the Residency Program (in-person co-working with dedicated full-time desks), Founders Hub (digital membership portal with 500+ videos, community, and $250K+ in partner perks), The Ascent Project (women founder support program with 30+ funding partners), Ecosystem Navigator (ecosystem navigation tool in development), and Startup Fast Pass (perks program offering discounts on tools like Webflow, Hubspot, Intercom, AWS, and Notion). Additional services include 35+ pro bono mentors, monthly Founder Sessions, Pitch Nights, and access to WeWork global workspaces. The organization operates from locations at 477 Pitt Street and 64 York Street in Sydney, Australia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Founders Hub: Digital membership platform providing access to startup resources, perks, discounts, video content, and community features.
• The Ascent Project
• Passport Membership
• Residency Program
• Startup Fast Pass
• Ecosystem Navigator

Products and services

• Passport Hub A virtual and flexible membership providing access to Australia's most connected startup network, including mentors, resources, events, and a global network of partner workspaces through WeWork. Includes a dedicated Passport Hub location for full-time workspace access at $700/month + GST with no lock-in and 24/7 access.
• Residency Program An in-person co-working residency program for early and growth-stage startups providing a high-performance, focused environment alongside other ambitious founders. Offered as Residency ($700/month, dedicated full-time desk, 12-month lock-in, 24/7 access) and Residency Flexi ($380/month, part-time desk, 10 days/month, 12-month lock-in).
• Founders Hub A digital membership portal providing startup resources including 500+ founder-only videos, direct community access, Slack channel, opportunities/jobs marketplace, and $250K+ worth of perks and discounts from partner tools including Webflow, HubSpot, Intercom, Stripe, AWS, and Notion. Priced at $53/month billed annually (saves 40% vs monthly).
• Startup Fast Pass A startup benefits program providing access to $250K+ worth of perks and discounts from essential tools and services including Webflow, HubSpot, Intercom, Stripe, AWS, Notion, and more. Intercom provides 12 months free in year one, 50% off in year two, and 25% off in year three. Over 1,000 founders have used the Startup Fast Pass.
• The Ascent Project A national funding infrastructure program designed to support women founders in accessing capital through education, tools, and network connections. Built with 30+ funders, advisors, and ecosystem partners (including Airtree, Tractor Ventures, OneVentures, Tidal, Touch Ventures, Side Stage, Techstars, Birchal), offering free on-demand education modules, curated introductions, and national visibility. 850+ women founders have engaged with the program since launch.

Quantifiable outcome

• 850+ women founders engaged through The Ascent Project
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TechstarscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 December 2025Techstars is a global accelerator operator partnering with Fishburners on The Ascent Project. As a Strategic Partner, Techstars contributes program design expertise, founder network access, and visibility across the global startup ecosystem for women founders in Australia.
• Side StagecoreOthers · 9 December 2025Side Stage is an ecosystem partner in The Ascent Project, providing women founders with platform access, visibility, and network connections as part of the broader 30+ partner coalition supporting the initiative.
• BirchalcoreOthers · 9 December 2025Birchal is a crowdfunding platform and ecosystem partner in The Ascent Project. As part of the 30+ partner network, Birchal provides women founders with access to alternative funding pathways and investor education.
• Sip VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Sip Ventures is the corporate venture studio of Asahi Beverages. Fishburners has partnered with Sip Ventures to offer eligible startups and scaleups access to a 12–20 week commercial pilot program with up to $150,000 in equity-free funding and the opportunity to pilot solutions within Asahi Beverages' network across Australia and New Zealand.
• WeWorkcoreTechnology or IntegrationFishburners operates its 64 York Street CBD Passport Hub space in partnership with WeWork. Members at this location access WeWork facilities and global service access. The WeWork Rules govern conduct at the 64 York Street premises. Additionally, members with a Founders Hub Passport gain access to a global network of partner workspaces through WeWork.
• HubSpotminorOthersHubSpot is included in the Startup Fast Pass program, providing Fishburners members with discounted or free access to HubSpot's marketing and CRM tools as part of the $250K+ perks bundle available to all members.
• StripeminorOthersStripe is included in the Startup Fast Pass program, providing Fishburners members with preferential access to Stripe's payment processing tools as part of the $250K+ perks bundle.
• AWSminorOthersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is included in the Startup Fast Pass program, offering Fishburners members discounted cloud infrastructure access as part of the $250K+ perks bundle.
• IntercomminorOthersIntercom is included in the Startup Fast Pass, offering Fishburners members 12 months free (first year), 50% off (second year), and 25% off (third year) on Intercom's customer messaging platform as part of the perks bundle.
• WebflowminorOthersWebflow is included in the Startup Fast Pass, providing Fishburners members with website building tools and discounts as part of the $250K+ perks bundle.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Innovation Bay: Australian founder and investor community running curated events, dinners, and programs connecting startups with capital. Directly comparable as it targets the same Australian early- and growth-stage founder audience with community-led programming and investor-access use cases that overlap Fishburners' value proposition.
• Startmate: Leading Australian startup accelerator and founder community. Directly comparable because it targets the same Australian early-stage founder segment, runs fellowship and accelerator programs, and operates on a community-led model with corporate and VC partnerships across the same ecosystem.
• Stone & Chalk: Australian technology and startup hub providing co-working, community, and programs to founders and growth-stage startups. Directly comparable as a domestic competitor with a similar mission of supporting Australian tech founders through workspace, programs, and partner networks.
• Antler: Global startup generator with one of its largest presences in Australia/Sydney. Directly comparable as it recruits first-time founders, provides cohort-based programming, mentorship, and initial capital, competing for the same pre-seed Australian founder pipeline that Fishburners targets.
• muru-D: Telstra-backed Australian startup accelerator offering equity-free programs, mentorship, and partner access to early-stage founders. Directly comparable because it serves the same Australian early-stage founder audience with structured cohort programming and a corporate-partner-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: The global benchmark for startup accelerators, operating across geographies and stages. Comparable as the dominant category leader offering founder community, mentorship, and demo-day access that Australian founders also aspire to, though it does not run local physical co-working.
• Techstars: Global accelerator network with multiple programs and corporate partnerships. Already an active Fishburners partner through The Ascent Project, and broadly comparable because it competes for the same cohort of ambitious founders and offers structured accelerator content plus investor introductions.
• WeWork: Global flexible-workspace operator and current Fishburners partner at the 64 York Street Passport Hub. Broadly comparable as the dominant category incumbent in flexible co-working, setting pricing benchmarks and competing for the same startup and small-business workspace demand in Sydney.

Others

• Blackbird Ventures: Leading Australian venture capital firm and Ascent Project partner through its founder-community and portfolio support work. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that operates programs and community events for Australian founders alongside investment activity, competing for the same founder mindshare and ecosystem branding.

Regional players

• Cremorne Digital Hub / Melbourne Startup Hub operators: State-government-supported startup hubs in other Australian capitals (notably Melbourne Startup Hub) that run accelerator programs, co-working, and ecosystem events. Comparable as parallel government-anchored founder communities, but operating in different geographies without direct day-to-day overlap with Fishburners' Sydney base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Fishburners
• Facebookfacebook.com/fishburners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fishburners