Vibewire
Vibewire is a Sydney-based youth-led not-for-profit platform founded in 2000 that delivers skills development, social impact hackathons, women's upskilling, co-working, and civic engagement programs for young Australians under 30.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersSydney, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Vibewire does
Vibewire is a youth-led not-for-profit organization headquartered in Sydney, Australia, that operates as a platform to support young Australians under 30 as change makers, entrepreneurs, and creatives. Founded in 2000 and operating as Vibewire Pty Ltd, the organization delivers an integrated suite of programs: the Skills Gym (skills development workouts including Soapbox Club, Dollar Dollar Bill, Hack-A-Thing, and Start Up Sundays), the Hacks4Impact social impact hackathon series (Hack4Homelessness, Hack4DV, Hack4MentalHealth, Hack4FI, Hack4Health), the OnRamp women's upskilling programme, a Common Room co-working space, and the electionWIRE civic engagement platform. Over its near-20-year history Vibewire has built a community of more than 10,000 young Australians, with 800+ individuals having passed through Skills Gym programmes and startup memberships having doubled year-over-year in 2017. Core "technology" is operational rather than software-based: hackathon facilitation methodology, skills curricula, and co-working infrastructure at 39 Liverpool Street, Sydney.
Vibewire's business model is predominantly sponsorship and grant-funded. Corporate partners — Telstra Foundation, Domain Group, QBE Insurance, SGCH, AcademyXi, NSW Council of Social Service, and others — underwrite hackathon prize pools, provide mentors and data, and host events. Programs are free to participants; the co-working space generates a subscription-based membership stream whose pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: hashtag campaigns (#Hack4Homelessness, #Hack4DV, #Hack4MentalHealth), Eventbrite registration, social media, email newsletters, and crowdfunding via Start Some Good. The organization is single-country (Australia/NSW), governed by a voluntary board (President Jye Smith, Vice President Sophia Brockman, Board Member Mike Biggs), and led day-to-day by Executive Director Laura Rojas since March 2018.
Vibewire firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vibewire
- Legal name
- Vibewire Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://vibewire.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Vibewire is a Sydney-based youth-led not-for-profit platform founded in 2000 that delivers skills development, social impact hackathons, women's upskilling, co-working, and civic engagement programs for young Australians under 30.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vibewire industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Development and Community Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)
Keywords
Where Vibewire is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sydney
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Vibewire business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Sponsorships and Grants: Vibewire receives funding and support from corporate sponsors including Telstra Foundation, Domain Group, QBE Insurance, and community housing providers for hackathon events and programs.
- Co-working Membership: The Common Room co-working space for under-30s generates membership revenue. Startups can access the space, with the 2017 results showing doubled startup memberships.
- Program Fees: Skills Gym programs including Soapbox Club, Start-Up Sundays, Hack-A-Thing, and Dollar Dollar Bill. Over 800 young Australians passed through the programs in 2017.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | — | Hackathon participation - free |
| Freemium | — | Skills Gym programs - free |
| Subscription | — | Co-working membership - undisclosed |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Vibewire product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vibewire is a youth-led not-for-profit community organization based in Sydney, Australia, founded in 2000. It delivers skills development programs (Skills Gym), social impact hackathons (Hacks4Impact), women's upskilling programs (OnRamp), and operates the Common Room co-working space, all targeted at empowering young Australians under 30. The organization functions as a community platform connecting young people with mentors, employers, and social impact opportunities.
Product overview
Vibewire is a youth-led not-for-profit platform that supports young Australians as change makers through multiple interconnected programs. The core offering consists of the Skills Gym (with four workout sessions: Soapbox Club, Dollar Dollar Bill, Hack-A-Thing, and Start Up Sundays), Hacks4Impact social impact hackathon series (Hack4Homelessness, Hack4DV, Hack4MentalHealth, Hack4Health, Hack4FI), OnRamp women's upskilling programme, the Common Room co-working space, and electionWIRE civic engagement platform. Over 800 young Australians have passed through these programs, which collectively aim to build enterprise skills and drive social change.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Skills Gym: Skills development program with workouts including Soapbox Club, Dollar Dollar Bill, Hack-A-Thing, and Start-Up Sundays to make young people 'enterprise' fit.
- OnRamp
- Hacks4Impact
- Hack-A-Thing
- Common Room
Products and services
- Skills Gym
- Hacks4Impact
- OnRamp
- Common Room Co-working
Quantifiable outcome
- 800+ young Australians developed skills through Skills Gym programs
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Vibewire
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Vibewire technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Vibewire partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Start Some GoodminorCrowdfunding platform partner for Hack4DV. Provided interview and promotional support for hackathon series.
- MnM InstituteminorVenue provider for hackathons including Hack4DV (8-10 December 2017) and Hack4MentalHealth (16-18 February 2018). Located at 39 Liverpool Street, Sydney.
- New HorizonsminorCommunity supporter and collaborator at Hack4Homelessness 2017.
- Jewish HousecoreCrisis Centre providing accommodation, counseling and essentials for people in crisis. CEO Rabbi Mendel Kastel helped frame challenges for Hack4Homelessness. One of the leading agencies addressing homelessness.
- Exodus FoundationcoreCOO Peter Valpiani participated. Has worked in homelessness sector for nearly 30 years, providing over 3 million meals. Provides health and outreach services including food parcels, housing assistance, and primary healthcare.
- NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS)corePeak body for social services. Supported Hack4Homelessness. Winners CareConnect continued working with NCOSS after the event.
- Domain GroupcoreProvided mentors, data and expertise to help teams understand technology and data. CTO Mark Cohen served on judging panel. Provided access to Domain Group APIs for hackathon.
- Minerva CollectivecoreData partner bringing together people and data to help solve social problems. Co-founder Anthony Tockar led data analysis sessions. Committed to improving quality of life through smart use of data.
- Stone & ChalkminorInnovation hub where Minerva Collective assembled over 60 data scientists to explore data solutions to homelessness before the hackathon.
- Link HousingminorMaddie Wacher from Link Housing provided keynote at Hack4Homelessness. Housing provider supporting hackathon outcomes.
- Sydney School for Entrepreneurship (SSE)corePartnership of 11 NSW-based universities and TAFE NSW. Head of Experience Stephen Rutter involved. Hack4Homelessness venue. Cornerstone investment by NSW Government.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Vibewire competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Stone & Chalk: Leading Australian innovation hub providing coworking, accelerator, and corporate-innovation programs; comparable to Vibewire as a Sydney-headquartered startup community platform and Vibewire hackathon partner (via Minerva Collective).
- Tech Girls Movement: Australian nonprofit building tech confidence and pathways for girls and young women; closely aligned with Vibewire's OnRamp women's upskilling mission and youth-skill mandate.
- Sydney School for Entrepreneurship (SSE): NSW-government-backed partnership of 11 universities and TAFE NSW delivering entrepreneurship programs to young Australians; overlapping youth/startup mandate and a Vibewire venue and judging partner.
- Fishburners: Australia's largest startup coworking community with a Sydney flagship serving founders; directly comparable to Vibewire's Common Room for the same under-30 founder demographic.
- Start Some Good: Australia-headquartered crowdfunding and community platform for social enterprises; a Vibewire hackathon partner with overlapping mission of mobilizing changemakers, including youth, around social impact projects.
- Tank Stream Labs: Sydney-focused coworking operator for startups and tech teams; competes for the same early-stage founder audience as Vibewire's Common Room.
Broad incumbents
- Techstars: Global accelerator network with accelerator programs that overlap Vibewire's startup-development and mentorship offerings for early-stage founders; included as a broad incumbent comparable.
- Slingshot Accelerator: Australian accelerator and corporate-innovation program (now Saluda/Stone & Chalk ecosystem); comparable as a domestic cohort-based accelerator serving Australian early-stage founders.
Emerging players
- AcademyXi: Sydney-based technology and design education provider offering bootcamps and short courses; comparable to Vibewire's Skills Gym in skills-development intent (and provides hackathon prizes to Vibewire winners).
- Innovation Bay: Australia-based community network for technology founders, investors, and corporates; overlapping community/ecosystem-building mission with Vibewire, particularly in connecting startups to enterprise partners.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Vibewire social profiles
Digital presenceVibewire financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vibewire leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Vibewire funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vibewire M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vibewire
What does Vibewire do?
Vibewire is a youth-led not-for-profit community organization based in Sydney, Australia, founded in 2000. It delivers skills development programs (Skills Gym), social impact hackathons (Hacks4Impact), women's upskilling programs (OnRamp), and operates the Common Room co-working space, all targeted at empowering young Australians under 30. The organization functions as a community platform connecting young people with mentors, employers, and social impact opportunities.
Is Vibewire a public or private company?
Vibewire is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Vibewire founded?
Vibewire was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Vibewire based?
Vibewire is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Vibewire make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Sponsorships and Grants are the primary driver. The others are co-working Membership and program Fees.
Who are Vibewire's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Stone & Chalk, Tech Girls Movement, Sydney School for Entrepreneurship (SSE), Fishburners, Start Some Good and Tank Stream Labs. Broad incumbents are Techstars and Slingshot Accelerator. Emerging players are AcademyXi and Innovation Bay.
Does Vibewire have an API?
No public API is recorded for Vibewire.
What industry is Vibewire in?
Vibewire's product category is Youth Development and Community Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAD, Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDAKAMAO, Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.