What Assisterhood does

Assisterhood is a free, volunteer-driven mentorship program founded in March 2018 by Linh Diep while she was at Publicis Worldwide in Brisbane. The program connects underrepresented communications professionals — primarily women and people from diverse backgrounds — with senior industry leaders for one-on-one mentoring across marketing, creative, design, tech, strategy, client services, production, media, and business disciplines. The core offering is a six-month annual program (May to November) structured around three geographic chapters — Queensland (Brisbane/Meanjin), New South Wales (Sydney/Warrang), and Victoria (Melbourne/Naarm) — plus an Online chapter covering Aotearoa (New Zealand), Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Mentor-mentee matching is conducted through a qualitative application process that uses open-ended questions and sliding scales to align on values, communication style, working style, and career goals. The program pairs mentees with senior mentors drawn from organizations including Canva, KFC, Nike, Droga5, Publicis, Meta, Google, and Saatchi & Saatchi; mentors include Managing Directors, Creative Directors, Heads of Strategy, and senior practitioners across the communications industry. Disclosed alumni outcomes include a 62% promotion-or-new-job rate within 12 months, 85% reporting new skills gained, and 30% transitioning into people-management roles.

The business model is sponsorship-funded: the program is entirely free for mentees and mentors, sustained through corporate sponsors (lead: Streamtime for three consecutive years; Ally sponsors include no sunday blues, Kerfuffle, and TwentyTwo Digital) and community partners (Mavens, Never Not Creative, Women in Digital, Playground, Askable, Innocean). The founder describes Assisterhood as a "passion project." There are no disclosed revenue figures, no external funding rounds, no institutional investment, and no conventional headcount — operations run through a national volunteer leadership squad (CEO/Founder, COO, state leads, co-leads, and creative leads) plus per-chapter volunteers. Distribution occurs through the structured application process, LinkedIn and Instagram presence, partner channels, and community events.

Name

Assisterhood

Legal name

Assisterhood

Website

https://assisterhood.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Assisterhood is a free, sponsorship-funded mentorship program connecting underrepresented communications professionals in Australia, Aotearoa, Singapore, the UK, and the USA with senior industry leaders via regional and online chapters running annually from May to November.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Mentorship Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Coaching, Mentoring & Placement Support Services (EDAAAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Networking & Peer Support Platforms (EDAFAMAN), Coaching, Feedback & Mentoring Skills (EDABAMAM)

Keywords

• Professional mentorship programs
• Career development services
• Communications industry mentoring
• Diversity inclusion programs
• Community networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

Brisbane

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship & Grants: Assisterhood is a free program for participants, funded through corporate sponsorships and partnerships. The program relies on sponsors to keep it free and continue improving representation in the industry.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Assisterhood runs a free, annual mentorship program (May–November) that pairs underrepresented communications professionals with senior industry leaders in marketing, creative, tech, strategy, and business. Participants are matched through a qualitative survey-based application process on personality, goals, values, and working styles, and the program includes one-on-one mentoring, workshops, kick-off and end-of-year community events, and ongoing alumni support.

Product overview

Assisterhood is a single-product mentorship program structured around regional chapters (QLD, VIC, NSW) and an online chapter. The core offering is the Assisterhood Mentorship Program, a free annual program that pairs underrepresented communications professionals with senior industry mentors through a qualitative matching process. The program runs May–November with workshops, events, and one-on-one mentoring sessions. Each regional chapter operates independently with dedicated local mentors and squad members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Assisterhood Mentorship Program
• QLD Chapter
• VIC Chapter
• NSW Chapter
• Online Chapter

Quantifiable outcome

• 62% of mentees obtained a promotion or new job within 12 months of the program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StreamtimecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Streamtime is project management software for creative businesses and serves as the leading Assisterhood sponsor for 2026. They have been championing the program for three years and making it possible. Streamtime has won at D&AD, Webby, AGDA awards and more across the industry. They are all about productive wellbeing, designed for creative businesses, by creative business leaders.
• no sunday bluesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026no sunday blues is a recruitment agency specializing in Advertising, PR, Creative, Marketing & Social Media. Founded by Mikhaila Warburton, Charlotte, and Steph, they are an Ally sponsor for 2026. Steph Graham joined the VIC program as a mentor in 2025, and Mikhaila Warburton is mentoring in the NSW program. Known for compassion, honesty and relationship-first approach.
• KerfuffleminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Kerfuffle is an award-winning independent advertising agency creating strategy, design, and ideas that command attention. An Ally sponsor for 2026. Fun fact: Jess Roper was part of the very first Assisterhood VIC Squad, then thrived as VIC Lead, and is now connecting the two organizations. Official office opened in Flinders Lane, Melbourne in January 2025.
• TwentyTwo DigitalminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026TwentyTwo Digital is a female founded and led full-service digital marketing agency. An Ally sponsor for 2026. Since 2021, team members have taken part as mentors and mentees. They support the program to help more people back themselves and thrive in the industry.
• PlaygroundminorOthers · 1 January 2026Partner organization supporting Assisterhood as shown in partner logos on the website.
• AskableminorOthers · 1 January 2026Partner organization supporting Assisterhood as shown in partner logos on the website.
• InnoceanminorOthers · 1 January 2026Partner organization supporting Assisterhood as shown in partner logos on the website.
• MavensminorOthers · 1 January 2025Mavens is a gender equality publication and community partner. They are a collective of changemakers redefining what it means to lead in the communications industry. They released a 62-page Diversity Report endorsed by British ad legend Cindy Gallop. Assisterhood Founder Linh Diep delivered a keynote at the inaugural Mavens magazine launch in 2022.
• Never Not CreativeminorOthers · 1 January 2025Never Not Creative is a community for creatives known for the 'Asking for A Friend' series where creative leaders and psychologists talk about mental health, careers, and everything in between. They also run the industry Mentally Healthy survey, one of the largest studies into mental health of the creative, media, and marketing industries.
• Women in DigitalminorOthers · 1 January 2025Women in Digital is a career guidance service passionate about harnessing the power of technology to solve problems and create a better future. A cornerstone of the Australian tech community for nine years with a key focus of improving gender diversity in the industry. They run the Women in Digital Awards and support championing women.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Creative Mornings: Creative Mornings is a global breakfast lecture series for the creative community with local chapters. While broader and less mentorship-specific than Assisterhood, it serves a comparable creative-professional audience via free community programming and chapter-based distribution.

Direct peers

• The Marketing Academy: The Marketing Academy runs mentorship and leadership development programmes for marketing professionals, including scholarship and mentoring cohorts. It targets a similar persona (emerging to senior marketing/comms leaders) with a cohort-based mentorship model analogous to Assisterhood's.
• She Says: She Says is a global network supporting women in the creative, communications, and technology industries through events, mentorship, and community chapters. It is comparable to Assisterhood in its mission to elevate underrepresented voices in communications and creative disciplines.
• Mavens: Mavens is a gender-equality publication and community in the communications industry, publishing diversity reports and convening leaders. It is an Assisterhood partner and addresses overlapping themes of gender equity and representation in comms.
• Free The Work: Free The Work is a global platform and community advancing diversity and representation in the creative and advertising industries. It shares Assisterhood's focus on broadening representation in communications and offers a structured mentorship/talent-matching layer for underrepresented creators.
• Creative Equals: Creative Equals is a UK-based organisation focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in the creative industries, running mentorship, training, and talent programmes. It directly overlaps with Assisterhood's mission of connecting underrepresented professionals in marketing, creative, and communications with senior industry leaders.
• Brixton Finishing School: Brixton Finishing School runs free mentorship and training programmes for underrepresented talent entering the creative, media, and tech industries. Like Assisterhood, it pairs mentees with senior agency/brand mentors via a structured cohort model with measurable outcomes.
• Never Not Creative: Never Not Creative is an Australian creative community running events, content series, and the 'Mentally Healthy' industry survey. Like Assisterhood it supports creative-industry talent development through community programmes and is a listed Assisterhood community partner.
• Women in Digital: Women in Digital is an Australian career guidance and community organisation championing women in digital and technology. It is already an Assisterhood partner, but operates comparable mentoring, awards, and community programming that overlaps with Assisterhood's mentee persona.
• Colour In Design: Colour In Design is a UK-based initiative promoting racial diversity and representation within the design industry via mentorship, events, and talent programmes. It mirrors Assisterhood's underrepresented-talent focus but is design-specific.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInau.linkedin.com/company/assisterhood
• Instagraminstagram.com/assisterhood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Assisterhood