🎙️ Forging Founders Early: How UNSW’s New Wave Program Helps Women in STEMM ( and others) Start Something New
Victoria Rose Tucker on why it’s never too early to explore entrepreneurship—and how women can take the first step with support, structure, and community
🔍 What You’ll Learn:
- Why the startup world needs more women founders—and how programs like New Wave open doors
- How to test your entrepreneurial curiosity without quitting your job or degree
- What makes UNSW’s New Wave program unique in lowering the barrier to entry
- How mentorship and confidence-building are just as important as funding
- Real-life outcomes: from AI health tools to inclusive innovation leadership
🧠 About the Guest:
Victoria Rose Tucker is Program Manager of UNSW’s New Wave, an accelerator designed to empower women entrepreneurs—many from science backgrounds—to take the first step into the startup world. Victoria shares how the program’s structure, community, and low-barrier entry approach is helping women build confidence, test ideas, and change the face of early-stage entrepreneurship.
📌 Episode Highlights:
- 03:15 Overview of UNSW Founders’ entrepreneurial programs
- 05:13 Who can join and how it works
- 06:07 New Wave structure & what participants actually do
- 07:15 The real challenges women face—and how the program supports them
- 09:45 Success stories & future vision
- 16:46 Debunking the myths of what a founder “should” look like
- 32:22 Early-stage ideas: discreet solutions to real-world needs
- 32:37 Spotlight: AI-powered chronic illness management (Team Toastie)
- 34:05 Addressing the gender data gap in health
- 34:53 Mentorship, peer support & community
- 37:01 Building purposeful, diverse teams
- 39:02 Celebrating wins: showcase & awards
- 42:35 Victoria’s own path into entrepreneurship
- 48:21 Momentum Month: sustaining progress beyond the program
- 53:22 The future of inclusive entrepreneurship
- 54:39 How to create more opportunities for women in STEMM
- 59:48 Final reflections and call to action
🔗 Resources Mentioned:
🤔 Reflection Time:
- Could a program like New Wave help you take your first step toward entrepreneurship?
- What stories or stats shook your assumptions in this episode?
- Is there an idea you’ve been sitting on that’s worth testing—just to see?
Want to craft a career story that opens doors?
I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you.
📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn
⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers
If you enjoyed this episode, please:
- ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏
- ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.