www.qld.gov.au
Innovation

Program overview

Who is it for?

Women founded and led organisations that have validated their product or service and are ready to build a repeatable sales pipeline. It supports female founders looking to attract, convert and retain more customers, and scale beyond early traction.

What are the grant/program objectives?

Most early-stage founders don’t fail for lack of a good product. They fail because sales stay founder-led, unpredictable and hard to scale. The 1 to 1000 Customers program gives you the commercial engine: knowing who buys, what to say, how to close, and how to grow every account.

What does it involve?

Three 4-week sprints, with a live virtual workshop every week. What will we cover?

Sprint 1: Your First Paying Customers

  • Week 1: Find your ideal customer, based on real evidence, not guesswork
  • Week 2: Turn features into messaging that wins sales conversations
  • Week 3: Build a sales process you can forecast from
  • Week 4: Choose the channels that can scale beyond you

Sprint 2: Your First Corporate Pilot

  • Week 1: Target the corporates most likely to buy, not just the biggest logos
  • Week 2: Design a pilot that works for both sides
  • Week 3: Keep control so your pilot doesn’t stall
  • Week 4: Convert the pilot into a paid contract and a case study

Sprint 3: Your Customer Journey

  • Week 1: Defining Key Customers and Account Management Processes
  • Week 2: Find upsell and new revenue opportunities
  • Week 3: Spot adjacent markets you can expand into
  • Week 4: Track the metrics that really matter

What are the grant/program goals?

The program aims to:

  • help founders define an evidence-based ideal customer profile and sharpen their commercial messaging
  • equip founders with a structured sales process and channels to market that can grow beyond founder-led selling
  • build founders’ capability to identify, deliver and negotiate corporate pilots that can lead to paid contracts
  • give founders the tools to retain and grow existing customers and explore new addressable markets
  • help founders understand, track and report the metrics that matter to investors and partners
  • support the growth of commercially ready female startups in Queensland.

What will recipients get?

Selected participants will receive:

  • orientation event: Tuesday 16 February 2027 from 10am to 12pm (in person)
  • weekly virtual workshops with expert facilitators
  • a 30-minute 1:1 coaching session focused on your business
  • self-paced modules and ready-to-use templates
  • access to Tech Ready Women’s mentor network
  • a finished, ready-to-use output: your ICP and sales process, your corporate pilot pipeline, and your customer growth playbook
  • graduation event.

How do you apply?

Expressions of interest (EOI) opens 9am, 10 November 2026 and closes 2pm, 16 January 2027.

Don't miss this opportunity to unlock your startup's potential through access to tools and knowledge to help you succeed!

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for funding, organisations must:

  • be a business headquartered in Queensland (operating and having its head office located in Queensland)
  • have an active ABN registered in Queensland
  • be majority female owned: have at least 50% of shares held by a woman/women
  • have no more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees
  • not be a subsidiary of a group of companies that has more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees in total
  • be at the stage of product/service development.

Resources

There are also numerous events and resources to support founder investment education. Below are some resources:

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Additional support