Akrue wins the room at a sold-out Demo Night as I2N turns ten

Tuesday, 20 October 2026

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More than 160 people filled the Q Building for a sold-out Demo Night, where twelve founders pitched to close out I2N’s fifth Accelerator.

Every October, the founders in the I2N Accelerator get four minutes on a Newcastle stage. In that time they show a room full of investors, partners and locals what they’ve spent the winter building.

This year the room sold out. More than 160 people came to the Q Building on Wednesday 7 October to watch twelve founders take their turn.

Getting onto that stage was harder than ever. The program drew its most competitive pool of applications yet. Twenty-two teams made it through to Bootcamp in July and twelve were picked across the Healthtech, Cleantech and All-Industries streams. They spent the next twelve weeks with customers, mentors and Entrepreneur in Residence Eric Wedepohl. By Demo Night the cohort had more than 300 customer conversations, a string of pilots and $90,000 in committed revenue behind it.

The audience heard about recycled cardboard blast hole savers for mine sites and a telehealth service bringing dental care into aged care homes. There was a service helping hospitality venues find cash in their trash and meet new EPA mandates, a platform modernising how clinical skills are assessed, sustainable custom stationery and a pickle brine shot that stops cramp before it stops you. Several of the founders are University of Newcastle students, staff or alumni.

It was a big night for I2N as well. This was its fifth Accelerator, and Demo Night fell in the same month I2N turns ten.

The night ended with the People’s Choice Award, and the room picked the winner. Guests ranked the pitches on their phones as they watched, and the $3,000 prize, on a comically large novelty cheque, went to Akrue, an app that helps Gen Z build financial literacy and better money habits. The cheque was accepted by Akrue Founder and CEO, Ryan Tyrrell, and Co-founder and CTO Matthew Crawford, who completed a Bachelor of Information Technology at the University in 2020.

“The I2N Accelerator took Akrue from an idea I cared about to something a full room voted for at Demo Night,” Ryan said. “I learned investing the hard way, making mistakes with real money. Young Australians shouldn’t have to, and now they can learn first.”

Over ten years, I2N has grown from its first program into the Pre-Accelerator, the Accelerator, the Female Leadership and Innovation Program (FLIP), the Venture Mentoring Service, the new Health Innovation Incubator and a suite of undergraduate courses, run from hubs in Newcastle and Gosford. In 2025 it was named Australia’s most recommended accelerator and incubator at Startup Muster.

The founders who come through I2N keep coming back for the ones behind them. Sixteen founders from earlier cohorts returned this year as buddies to the new ventures, and six of them had pitched on the same Demo Night stage a year earlier. James Sneddon founded Hyphen Health in I2N’s very first Accelerator, and he is now the first customer of 2026 venture Meandrix.

For this year’s founders, the work carries on, with ongoing mentoring and incubation through I2N. The search for the next group has already started.

Got an idea that could suit an I2N program? Submit an expression of interest for the 2027 Pre-Accelerator.

Know a student with a startup idea? I2N’s undergraduate courses are open to students from any degree. Explore them on our website or email Nick at Nick.Stevens@newcastle.edu.au.

The 2026 I2N Accelerator cohort

The I2N Accelerator is supported by Investment NSW across all three streams. The Cleantech stream is delivered with the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE) and the Healthtech stream with the Central Coast Health and Wellbeing Living Lab (CCLL). Davies Collison Cave is I2N’s Gold Strategic Partner.

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