When James Andronis co-founded Fresho in 2015, he knew the fresh food wholesale industry inside out. After 25 years in the seafood business, he'd spent countless nights dealing with voicemail orders and transcription errors that led to waste and unhappy customers. 

What he didn't know was how to scale a global tech platform without losing focus on what truly mattered.

It's a challenge facing many of Victoria's fastest-growing startups. They have the product, the market fit, and funding. 

What they need is the clarity to scale effectively. That's where LaunchVic's 30X30 program comes in.

LaunchVic has opened applications for its 2026 cohort of 30X30, Australia's scaleup program on a mission to create 30 Victorian tech unicorns by 2030. 

Ten of Victoria's most promising scaleups will join a bespoke coaching program designed to pressure-test and strengthen founders and their leadership teams.

"Victorian startups are capable of world-class growth, but to compete globally, founders need to think bigger and operate smarter," says LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick. "30X30 gives them the coaching, insights and peer network to do just that."

Since launching in February 2022, the program has supported 38 scaleups across four cohorts, creating a unique community of founders navigating similar challenges at the hypergrowth stage.

For Fresho, joining 30X30 came at a pivotal moment. 

Fresh off a $17 million Series B round in late 2024, the company was preparing for major US market expansion while maintaining operations across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland. 

The platform, which connects thousands of fresh food suppliers with chefs and restaurants, had grown significantly since its founding, but scaling brought new complexities.

"One of the biggest things for me was learning how to prioritise and being a bit brutal with ourselves," Andronis explains. "Asking the question: 'if we don't do this now, what's the impact?' And if the answer is not a lot, then why are we doing it?"

Sarah Rumbold, Fresho's Chief People Officer, found the program equally valuable in managing the daunting task of US market entry. "I was getting really stretched across my current workload and all of the US work," she says. "30X30 allowed me to sit back and question if I could do all of these things that strategically were great, but perhaps not the most important right now."

What sets 30X30 apart is its environment of radical honesty. Founders don't present polished pitches or curated success stories. They bring their real challenges to the table.

"It was refreshing," says Andronis. "You're not dancing around problems – you're solving them."

This open culture proved equally valuable for IMRA Surgical, a North Melbourne MedTech revolutionising surgical training with hyper-realistic synthetic organs. When CEO Adam Clark and Head of Product Terrill Anthony joined the program in 2025, they thought they had their value proposition nailed down.

They were wrong.

"Other teams taking part in 30X30 could say, very succinctly, what they do," Terrill recalls. "But we had at least a minute-long spiel, and everyone in the company was saying something a bit different."

At the time, IMRA was running courses, focusing on education, and trying to be everything to everyone. The 30X30 mentors and peer founders helped them see what needed to change.

"We had to do some ruthless prioritisation," Terrill says. "As a startup, it's easy to see all the shiny things and just do as much as you can. But when you're scaling, you have to be more targeted. We were able to refine our pitch deck and our strategy."

The focus paid off. In the 12 months following the program, IMRA doubled its revenue and increased manufacturing volume sixfold, working with industry giants including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and Intuitive Surgical.

The 30X30 program provides founders and key executives with access to world-class coaches, investors and subject matter experts who help leaders identify gaps, sharpen focus and execute with clarity. But perhaps more valuable is the peer-to-peer support from a network of founders facing similar challenges at similar stages.

"We learnt a tremendous amount from both mentors and participants," says Clark. "Startups at different stages, facing similar challenges, but bringing different perspectives and experiences to share."

For Victorian scaleups ready to take their growth to the next level, expressions of interest for the 30X30 2026 program are now open until 26 November 2025 at 1pm.

The program seeks companies with proven product-market fit, significant growth trajectories and global ambitions. If your startup is ready to scale but you're not sure how to navigate the complexity ahead, 30X30 might provide the clarity and network you need.

As both Fresho and IMRA Surgical demonstrate, sometimes the most important thing a growing company can do is step back, reassess priorities and learn from others who've walked the same path. In the race to become Victoria's next tech unicorns, that honest reflection and strategic focus might make all the difference.

Learn more at launchvic.org/30x30