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A new partnership between Genesis, the University of Sydney’s flagship startup accelerator, and wealth management firm MLC is offering startup founders a $5000 award for excellence in startup financial modelling.

The MLC Financial Clarity Prize will be awarded to the Genesis participant who develops the most clear and compelling three-year financial model aligned to their startup strategy and funding milestones.

The prize aims to help emerging founders develop the skills and confidence to take control of their business finances from the very beginning.

Ashton Jones, Director of Customer Innovation at MLC, said: “At MLC, we know financial clarity is the foundation of confidence, whether you're planning for retirement or building a business. That’s why we’re proud to support the next generation of founders through this partnership with Genesis. We believe great ideas need great financial plans to succeed, and we’re excited to reward and recognise those who are developing that capability early in their journey.”

Anna Fitzgerald, Co-Head of Genesis, said: “This prize is about much more than money, it’s about mindset. Financial models are one of the hardest and most important tools a founder can develop. With MLC’s support, we’re able to motivate and reward our founders for building clarity into their startup right from the beginning. We expect this will give them better funding options as a result.”

Matt Bright, Co-Head of Genesis, added: “We’re thrilled to partner with a values-aligned organisation like MLC to deliver this prize. It brings together our shared commitment to capability building, confidence and community impact. We can’t wait to see what our founders produce.”

The first-ever MLC Financial Clarity Prize will be awarded at the finale of the university’s 10-week accelerator program this year. The program runs bi-annually and applications for the next cohort close on August 10.

Genesis is the University of Sydney’s flagship accelerator program, based in the Business School’s Discipline of Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. It supports startup founders through mentoring, education and connection with a supportive entrepreneurial community.

Since 2008, Genesis has supported over one thousand University of Sydney alumni, students and staff to accelerate their startups. Genesis alumni have raised over $50 million in funding and been accepted into programs such as Y Combinator, the Hult Prize Foundation Global Accelerator and StartX by Stanford.

The Genesis program culminates in a finale where the top five startups pitch to win $30,000 of equity-free funding, and other prizes and support opportunities. Applications for the next cohort close August 10. Apply now.