From View Street to Scale: How Local Founder is Putting Bendigo's Tech Scene on the Map

When Emma Castellanos first opened her doors on View Street three years ago, the Bendigo startup ecosystem was fragmented at best. Today, her venture studio—tucked between the heritage facades of Bendigo's CBD—has become the beating heart of the city's innovation district, incubating twelve active companies and attracting talent from across regional Victoria.

The operation, which occupies a renovated 1920s warehouse space near the Bendigo Stadium precinct, represents a deliberate bet on regional innovation. Castellanos identified a gap: while Melbourne's startup scene was saturated with competition and inflated real estate costs, Bendigo offered talented founders affordable office space, lower living expenses, and proximity to manufacturing infrastructure that many tech-enabled businesses desperately need.

"The cost difference is staggering," she explains, gesturing toward the exposed brick and polished concrete of her 2,500-square-metre workspace. "A startup here pays $45 per square metre annually. In Melbourne, you're looking at $200-plus. That changes everything about runway and survival rates."

Her portfolio spans software development, advanced manufacturing, and agritech—sectors leveraging Bendigo's existing economic strengths. One resident company, a water-efficiency platform targeting irrigators, has already secured a pilot agreement with three regional councils. Another, developing logistics software for regional distribution networks, projects $2.5 million revenue by end of financial year.

The broader impact ripples beyond her studio walls. Castellanos has partnered with Bendigo Kangan Institute to create mentorship pathways and recently formalised collaboration with the Bendigo Magistrates' Court precinct redevelopment committee, positioning the nearby Hargreaves Street corridor as a dedicated innovation district.

Local economic data supports the trajectory. The Bendigo Chamber of Commerce reports 34 registered startups across the municipality in 2024, up from just eight in 2020. Tech and advanced services now represent 7.2% of registered business formations—a sevenfold increase.

Castellanos remains circumspect about scaling too quickly. "We're not trying to become Silicon Valley," she says. "We're building something authentic—a network where founders solve real problems, maintain reasonable work-life integration, and actually want to stay regional."

As venture capital increasingly ventures beyond capital cities, Bendigo's innovation story is proving that geography needn't limit ambition. And on View Street, it seems, the best ideas are just getting started.

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