StartupWeek Sydney kicked off on Thursday night with more than 5000 people expected to attend over 50 startup related events..
The week-long schedule of festivities includes something for everyone, from first-time entrepreneurs to more established startups.
Key themes across the festival include the Internet of Things, blockchain, healthcare, Asia, investment and funding and smart cities.
Here are eight events worth checking out:
China: startups and entrepreneurs – 26 October, UTS Business School
China presents significant opportunities for Australian startups if expansion is done right. Beijing Techive founder Andy Mok will be there to tell you how to do that, along with MYOB chairman Justin Milne, venture capitalist Terry Hillsberg and China entrepreneurship expert Vivien Sung.
From startup to scale up: how to grow your business – 27 October, AussieCommerce HQ
School friends Adam Schwab and Jeremy Same have grown AussieCommerce into a dominant company turning over $210 million and with 400 staff. At this event Schwab will discuss how exactly they did it, and what entrepreneurs can do to replicate this success.
Everything IoT 2015 – 27 October, UTS
The Internet of Things is set to become one of the quickest growing areas of tech, and all things connected will be a key discussion points across the entire StartupWeek Sydney. This event will give IoT enthusiasts the chance to catch up on the latest innovations in the field, meet the experts behind them and make connections in the growing industry.
Women in tech – 27 October, Hey You office
Deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek will be spearheading this conversation revolving around how to attract more women to the tech industry and what cultural and policy changes are needed to bridge the startup gender gap. It’ll also feature Labor MP Terri Butler, RedBalloon founding director Naomi Simson and Hey You co-founder Rebekah Campbell.
Code Club takes over Town Hall – 28 October, Sydney Town Hall
The work that Code Club has been doing across the country in teaching school-aged kids the wonders of coding and its practical implications will be on full display at Town Hall, and Code Club director and muru-D co-founder Annie Parker will also be discussing the virtues of coding in education.
Moving towards a greater entrepreneurial diversity – 28 October, UTS Business School
This event will focus on the gender and cultural diversity gap that exists in the Australian tech scene, and zero in on why closing it is important. The session will also focus what’s being done at the moment, and what else needs to be implemented to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity in the startup world. The panel will include the director of Artesian Venture Partners Vicky Lay, Bright Hospitality CEO Tim Davies and head of business and education partnerships at Canva Hannah Field.
Plugging the funding gap – 28 October, BlueChilli
Startup founders in Australia often bemoan the difficulties of raising significant series A or B rounds within the country, and usually have to turn to international investors to do so. This discussion will look at why it’s so hard to raise anything over $5 million in Australia, and how we can improve this area of financing, with panellists including Blackbird Ventures managing director Niki Scevak and BlueChilli founder Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin.
Media Q&A for startups – 29 October, Fishburners
(Spoiler: email us news@smartcompany.com.au). There’ll be tips for how to best approach media organisations and most importantly the two guests, Channel 10’s Raelene Metlitzky and Arnott Olssen from Rogue Homme, will outline the top three mistakes startups make when contacting the media.
The full list of StartupWeek Sydney events can be found here.
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Denham Sadler is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne.
