Startup events in Sydney, built around real conversations
Startup events in Sydney are easy to find. Useful ones are harder. Innovation Bay runs more than 50 events a year for founders and investors across Australia and New Zealand, from intimate founder dinners to investor showcases, and keeps them small enough for real conversations.
Some events and pitch opportunities are open to everyone. Member events are shared directly by your Community Manager.
Partners
What are the best startup events in Sydney for founders?
The most useful startup events in Sydney are usually the smaller ones: founder dinners, peer sessions and curated investor events where you can talk properly with the people in the room. Big meetups and conferences are good for getting a feel for the ecosystem, but honest advice, hires and investor relationships tend to come from rooms of founders at a similar stage.
If you have been going to general business networking events in Sydney, the difference is focus. At Innovation Bay events, everyone in the room is building or backing a tech company, and the conversation carries on in a year-round startup community in Australia and New Zealand.
How Innovation Bay startup events work
A mix of open events, member events and a few big gatherings each year.
Open events and pitch nights
Investor showcases and pitch opportunities are open to founders who are not members yet. You can apply to pitch without joining.
Member events
Members get intimate community events, from founder dinners to peer sessions, shared directly by their Community Manager.
Flagship gatherings
Each year includes larger events such as Expedition, our multi-day founder retreat, and investor showcases like ARENA, now in its seventh year.
The startup events we run in Sydney and beyond
Founder dinners and peer sessions
Small, closed-door evenings with founders at a similar stage, where you share what is working and what is not.
Investor events
Angel investor and venture capital events, including VC at Sea, a one-day VC forum held in Sydney, plus pitch opportunities for startups that are raising.
Retreats and showcases
Multi-day retreats like Expedition and sector showcases like ARENA, which brings 100+ investors together with the founders building renewable energy companies.
What to look for in a Sydney startup event
A few questions that separate a useful evening from another lanyard.
- Stage fit. Are the other founders a stage or two ahead of you, or dealing with the same problems right now?
- Room size. Smaller rooms mean real conversations. Past about 50 people, most of the value is in the hallway.
- Format. Look for discussion and peer sessions over panels and pitches you could watch online.
- Who is in the room. Founders and investors, not a crowd of service providers selling to them.
- What happens after. The best events are part of a community, so the relationships carry on once the night ends.
"The challenges of being a tech founder are difficult to shoulder alone. Being a member has given me an instant network of founders that have the same problems, but also, the same passion."
Cibby Pulikkaseril, Baraja
Two ways to get into the room
Join the founder community
Small peer groups, member-only events and introductions across a 3,000+ member network. Membership starts from $5,000 a year and is by application.
Apply for membershipPitch to investors
Apply to pitch at an upcoming investor event to our angel and venture capital communities. Open to startups in every sector, with no membership needed.
Apply to pitchApply for membership
Startup events in Sydney: common questions
What are the best startup events in Sydney?
The most useful startup events in Sydney for tech founders are usually small and curated: founder dinners, peer sessions and investor events where attendance is limited to people at a similar stage. Larger meetups and conferences are useful early on for learning the ecosystem. Innovation Bay runs curated founder and investor events across Australia and New Zealand, including Sydney.
Are Innovation Bay events open to non-members?
Some are. Investor showcases and pitch opportunities are open to founders who are not members, and you can apply to pitch without joining. Most community events, such as founder dinners and peer sessions, are for members and are shared directly by their Community Manager.
How many events does Innovation Bay run each year?
Innovation Bay hosts more than 50 events a year across Australia and New Zealand, from virtual meetups and breakout sessions to full-day events and multi-day retreats such as Expedition.
How are startup events different from business networking events in Sydney?
General business networking events in Sydney mix every kind of business. Startup events for tech founders focus on the problems of building and scaling a tech company, so the conversations, introductions and investor connections are far more relevant.
How do I join Innovation Bay?
Membership is by application. You apply through the form on this page, the team arranges a short conversation to check the fit, and if it suits both sides you are invited to join. Membership starts from $5,000 a year.
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