One of the biggest benefits for aspiring entrepreneurs in Sydney is the vast number of startup and tech events in the area. At these many events, experienced CEOs, founders, and investors in Sydney share their experiences and knowledge with the next generation of startups. While some event listing sites exist that compile some of these events, such as Eventbrite Sydney and Sydney's Meetup overview, the landscape can still be difficult to navigate.
In the blog post below, we’ve listed plenty of startup events and groups in the Sydney area for every stage of your startup, whether you’re testing your idea, looking to learn new skills, meet potential co-founders, find investors, or just meet new and interesting people.
Inspirational Startup Events
The are many inspirational startup events and Meetups in Sydney, where you hear interesting stories from experienced entrepreneurs and begin to meet others in the Sydney startup community. The great thing about these events is that they are open to the public and very welcoming to newcomers.
- Entrepreneurs in Sydney
- Fishburners Meetup
- Geek Girl
- Innovation Ba
- Launch Festival Sydney
- Lean Startup Sydney Meetup (monthly)
- Manly Entrepreneurs
- North Shore Startups
- Port80 Sydney
- Product Hunt Sydney
- Silicon Beach
- Startup Grind Sydney
- Startup Weekend Sydney
- Sydney FinTech Startups Meetup
- Startup Founder 101 Sydney
- Sydney Startup Community
- Sydney Startups
- Sydney Startups Friday Drinks
- Sydney Tech Startup Meetup
- Sydney Women Entrepreneurs Meetup: Rare Birds
- SydStart
- Tech23
- The Pulse Sydney
- The Sunrise
- TiE Sydney
- Vivid Ideas
- Women Entrepreneurs Meetup
- Young Entrepreneurs Sydney
- Spark Festival
- https://www.meetup.com/NorthSydneyInnovation/
- http://mpid.com.au/events/
- Startcon
Best Practices Startup Events
Sydney is home to a plethora of beginner knowledge-sharing events. These events are each focused on specific topics related to building a business, and feature expert speakers that share their best practices, tips for success, and pitfalls to avoid. Most of these events are free, but some may charge a small ticket fee that is definitely worth the investment.
- Founder Institute events:
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Australia Events:
- Meet the Sydney Founder Institute Ecosystem (In-Person Networking Event): 5:30pm, May 29, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/368148
Global or Regional Events:
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 10:00am, Apr 29, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/369128
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 10:00am, May 06, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/369954
- What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 10:00am, May 08, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/369121
- Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with Nathan Beckord: 3:00am, May 13, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/369108
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 3:00am, May 27, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/370446
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 3:00am, Jun 03, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/370921
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, Jun 10, 2025 (Australia/Sydney): https://FI.co/e/370732
- Disruptive Startups Sydney
- Money Making Entrepreneurs
- Startup Founder 101 Sydney
- StartupSchool Sydney
- Sydney Online Business Owners
- The Digital Marketing Connection
- The Startup Institute
- Women's Business Lab
Events to Network and Form a Team in Sydney
When you're ready to start building a team, it's time to attend events, talk about your startup project, and meet people that share your interests in Sydney. While attending any of the events listed in this post can help you meet potential team members, the events below are especially useful
- CoFoundersLab
- Founder2be
- FounderDating
- IDEASVOICE
- KickStart Small Business Network
- The Seniorpreneurs Network
- Upstarters Network
Builder-Focused Events and Hackathons in Sydney
If you have a technical skillset, or are looking to network and learn from people that have a technical skillset, then it is worth looking into the maker-focused events in Sydney. These include hackathons, technical Meetups, and other communities that foster people building products.
- AWShine Hack
- AngelHack Sydney
- Create-a-thon
- EcoHack
- FashHack
- GovHack
- Hackagong
- HackerNest Sydney Tech Socials
- HealthHack
- MasterCard Masters of Code Competition
- Qantas Hackathon
- Random Hacks of Kindness
- Startup Social
- Sw/tch Festival
- UTS Project Pitch
- Unearthed Sydney
- Start Your Food Business
Investor Networking Events in Sydney
If you already have a team and/or product, then you might be ready to start networking with investors in Sydney. There are many events in Sydney that gather angel investors (affluent people that invest their personal capital in early-stage startups or entrepreneurs, and generally provide only a small one-time investment to help the business grow), angel investor groups (networks, or syndicates, of angel investors who pool their resources together to invest more money than would typically be issued with a private angel investment), and venture capital firms (large institutional funds that provide large amounts of funding for later stage companies with impressive and proven growth), like the ones listed below.
- Australian Investment Network
- Next Investment Wave Sydney
- Scale Investors
- Sydney Investor Forum
- Sydney Investor Meetup
- Sydney Investors Opportunities & Social Group
- Sydney Startup Investing
- Sydney Value Investors
- Sydney Angels
Want to contribute to this list? Visit http://bit.ly/sydney_canvas to get started.
Are you looking for expert guidance and feedback to build a startup in Sydney?
The Founder Institute is an idea-stage accelerator that works with solo-entrepreneurs, and teams, during the earliest stages of building a business. Through an intensive 3.5 month program, FI participants build their business through a proven structured process, and receive feedback and assistance from over 30+ successful entrepreneurs and investors in Sydney. Upon completing the program, Graduates join a global network of entrepreneurs and receive ongoing help to get funding and build their business. FI Graduates have raised over $1.85BN in funding, and are building some of the world's fastest growing companies.
Learn more about the Founder Institute at FI.co, join a free startup event in Sydney, or apply to build a startup in Sydney today.
