Key takeaways and insights you wouldn’t have wanted to miss.

After years of anticipation, Sydney was buzzing with the inaugural South by Southwest (SXSW) event, the sister event to the annual SXSW event hosted in Austin, Texas. It was an occasion that marked the city’s emergence as a global hub for culture, innovation and entrepreneurship.

And our very own Growth Marketing Manager, Angie, got a first-row seat!

SXSW Sydney wasn’t your run-of-the-mill conference; it was a celebration of all things inventive, techie, and entrepreneurial, bringing together great minds, innovators, and mavericks from Australia and beyond.

It was a showcase of Australia’s startup prowess, proving that the ‘Silicon Valley of down under’ is a melting pot of ideas and technologies not to be underestimated.

As Angie relished in the excitement of SXSW Sydney, she couldn’t wait to share a few key themes and takeaways she gathered from the Startup Track sessions she attended.

What were the central themes?

A quick glance at the week’s schedule spelled it out plain as day. This year’s startup speakers and sessions focussed on the same themes we see when scrolling through our LinkedIn feeds: Web3, AI, Future of Work, Diversity and Inclusion, and VCs. And of course, how they all intersect.

Here are some central themes from the startup sessions:

Web3 and the Transformation of Entrepreneurship and Investment

Web3 technology, particularly blockchain, is poised to revolutionise venture capital investing and capital raising. It promises to make deal-making and securities trading faster, safer, and more transparent. It could digitise real-world assets, eliminate the need for third-party transactions, and solve the problem of connecting capital to businesses. Fractionalisation could level the playing field, allowing contributors to create wealth, not just founders or senior leadership.

The Future of Work and the Role of AI

The future of work will be shaped by AI by amplifying human capabilities and automating tasks among other things. There’s a need to shift the mentality around job creation and destruction, focusing on the human aspects of work that AI can’t do. Balancing flexibility and accountability in a remote work environment is crucial, and leadership plays a key role in driving engagement and creating a positive work culture.

VCs and Diversity

Despite the rhetoric of investing in the best ideas, male founders still get most of the VC funding pie, leaving female founders and folks from other diverse backgrounds with mere crumbs. We know diverse teams perform better and are more innovative. It’s time to toss out the unconscious bias and systemic barriers so we can move on from the narrative that VC funds are leaving money on the table.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each one, shall we?

Web3 and the Transformation of Entrepreneurship and Investment

[Ideas and takeaways from Steven Maarbani, VentureCrowd Founder & CEO; Vivien Chang, Vest Platform Co-founder & Head of Product; Michael Cotton, Optio Capital CPO; Ben Johnston, Josephmark Founder & CEO]

On Making Private Capital Markets Digital:

• Private capital markets are a bit of a headache right now – they’re inefficient, lack transparency, and are a nightmare for founders to navigate.
• But web3 tech, especially blockchain, could change all that by digitising real-world assets and getting rid of the need for third-party transactions.
• This could solve the problem of connecting capital to businesses, which is currently held back by market fragmentation.

On Levelling the Playing Field with Fractionalisation:

• By fractionalising the way you work, the value of the contributor comes to life, not just the value of the founder or those in senior leadership. It evens out the playing field; instead of getting one piece of equity, people have access to create the wealth they want.
• Fractionalisation enables employers to focus on the value they want to reward.

On the Future of Capital Raising:

• Founders could take their cap table to the blockchain, digitise their securities, and raise capital quickly without being limited by traditional series rounds.
• Investors could cash out at any time, helping democratise investment.
• Digital equity crowdfunding could validate startups more quickly, and give more people access to pre-seed and seed funding.

The Future of Work and the Role of AI

[Ideas and takeaways from Dominic Price, Atlassian Work Futurist; Mary Lemonis, REA Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer; Derek Laney, Salesforce/Slack Technology Evangelist; Ross Dawson, Advanced Human Technologies Group Futurist and Author; Carina Parisella, Workforce ANZ Head of Technology; Molly Rowe, RecordPoint VP of People; David Ranasinghe, Revenue NSW Chief Digital Officer]

On the Shift in Career Priorities:

• Companies need people and people need work, but loyalty to a business doesn’t exist in the same way it used to.
• Employee mobility is important for keeping people interested, but ultimately they need to be connected to meaningful work and purpose.

On the Role of AI and the Future of Work:

• AI is an amplification of who we can be as humans; how can it help us think better?
• It’s time to shift the mentality around job creation and destruction – jobs have been evolving since the beginning of time, and technology has always made us adapt how we work.
• Investing in divergent thinking and focusing on the human aspects of work that AI can’t do is how we continue to stay relevant and competitive.

On “Productivity”:

• Our obsession with “productivity” and how organisations measure it is deeply flawed – we need to challenge the idea of productivity. We see it as a measure of output, but don’t realise we’re killing creativity and devaluing empathy and compassion along the way.
• Progressive organisations have recognised the value of giving employees more control over their time. Treat people like adults and focus on productivity measures that align with the business’s goals and values.

VCs and Diversity

[Ideas and takeaways from Gemma Clancy, Overnight Success Co-founder & Head of Growth; Chris Gillings, Five V Capital Investor, Cut Through Venture Founder; Kirstin Hunter, Techstars Managing Director; Alex Khor, Afterwork Ventures Co-founder]

On the myth that VCs are meritocratic:

• Despite the rhetoric of investing in the best ideas, VC funding is disproportionately directed towards male founders, with only a small fraction going to female founders or founders from diverse backgrounds.
• The allocation of VC funding is influenced by factors other than merit, such as unconscious bias or systemic barriers.

On the myth that diversity is a ‘nice-to-have’:

• The stats are clear. Diverse teams perform better and are more innovative. By overlooking diverse founders, VC funds are leaving money on the table.
• Diversity of thought can lead to better products, as diverse voices in testing can help identify potential failures. Your team should be representative of the communities you serve.

On the myth that there’s a lack of qualified diverse founders:

• Plenty of qualified founders from diverse backgrounds are overlooked due to biases and systemic barriers in the VC industry.
• The problem is not a lack of diverse talent, but rather a lack of access to funding for these founders.
• Phew, what a week – the first-ever SXSW Sydney did not disappoint! Startup spirits were high and we’re certain that next year will only be better.

Did you know the NSW government has signed on for 4 more years of SXSW Sydney? Yep! Make sure you keep an eye out to learn how you can participate in and/or attend next year’s event.

If SXSW Sydney reminded us of anything, it’s that the Aussie tech scene is not only alive, but it’s absolutely thriving.

The ecosystem is continuing to create, collaborate, and innovate together and it’s bloody cool to see the role each and every one of us has to play in making the tech sector a continued success.

As for us?

We’re proud to do our part by offering the smarter way to grow. By giving startups access to the full perks of hiring with a recruiter, without the full upfront cost, we’re unlocking the incredible potential of startups all around Australia.

Keen to see why partnering with affix is the smarter way to grow? Get in touch!