Sydney's start-up talent on show

Sydney’s start-ups will get a masterclass from some of the tech sector’s biggest national and international names at two festivals promoting one of the city’s fastest growing industries.

Startup Week — a new week-long series of events for Sydney’s burgeoning entrepreneur community — includes guided tours of the city’s tech hubs as well as ideas pitching events, while start-up conference SydStart will include some of the global tech sector’s biggest names for two days of new ideas and celebration.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the aim was creating an environment that helps technology entrepreneurs start and grow successful global businesses in the city.

“Sydney is home to Australia’s highest concentration of new technology start-ups and we want to encourage these entrepreneurs to stay in the city, grow their businesses and help create the jobs of the future,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Events like Startup Week and SydStart will help us build the skilled and connected community we need to make that happen.”

Sydney start-up CEO Jane Lu is one of the speakers at SydStart which will run from 29–30 October at Town Hall. Lu founded online fashion retailer Showpo in a garage in September 2010 — she now has more than 1.2 million social media followers and last year celebrated $10 million in sales.

“I started Showpo because I was working in a corporate job and I couldn’t stand the idea of being stuck in a grey office cubicle all day when Sydney is so full of life — so I guess you could say the city was one of the inspirations behind the business,” Lu said.

“I’m delighted to be speaking at SydStart. It’s a great opportunity for Sydney’s start-up community to showcase itself and to hold our own on stage with the best in the world.”

The City of Sydney is also supporting individual events within Startup Week including Piivot, a digital creative knowledge hub at UTS, which is offering Sydneysiders a walking tour of the city’s tech start-up community during the festival.

For more information on the City’s support for entrepreneurs and tech start-ups, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.

Image caption: Jane Lu, Founder and Managing Director of Showpo. Image courtesy of City of Sydney.