Optimism at StartUpWeek

Last night, Rimon attended a wrap up event organized following StartupWeek Sydney 2015. There was an overwhelming sense of optimism by all who attended, that not only Sydney but Australia’s start-up ecosystem was thriving with a vibrant level of energy and momentum.

This year’s StartupWeek had over 8,000 attendees featured in over 63 events in 39 venues. The festival featured conferences, hackathons, workshops, pitch nights, panels, exhibitions and other events that focused on encouraging aspiring and established entrepreneurs to learn from investors, industry leaders and other entrepreneurs and to celebrate the unification of the start-up community within Sydney. Additionally, on the agenda was a focus on exploring how women can play a greater role in tech and fostering an eco-ystem that allows more kids to get involved.

There were 4 key announcement made during the weeklong festival:

1. SydStart Conference is moving to Melbourne

Freelancer announced that its SydStart conference is rebranding to StartCon and moving to Melbourne next year following a $1 million investment from the Victorian government. SydStart previously attracted more than 2,000 attendees that included top investors, entrepreneurs and mentors from around the global startup scene. This will be a major blow for the City of Sydney, and all start-ups that call Sydney home.

2. Rimon Investments announces new seed capital fund

Rimon Investments made a major announcement during the festivities. The introduction of a new start-up seed capital fund has been launched upon the growing optimism in Australia’s start-up community. With a willingness to invest into pre-revenue start-ups that have developed technologies that could cause disruption within their industries, capital is available to entrepreneurs to help them turn their ideas into an amazing reality.

3. StartupWeek Australia is growing nationally!

Michelle Williams, national manager of StartupWeek Australia, intends to take the event national next year, with Melbourne and Canberra plans already in progress and events in regional areas on the agenda.

4. Fairfax media has partnered with StartupWeek Australia

Fairfax media has partnered with StartupWeek Australia in order to encourage national conversation for innovation and entrepreneurship in business.