With a decade in finance, eight years immersed in Japan’s buzzing startup scene, and a career spanning product management, marketing, and coaching, Spacecubed member Matt Ainsworth brings a global perspective to every venture he touches.
We caught up with Matt to dive into his journey, from launching a coaching business in Tokyo to helping scale tech teams across Australia through his role at Tekkon, and how Spacecubed has supported him along the way.
Matt’s exposure to Japan’s dynamic startup ecosystem allowed him to collaborate with now-successful startups and venture capitalists. While in Tokyo, Matt established his own coaching business, focusing on early-stage founders seeking guidance and support during their critical initial phases. “People sometimes struggle to know where to turn when they first kick-off,” shared Matt.
Recognising the loneliness and uncertainty many founders face, he worked closely with Japanese entrepreneurs before an opportunity arose to return to Australia, though not to his native Sydney, but to Perth.
“Since coming back home to Australia in 2022, I arrived in Perth initially to continue working on my coaching business, however, I soon learned business in Japan was way different to doing business in WA,” revealed Matt. During this time, Matt became the first participant of the Perth Landing Pad program, supported by the City of Perth and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, calling Riff his home base for the next two years.
While he gained traction in Perth, a greater opportunity was presented, allowing him to continue mentoring and supporting startups in a new capacity. Matt joined Tekkon as a Sales and Account Manager, supporting Cofounder & Sales Manager Patrick Green in growing Tekkon’s presence in Perth.
Tekkon specialises in providing skilled tech professionals to startups, helping them fill crucial roles in areas such as frontend, backend, and full-stack development, test analysis and QA automation, UI/UX design, DevOps and AI/ML engineering, data science and cybersecurity, and project and product management.
Matt revealed, “our pool of remote resources is proficient in most web, mobile, and desktop technologies. Just let us know the resourcing requirements so that we can find you the best Tekkie for the job!”
Beyond staffing solutions, Matt loves to be an active part of the startup community.
“Back in Perth we were supporting one of the largest startup meetups in Perth, Morning Startup, so anyone who attended could get a free coffee (the startup currency) on us!” Matt shared.
Matt also helped Tekkon get wider traction through some of the community support he got involved in, from mentoring and judging at a few startup weekend events, to running wider workshops and events across the Perth ecosystem.
Matt moved back to Sydney in 2025 to come home to family and friends, but also to help bring Tekkon to the masses across the country. “The opportunity I see is not only in supporting startups to get access to cost-effective Tekkie talent, but also through education, community building and connecting people across the startup scene here too,” he shared.
Since joining the Western Sydney Startup Hub, Matt has recognised its potential to support founders in Sydney’s western regions and shared the following.
“A secret side-quest that I am kind of keen to pursue too, is to build awareness of WSSH, it's such a great space and community, it would benefit many founders who are located in Sydney's west.”
For Matt, Spacecubed provided an instant sense of community upon his arrival in Perth, easing the transition into an unfamiliar city. “The same could be said about coming back home and moving into WSSH,” reflected Matt on his recent return to Sydney after more than a decade.
While he is still settling in, Matt is eager to deepen connections within the community, attend more events, and offer his expertise wherever possible. We asked Matt how members can get involved with what he’s doing and he shared the following.
“If anyone is curious about Tekkon, collaborating on events or other ways I support the startup ecosystem, I'm always happy to chat more. On top of that, I am always eager to talk about the opportunity for startups in Japan, as well, as difficult as it may seem, and what you can do to improve your chances of success over there too.”
Matt is always open to grabbing a coffee with fellow founders and enjoys engaging with the startup ecosystem, both online and at events. You can reach out via LinkedIn and Facebook, or join his Sydney startup meetup group, Startup Today.
“Look out for some of the events, workshops and other community building activities I'll be doing over the coming months!” Matt concluded.
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