On Friday 28th March, the Western Sydney Startup Hub, powered by Spacecubed buzzed with energy as we hosted the highly anticipated Plus Eight Innovation Festival! The full-day event dedicated to empowering founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and industry leaders delivered a rich program of learning, networking, and hands-on innovation, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to supporting the local innovators and scaling businesses in the region.
Over 130 people attended key sessions throughout the course of the day, including:
Understanding Startup Investment & Pitch Prep with Solai Valliappan: Attendees gained valuable insights into various investment types and learned strategies to craft compelling pitches, setting the stage for successful engagements with investors.
Exclusive Investor & Mentor Speed Networking: Participants engaged in one-on-one sessions with investors and seasoned mentors, fostering connections and opening doors to valuable opportunities over morning tea.
Innovative Leadership Talk by Tatjana Genys: Drawing inspiration from the Monks of Bhutan, this session provided transformational leadership insights, culminating in an immersive sound bath to enhance focus and resilience. Tatjana combined her passions of people and purpose to connect hearts and minds in this unique masterclass.
Fireside Chat with Dr. Marcus Tan & Kopi Nadarajah: Marcus Tan, founder of Healthengine shared his journey of raising over $50 million and building one of Australia’s leading health tech platforms. HealthcareLink founder, Kopi Nadarajah joined Marcus, offering attendees a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of scaling a startup and rare insights into the health tech industry.
Community to Cashflow: Scaling to $1 Million with Siam Hossain: This session featured a step-by-step blueprint from a New York-based entrepreneur who built a seven-figure business and cultivated a 200,000-strong online community from scratch.
Hands-on AI & No-Code Workshop with Western Sydney Tech Innovators: WSSH members Lailei Huang, Cheyanne Carter and Tommy Dam showcased innovative AI technology with other experts from the WSTI community. Participants, regardless of coding experience, built their first AI-driven features, websites, mini-games, or business automations at this engaging workshop.
As the day unfolded, the energy continued into an evening of casual networking over drinks and canapés, where connections turned into collaborations. The event wasn’t just about learning, it was about building a stronger, more connected startup ecosystem in Western Sydney.
“As part of the Precinct Development team and overseeing the sponsorship for the Innovation Festival, I couldn’t stop smiling seeing the space come alive — packed with founders, investors, mentors, speakers, and passionate community supporters, all buzzing with ideas, energy, and meaningful connections,” shared Tasha Ngo from Investment NSW.
“It was truly heartwarming to see familiar faces from our Pre-Accelerator programs now calling WSSH their startup home — building ventures that are shaping and supporting the Western Sydney community,” Tasha continued.
Thanks to SXSW Sydney, one lucky attendee, Laura Ramos, walked away with a Pro Pass valued at $995 to attend this year’s renowned tech & innovation festival, an opportunity to further immerse herself in Australia’s leading startup ecosystem.
Attendees were also able to unlock other exclusive offers from our event partners, including 6 months free of Notion’s Plus plan, that includes Unlimited AI and the chance to apply for up to $100,000 in AWS cloud credits.
We’d like to thank our event partners for making the Plus Eight Innovation possible, including Investment NSW, AWS Startups, Realise Business and Australiance.
The Plus Eight Innovation Festival is just one of the many ways WSSH fosters a thriving startup community. Through our flexible memberships, pre-accelerator programs, mentorship initiatives, hands-on workshops, and industry events, we remain committed to supporting founders, connecting innovators, and helping businesses.
You can learn more about our premium coworking and events spaces at the Western Sydney Startup Hub here or subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on future events, opportunities, and programs designed to help the startup ecosystem in Western Sydney!