As a first-timer at Sunrise Festival 2025, hosted by Blackbird, I expected another buzzy tech event packed with startup jargon and pitch decks.
While I got that, I also found a whirlwind of energy, raw honesty and real human connection that challenged my thinking about innovation, ambition and community in the Australian startup ecosystem.
Sunrise is “a festival of creativity, technology and ambition. A love letter to startups and the people who build them. A place to be immersed in our community. A place where ideas collide.”
And collide they did. From unscripted truth bombs on stage to spontaneous breathwork on yoga mats, the festival pushed me to think more deeply about the stories we tell, the systems we rely on and the people who keep showing up even when things get hard.
Here’s your no-fluff summary of what mattered.
Spicy Questions, Brave Answers
Two spicy questions I submitted made it to the main stage, and the answers didn’t disappoint.
In The Elements of Progress: How Housing, Energy, and Science Shape Society, Sam Bowman, Founder of Works in Progress and Head of Publishing at Stripe, was asked:
“What progress myth around housing pisses you off the most?”
His answer pulled no punches:
“I think it's the idea that you're a bad person if you're pro-housing in your area. That NIMBYs are just trying to protect their property value, when really, most don’t even believe more housing reduces prices. Their concerns - congestion, noise, change - are often reasonable.”
(For the unfamiliar: NIMBY = “Not In My Back Yard,” locals who oppose new development in their area.)
In The Dumb Thing About Dumb Things: Unfiltered Takes on Company Building, Tim Doyle, founder of Eucalyptus, was asked:
“What’s one dumb idea that keeps getting perpetuated by AI that you believe is a disaster?”
He didn’t hold back:
“I think actually it's the playing down of it that is the insane thing. This moment just feels so different because it's the fundamental... the utility going to everyday people all the time coming out of ChatGPT is so incredible.
I talked to the Canva guys. They have a business built on templates. Suddenly, templates are irrelevant, right? They've been the fastest movers (on AI). The ability to get conviction and move quickly is so difficult, but so important.”
The message landed clearly: if AI is making your business obsolete, you better be first to evolve or you won’t survive.
Obsession, Persistence, and Kite Strings
Ben Shewry, co-founder and head chef of Attica, delivered one of the most moving moments in Uses for Obsession: How Creativity and Persistence Could Shape the World.
His keynote wasn’t about scaling or pitching. It was about persistence, grit, community, and staying the course when everything goes wrong.
He teared up sharing the story of a woman who had just lost her job, yet still lined up to support him with what little money she had. That moment had me tearing up, too.
Startup co-founder Roy Head summed it up in his LinkedIn post:
“Ben described his personal journey building Attica and the multiple iterations required to survive and pivot...
‘Building a business is a lot like flying a kite.’
Right message, right person, right time.”
That metaphor? Spot on. You build something beautiful, wait for the wind, and still might stay grounded. Then, finally, a gust. You run, you hold on. Again and again. That’s what building a business feels like.
Memorable Moments in the Chaos
Sunrise was fast-paced. Sessions were stacked, networking was limited to 15-minute bursts, and most panels skipped live Q&A. Luckily, the Brella app helped cut through the chaos, from prioritising sessions to scheduling 1:1s.
Still, some moments stood out:
- A Flow State Breathwork session hosted by Dave Murphy. This was my first ever, leaving me shaking on a yoga mat.
- Inspiring conversations with honest, generous, and ambitious founders and VCs.
- Rayn Ong (Partner, Archangel Ventures) gifted me a last-minute pass to the sold-out Startmate Demo Day. I am incredibly grateful to Rayn for his generosity, humour, and ongoing support of the Australian ecosystem.
- Demo Day was the pièce de résistance. It was a buzzing finale to two intense days. Luca Yang’s pitch for his startup O3 was electric. Think equal parts comedy and conviction.
- Post-Demo Day drinks, pizza and chats at Brewdog.
Carriageworks, Connections, and Community
Sunrise was hosted at Carriageworks, a converted rail yard in Sydney’s inner west. Its steel-framed halls and raw, industrial vibe made the perfect backdrop for the future-focused festival.
None of this would’ve happened for me without a few people paying it forward. Huge thanks to:
- Jessy Wu (Encour) for sponsoring my ticket and inviting me to ask the hard questions.
- Marie Dowling for her project, Tagline. It’s all about helping supporters fund founders to attend big events. I connected with Jessy through Marie’s LinkedIn post introducing the concept.
- Will Richards at Overnight Success for the opportunity to share this recap.
And kudos to the Blackbird team for pulling off one of Australia's best startup experiences.
Unofficial Sunrise
Some of the best bits weren’t even on the official program. If you’re heading to Sunrise in the future, keep your ear to the ground for these:
- Pre-Sunrise coffee meetup on day 2 with the Fomo Killer Society (FKS) crew — thanks, Liz Van Zyl, for the invite!
- Michael Batko (Startmate CEO) hosted a pre-Sunrise run with 30+ rainproof founders.
- I joined the post-Sunrise 4x4 Startup Basketball Tournament with 150 legends from the ecosystem. Big ups to Mark "Z" Zmarzly and crew for organising this mammoth feat!
Keep your eyes peeled for these moments. Often, they’re where the real magic happens.
What I Took Away
I came to Sunrise thinking I’d collect LinkedIn posts, newsletter ideas, and a few warm intros. I left with a deeper appreciation for how courage, creativity and community show up in the real work of building things.
The event wasn’t perfect. The energy was frantic, with people racing between stages as if it were startup speed-dating. Conversations were brief, perhaps overly so. Aside from the breathwork session, most interactions involved people talking. I would love to see more experiential workshops, and it’d be cool if the panels had Q&As with the audience.
Still, Sunrise reminded me that Australian tech isn’t just growing, it’s evolving — and the people leading that evolution aren’t always the loudest in the room. Sometimes, they’re just the ones asking the right questions.
If you missed Sunrise this year, there’s always 2026. Start blocking that calendar now.
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