12 startup festivals and events you need to know about this year

From Spark to Sunrise, SXSW and the Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards, mark these down in your 2025 startup event calendar right now.

So much choice, so little time. How do you choose which startup events will give you the best returns on your time and investment?

The short answer is, you just have to put yourself out there. ‘Right place, right time’ is real – the key to startup growth can often lie in who you meet and where it happens.

If you’re looking to connect with founders, learn from experts and maybe even ink a funding deal on a napkin with a potential investor, these events offer prime opportunities for all of the above.

Side note: If you’re planning business travel this year, be sure you’re earning and redeeming good travel rewards with a business card from American Express® (scroll for more info).

Startup events and festivals 2025

Sunrise Australia – Sydney, April 30 and May 1

Billed as a “love letter to founders”, Sunrise Australia returns in 2025 to celebrate creativity, technology and ambition in Australia and New Zealand. Hosted by venture capital firm Blackbird at Sydney’s Carriageworks, it’s two days of arts, entrepreneurialism and thought leadership in a blender.

The Finnies – Sydney, June 26

The Aussie fintech industry’s nights of nights celebrates its ninth year. With a slate of awards recognising female fintech leaders, under-35s, workplace diversity and excellence across industries like Insurtech, Regtech and fintech support services, Fintech Australia’s Finnies are a winter staple.

Startup 2 Scaleup Summit (S2S) – Sydney, August 20-21

Tech startup co-working space Tank Stream Labs’ full-day summit keeps growing in size and scope each year. From learning how to become investor ready to scaling strategies for sustainable business growth, this day is jam-packed with talks, exhibitions and demos, a pitch competition, an Investor Lounge and all-day networking.

A session at the S2S Summit. Image: Supplied.

Startup World Cup – Sydney, Date TBA (second half of 2025)

Startup World Cup is a global startup competition with a pretty unique selling proposition: one winning startup will receive an investment prize of $1 million at the grand finale in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, October 2025. To be in with a chance, Australian startups can take part in the Startup World Cup Sydney Regional event, one of 100+ regional events across the world.

Something Fest – Brisbane, August 25-29

Over five days, Something Fest is a series of events and activations focusing on digital innovation and emerging technology. Highlights for startups include Something Tech, a schedule of tech talks, panels, tradeshows and networking opportunities; and the annual River Rival pitch night to cap off the festivities.

Spark Festival – Sydney and Regional NSW, Date TBA, September

Known as the festival “created by startups, for startups”, the week-long annual Spark Festival will host a range of events across NSW aimed at sharing knowledge to help startups grow and thrive. From capital raising to sales and marketing to building tech products, Spark offers the practical know-how NSW startups need to succeed, with a delicious side of networking, whether you’re in Sydney, Bathurst or the Hunter.

2025 Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards – Sydney, September 25

For a third year running, Startup Daily’s gala awards night will once again celebrate the diversity, innovation and impact of the Australian tech startup and scaleup ecosystem. Subscribe to the Startup Daily newsletter to see when nominations open across categories like Startup of The Year, Scaleup of The Year, Future Leader of the Year, AI Gamechanger and more.

The winners’ circle: The Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards class of 2024. Image: Startup Daily.

Cicada x Tech23 – Sydney, September 10

Australia’s biggest deep tech event gives 23 visionary founders the spotlight as they discuss the future of innovation in areas as diverse as energy, space, robotics, education, environment, medicine, food and more. Cicada Innovations, Australia’s leading incubator for startups and scaleups in deep tech science and engineering innovations, play host.

Intersekt Festival 2025 – Melbourne, September 17-18

Intersekt is Australia’s largest gathering of fintechs, hubs, accelerators, policymakers, regulators, investors and advisors, in one giant conference. With leading international and local speakers, satellite events and networking opportunities, it’s a chance to intersect with tech, money and new ideas.

SXSW Sydney (South by Southwest) – Sydney, October 13-19

It doesn’t get much bigger than SXSW Sydney. With more than 1000 events and experiences at a range of venues across Sydney, SXSW 2025 will continue to explore the latest in creativity, innovation and tech in the Asia-Pacific.

The National Tech Summit – Melbourne, Date TBA, usually November

The Tech Council of Australia’s summit is for both established and up-and-coming leaders in Australia’s tech ecosystem. Last year’s summit ran over 3 days, with more than 90 speakers, 25 panels and four social events.

West Tech Fest – Perth, December 8-12

As Australia’s longest-running tech and innovation festival, West Tech Fest is renowned for connecting startups, VCs, international thought leaders and more, against the beautiful backdrops of WA’s landscapes. 

Get there with American Express

Get to any of these startup festivals and events with a little help from your business card.

With an American Express Business Card, virtually every dollar spent on your business expenses could help you earn points¹ which you can redeem towards travel or other rewards, depending on which Card you choose.

For business owners, there are a range of American Express Business Cards with different benefits to suit different business needs. They are specially tailored to the unique needs of business owners and feature many benefits that can help your business grow. From cash flow management to travel rewards, the choice is yours.

With the American Express® Platinum Business Card, for example, you may enjoy benefits like airport lounge access² , so be sure to do your research.

Travelling much this year for work? American Express Business Cards reward you for your day-to-day business spend with American Express Membership Reward Points, Qantas Points or Velocity Points. View the full range of cards to see which works best for your business’ travel needs.

This article is brought to you by Startup Daily in partnership with American Express.

This article is not intended as financial advice and all information has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should review the product information to decide if any product is suitable for you.

Terms, exclusions and conditions apply on American Express’ products and services, please click here for more information.

1. Earning points (this will depend on which Card you choose):

1.1. For the American Express Platinum Business Card, the American Express Business Explorer Card and the American Express Business Gold Plus Card.

Subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Membership Rewards program available here. Eligible spend/purchases do not include Card fees and charges, for example annual fees, interest, late payment, cash advances, balance transfers, traveller’s cheques and foreign currency conversion. Merchants classified as “government“ include the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Postal Corporation (Australia Post), Federal/State and Local Government bodies. Industry specific earn rate may apply when you use a payment account, payment aggregator, services of a third party or online retailers that sell goods for another merchant. For example a payment made to Local Government bodies processed through a payment aggregator may earn rates at the government earn rate. There may be tax implications associated with participation in the Membership Rewards program. You are advised to check with your accountant or tax adviser for further information.

1.2. For the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card:
A business must be a Qantas Business Rewards Member to earn Qantas Points for business. Membership and the earning of Qantas Points as a business are subject to the Qantas Business Rewards Terms and Conditions. Points are earned in accordance with and subject to the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card Points Terms and Conditions. Your business will earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 of everyday spend, which does not include annual fees, late payment fee and fees and charges for foreign currencies. Your business will earn 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 spent at participating merchants classified as ‘utilities’ including gas, water and electricity providers; ‘government’ including the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Postal Corporation, federal/state and local government bodies; and ‘insurance’ excluding insurances offered by American Express. Industry specific earn rate may apply when you use a payment account, payment aggregator, services of a third party or online retailers that sell goods for another merchant. For example a payment made to Local Government bodies processed through a payment aggregator may earn rates at the government earn rate. Your business will earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent on the following Qantas Products and Services purchased on the Qantas merchant account (i.e. directly from Qantas): Qantas passenger flights (with a QF flight number), Qantas Holidays, Qantas Branded non-airfare products, and Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qantas Club membership joining and annual fees. Excludes Jetstar. For the full list of exclusions, please refer to the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card Points Terms and Conditions. From 10 January 2024, once you have earned a total of 500,000 Qantas Points on your Card Account in a calendar year, your earn rate of 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent will change to 0.75 Qantas Points per $1 spent on everyday business purchases. All other earn rates (Qantas products, services and government, utilities and insurances spend) will remain unchanged. The points threshold is based on eligible Qantas Points earned during a calendar year and will be reset on 1 January each year. Qantas Points earned by all Card Members on a Card Account contribute to the 500,000 points threshold each calendar year. Bonus points earned from Acquisition bonus offers and marketing campaigns are excluded from the threshold.

1.3. For the American Express Velocity Business Card: 

Velocity Points are earned in accordance with and subject to the American Express Velocity Cards Points Terms and Conditions, and exclusions apply. Eligible purchases do not include Card fees and charges, for example annual fees, interest, late payment, cash advances, balance transfers, traveller’s cheques and foreign currency conversion. These do not earn Velocity Points. For the full list of exclusions, please refer to the American Express Velocity Card Points Terms and Conditions available here.
. The earn rate of 2 Velocity Points per $1 spent on Virgin Australia only applies to purchases made in Australia. You will earn up to 0.5 Velocity Points per $1 spent at participating Merchants classified as “government” including the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Postal Corporation, Federal/State and Local government bodies. Industry specific earn rate may apply when you use a payment Account, payment aggregator, services of a third party or online retailers that sell goods for another merchant. For example, a payment made to Local Government bodies processed through payment aggregator may earn rates at the government earn rate. There may be tax implications associated with participation in the Rewards program. You are advised to check with your accountant or tax advisor for further information.

² Airport Lounges. Includes the American Express Global Lounge Collection and Centurion Lounge Network. Also includes access to the Priority PassTM program, which is subject to enrolment and the Priority Pass Conditions of Use available at www.prioritypass.com. For more details on the Global Lounge Collection and the full terms and conditions, visit americanexpress.com.au/platinumlounges