Olympic champion Cam 'The Professor' McEvoy delivers keynote at the S2S Summit

Swimming superstar and Olympic gold medallist, Cameron McEvoy, whose scientific approach to winning has led to him being nicknamed “The Professor”, is the keynote speaker at the Startup to Scaleup (S2S) Summit for tech startups in Sydney on September 26.

The 4-time Olympian, now the world’s fastest swimmer after winning gold in the 50m freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympics, revolutionised swimming training to achieve his goal.

Tank Stream Labs CEO Brad Delamare described McEvoy’s journey as a masterclass in resilience and innovation – qualities every startup and scaleup needs to thrive.

“After setbacks in his career, including a shocking finish in the 2016 Olympics and considering leaving the sport altogether after Tokyo 2020, Cameron pivoted in a way that resonates deeply with the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.

“By radically changing his training approach, he defied traditional methods and returned to the pool stronger than ever, ultimately becoming the World Champion at 29 and an Olympic Champion at 30.”

The S2S Summit is on at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) in Sydney on September 26. Tickets are on sale here.

Delamare said several new influential speakers have joined the event (see below), but The Professor brings something special to the occasion has the world’s best.

“His story isn’t just about winning; it’s about adapting, pivoting, and using every challenge as an opportunity to innovate – principles that are at the core of every successful business journey,” he said.

“Cameron’s scientific mindset, combined with his relentless drive, makes him the perfect speaker to inspire us all at the S2S Summit.”

Others you’ll hear from include:

- Ben Thompson, cofounder & CEO of Employment Hero
- Kirstin Hunter, managing director of Techstars
- Nick Munro, head of innovation & fintech at Westpac
- Lucinda Browne, head of Scaleups & Venture at Luna
- Chris Ellis, advisor at Finder
- Casey Flint, investor at Square Peg
- Erin Evans, founder & CEO of INTELLIGENT
- John Kearney, head of ASW startups (ANZ) at Amazon Web Services

“These speakers will join a lineup of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts who will share their knowledge on scaling businesses, driving innovation, and navigating the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Delamare said.

After Tank Stream Labs sponsored the recent Startup Daily Best in Tech awards after party he’s now on the hunt for a sponsor the S2S Summit’s closing networking drinks.

“This exclusive opportunity offers brands the chance to connect with the most influential figures in Australia’s startup community during the summit’s networking closing event,” Delamare said.

“We are pleased to introduce four new sponsors that have come on board as key supporters for the S2S Summit 2024: Amazon Web Services , ASX, Stripe and Josey. These partnerships further strengthens the summit’s position as a pivotal event in Australia’s entrepreneurial landscape.”

The S2S Summit will also host the Technology Scaleup Awards, celebrating the most innovative and disruptive tech companies in Australia. They finalists will also have the chance to pitch at the event.

The Technology Scale-up Award finalists are:

AgTech of the Year: Beanstalk AgTech, BIOPLUS and Farmbot Monitoring Solutions

AI and Web 3.0 of the Year: APIMatic.io, Humanable and humii

Business and Professional Services of the Year: iluminr, Oho and Lawpath

CleanTech of the Year: Applied EV – Software Defined Machines, OpenSolar and NRN – National Renewable Network

CyberTech of the Year: de.iterate, Oho and Phronesis Security

Fintech of the Year: Archa, Kanopi and PropHero

One to Watch: Deeligence, Realtime Conveyancer and NRN – National Renewable Network

Trans-Tasman Tech: Humanitix and Otivo

Tech Entrepreneur of the Year: Adam McCurdie & Joshua Ross, cofounders of Humanitix; Claire Rogers , CEO of Oho; and Dominic Woolrych, CEO and cofounder of LawPath

The S2S Summit is 9am-8pm on Thursday, September 26 at the MCA. Grab a ticket here.