Crashing the SXSW barricades

This week pretty much the entire startup ecosystem gathered on Gadigal land for the inaugural SXSW Sydney. Our intrepid tech reporter Tegan Jones worked herself into the ground – literally.

One major topic of conversation was inclusivity: how accessible is an event where tickets cost $1895??

This was the theme of Maslow founder Kane Jackson’s op-ed – our most-read this week. Kane articulated his frustration that many of the festival’s most important discussions were being heard in rooms full of relatively well-off people least affected by the issues.

Tractor Ventures legend Garry Williams had a great hack for anyone unable to afford “the absolutely outrageous and unjustified” tickets: “Just walk in. They’ve not bothered with registration checking.”

One to remember for next year!

Beyond Darling Harbour it was a MASSIVE week for startup raises: with the year’s biggest for Employment Hero – $263 million to power UK growth – and $120 million for Canberra-based spacetech Skykraft. In total, eight startups raised $433 million this week, almost as much as all of September.

There’ll be a bit of fizzy flowing this weekend, that’s for sure.

Have a good one.