There are few places on earth I feel more energised, more optimistic, and more proud of our nation's ingenuity than when I am in a room full of founders who are pitching their hearts out. It is a unique and powerful environment, a concentrated dose of ambition, creativity, and raw, unfiltered courage.
I had the immense privilege of experiencing this firsthand as a judge at the recent SXSW Sydney Pitch Grand Final. Sharing the panel with brilliant minds like Lars Rasmussen, Bill Tai, and Kim Jackson, and guided by the wonderful Adam Spencer and Bronte Campbell, we were given a front-row seat to the future of Australian business. The energy in that room was, to put it simply, electric.
From climate tech and AI to biotech and the future of commerce, we witnessed a stunning showcase of the depth of creativity and ambition that is bubbling just beneath the surface of our economy. These were not just ideas; they were well-researched, passionately-driven, and incredibly bold ventures poised to make a real impact on the world.
After an afternoon of inspiring pitches, one company claimed the top spot. But to focus only on the winner is to miss the bigger, more important story. The real story is what this incredible cohort of finalists, as a collective, tells us about where the opportunities lie and what it takes to build a game-changing business in Australia today.
So today, I want to take you inside the judges' room. I want to go beyond the press release and share the powerful themes and strategic lessons that emerged from this year's remarkable finalists. This is not just a celebration of their success; it is a playbook of insights for every single founder and aspiring entrepreneur in Australia.
Theme 1: The New Niche - Solving Deep, Unseen Problems
One of the most powerful themes that shone through was the shift away from broad, generic solutions and towards a laser-focus on solving deep, specific, and often unseen problems. These are the founders who have lived a problem so intimately that they have become the world's leading experts on its solution.
I was particularly struck by Elita Genetics from Victoria. Their concept—Australia's first stem cell bank for pets—is a brilliant example of this. On the surface, it’s a niche idea. But underneath, it taps into a profound and powerful emotional truth: for millions of us, our pets are not just animals; they are cherished members of our family. The pain of seeing them suffer from age-related disease is immense. Elita Genetics is not just offering a biotech solution; they are offering hope and the extension of a treasured relationship. It’s a masterclass in finding a powerful emotional "why" in an unexpected place.
Similarly, CLUTCH Glue from NSW is not just another fashion accessory. It’s the first skin-safe adhesive designed specifically for fashion. This is a business born from a genuine, frustrating, and universal problem that has been overlooked for decades. It’s a lesson that a brilliant business idea doesn't have to be a complex piece of software; it can be an elegant, practical solution to a problem that people experience every single day.
And then there's Rainstick from Queensland. Their Variable Electric Field seed treatment technology is not a consumer-facing product, but its potential impact is monumental. They are focused on a problem at the very beginning of our entire food chain: how to improve crop yields in a more sustainable way. It’s a powerful reminder that some of the biggest opportunities lie in the unglamorous, foundational parts of our economy.
The Lesson for Founders: Stop trying to boil the ocean. What is the one specific, frustrating, and overlooked problem that you understand better than anyone else? The most successful businesses are not always the ones with the broadest idea, but the ones with the deepest, most empathetic understanding of a specific customer's pain.
Theme 2: The AI Co-pilot - Augmenting Human Creativity, Not Replacing It
There is so much fear and anxiety surrounding Artificial Intelligence right now. But as I've said many times, I believe AI is for tasks, but people are for relationships and for creativity. The most exciting businesses are not using AI to replace humans, but to augment and unleash human potential. We saw two brilliant examples of this on the finalist stage.
Gradcut from NSW has created an AI-powered tool that instantly generates video clips from graduation ceremonies. Anyone who has ever sat through a three-hour ceremony waiting for that one fleeting moment their loved one walks across the stage understands the brilliance of this. Gradcut uses AI to do the tedious, time-consuming task of finding and editing that one perfect moment, freeing up families to simply be present and celebrate. It is a perfect example of using technology to enhance a deeply human experience.
In the same vein, Springboards, an AI platform designed to spark creativity in advertising, is not trying to replace the creative director. It is designed to be their ultimate co-pilot. It can generate a thousand starting points, break through creative blocks, and handle the heavy lifting of initial ideation, allowing the human creative to focus on what they do best: the strategic thinking, the emotional nuance, and the final polish that turns a good idea into a great one.
The Lesson for Founders: Stop thinking of AI as a threat. Start seeing it as your most powerful employee. What are the repetitive, time-consuming, and low-value tasks in your own business that you could delegate to an AI, freeing you and your team up to focus on the high-value, human-centric work of strategy, creativity, and building relationships?
Theme 3: Building the New Infrastructure - The Architects of Tomorrow
The final theme, and the one that ultimately took home the top prize, is about building the fundamental infrastructure of the future. These are the founders with the audacious vision to build not just a product that sits on the current system, but to build an entirely new system altogether.
PONND, the finalist in the Future of Work category, is a perfect example. They are not just building another social network. They are fundamentally rethinking the nature of professional networking with a platform built on dynamic identities and "intent-led" discovery. It's a bold vision to create a more fluid, authentic, and effective way for us to connect and collaborate professionally.
And this brings me to our overall winner, Esper Satellites.
From the moment they started their pitch, there was a palpable sense in the room that we were seeing something truly special. Esper is not just launching satellites; they are building the next generation of Earth observation sensors. They are creating a new, more powerful, and more intelligent set of "eyes in the sky" that will allow us to understand our planet in a way we never have before.
Why did they win? From a judge's perspective, it was the powerful combination of three key factors:
- Massive, Global Ambition: This is a business that is, by its very nature, born global. They are tackling some of the biggest challenges on the planet, from climate change and agriculture to disaster management.
- Deep Technical Moat: What they are building is incredibly difficult. Their expertise in sensor technology creates a powerful, defensible competitive advantage.
- A Clear, Compelling Business Model: While the vision is grand, they had a clear and credible plan for how to commercialise their technology and build a sustainable, profitable business.
Esper is a testament to the power of "moonshot" thinking, and a powerful signal that Australian startups can and should be competing on the global stage in the most complex and critical industries. Their prize—the choice to pitch on the global stage at SXSW in Austin or the inaugural SXSW London in 2026—is a well-deserved opportunity to showcase this Australian innovation to the world.
The Full Honour Roll: A Celebration of Australian Innovation
I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations not just to Esper, but to every single one of the remarkable finalists. To have made it to that stage is an incredible achievement in itself. Alongside the winner, the judges also gave honourable mentions to CLUTCH Glue, Rainstick, and Springboards for their originality, their potential for impact, and their brilliant execution.
Here is the full honour roll of the 2025 SXSW Sydney Pitch Grand Finalists:
- Health, Biotech & Medtech: Elita Genetics (VIC) – Australia’s first stem cell bank for pets.
- Future of Work & Education: PONND (NSW) - A next-gen professional networking platform with dynamic, intent-led discovery.
- Entertainment, Games & Media: Gradcut (NSW) – AI-powered instant graduation video clips.
- Future of Retail & Commerce: CLUTCH Glue (NSW) – The first skin-safe adhesive for fashion.
- Enterprise, Big Data & Artificial Intelligence: Springboards (QLD) – An AI platform sparking creativity in advertising.
- Climate Tech & Sustainability: Rainstick (QLD) – Using Variable Electric Field technology to treat seeds for improved growth.
- Hardware, Manufacturing & Physical Solutions (and Overall Winner): Esper Satellites (VIC) – Building the next-generation of Earth observation sensors.
The Real Winner is the Australian Ecosystem
As I reflect on the day, what stays with me is a profound sense of optimism. The diversity, the ambition, and the sheer intellectual horsepower on that stage were a powerful testament to the health and the vibrancy of the Australian startup ecosystem.
For every founder out there, reading this from your own living room or co-working space, I want you to take three key lessons from this year's finalists:
- Your idea doesn't have to be a consumer app. Some of the most powerful and valuable businesses are the "unsexy" ones, the B2B players, the deep-tech innovators who are solving fundamental problems.
- You don't have to be in a major capital city to build a world-class business. With finalists from Victoria, NSW, and Queensland, this was a brilliant showcase of the distributed nature of innovation in our country.
- The time for small, timid ideas is over. The world is facing huge, complex challenges, and it is the bold, ambitious, and purpose-driven entrepreneurs who will be the ones to solve them.
Congratulations again to Esper Satellites and to all the finalists. You are the new vanguard. You are the architects of our future. And I, for one, cannot wait to see what you build next.
