Fishburners

Fishburners stands as Australia's largest and longest-enduring tech startup community, providing a dynamic coworking environment in Sydney. As a not-for-profit organisation, its core mission is to inspire, educate, and support entrepreneurs and their teams, fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across Australia. Established in 2011 by successful tech entrepreneurs Mike Casey and Peter Davison, a seed investor in PayPal, Fishburners originated from 'Project Hollywood', Sydney's pioneering coworking space. The founders aimed to cultivate a vibrant community where like-minded individuals could share ideas and collaboratively forge new frontiers through technology, ultimately creating new products, services, and jobs.

Distinguishing itself from conventional coworking spaces, Fishburners operates as a charitable institution committed to assisting startups without taking equity. Its unique model centres on building a critical mass of startups in one location, thereby increasing visibility, providing a valuable 'Fishburners stamp of approval', and connecting founders to essential internal and external support networks. The organisation offers a suite of services designed to propel startups from their initial idea through to the growth stage, including pitch nights, pro bono mentoring from over 35 experts, and facilitated founder circles for peer-to-peer support. Furthermore, Fishburners champions diversity through initiatives like the Ascent program, specifically empowering female and underrepresented founders.

Fishburners has significantly contributed to the Australian startup ecosystem, accumulating a remarkable track record of achievements. Since its inception, it has supported over 45,000 entrepreneurs, housed more than 2,000 startups, and is credited with creating over 15,000 jobs. Startups emerging from the Fishburners community have collectively raised over $2 billion in investment, underscoring the effectiveness of its support mechanisms. Notable success stories include globally recognised brands such as Koala and V2 Food. The organisation has also hosted over 10,000 events, making it Australia's largest host of startup-focused gatherings and a primary funnel for new tech ventures.

Today, Fishburners maintains physical hubs in the Sydney Startup Hub and Brisbane CBD, alongside an international presence in Shanghai, China, demonstrating its extensive reach and commitment to global impact. The community is led by CEO Majella Campbell, with a dedicated team and a board chaired by Bilyana Smith, all working to ensure founders receive the connections, spaces, and opportunities necessary for their ventures to thrive. Fishburners continues to be the epicentre of the startup ecosystem, building a diverse and inclusive community, powering early-stage entrepreneurs to learn and grow.