AFTER DARK: West Tech Fest Edn.

​'A Storytelling Event: The Hard Thing About Building Hard Businesses'

When the main stage lights dim, some of the most fascinating conversations are just beginning.

AFTER DARK brings together the tech founders and builders in the spaces not often discussed - the taboo, the sub-culture, and the wild frontiers.

​No corporate polish. No sanitised pitches. Just raw, honest lightning talks about the hard truths of building hard things in provocative industries.

​This is where innovation meets candor, and in this special Western Australia edition, where the unfiltered stories of bold builders finally get their moment.

​The official program can't go here. But we can.

​Speaker 1: Lachie Samuel Mariu

​Lachie Samuel Mariu is a leading Transformational Speaker & Coach, who runs The Circuit Breaker Session™ blending neuroscience and lived experience into something relatable, practical, and instantly usable - so teams can break their stress circuits and start making better decisions - fast. He helps people stay calm under pressure, make better decisions, and show up with purpose - in work, life, and leadership.

​Speaker 2: Sofia Katzin

​Sofia Katzin turns maggots into tiny waste-management workers. A food scientist from Argentina who accidentally fell in love with black soldier fly larvae, she helped build WA’s first insect-protein factory before striking out on her own. Now she runs Flymumma, an early-stage venture trying to make “gross” organic waste a valuable resource instead of landfill. She spends her days between spreadsheets, farms and bin rooms, figuring out how far you can push insects before either the biology or the business model breaks.

​Speaker 3: Robert Duff-Silsby

​Robert Duff-Silsby builds sextech for humans who have been ignored for far too long. He founded Pcock, runs the Planet Taboo events, and previously co-founded an accessible toy company that taught him some extremely humbling lessons. A conversation about sexual aids and disability snapped everything into focus. Turns out he’s happiest making taboo things less taboo, one awkward but honest conversation at a time.

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Speaker 4: Renée Shaw

Renée Shaw works in social at tl;dv and makes comedy that pulls apart startup culture, meetings, and the way tech people talk when they think they sound normal. A homeschooled kid turned improv enthusiast, she brings a dry, sideways perspective to the world of saas.

Curated by Gaz Williams (GROUP GROUP) and Kali Norman (Innovation Bay)

​Supported by Eastend Ventures: https://www.eastend.vc/
And West Tech Fest: https://westtechfest.com.au/