FounderFest presents: The First Move
FounderFest Presents: The First Move
Start the year with the people building it.
FounderFest was designed to kick off the startup year. A moment to reset thinking before decisions harden.
The full festival will now land in July and rather having you wait till July to get your year started, we’re bringing that moment forward.
That’s what The First Move is.
This is it! This is the event you need to get too!
What This Day Is For
Most founders are already making calls.
Hiring. Funding. Go-to-market. Team shape.
This day gives you space to step back early.
Hear how other teams are approaching the same decisions.
Pressure-test your thinking before the year fills up.
Main Stage Schedule
10:00 – 10:50:
How Startups Actually Grow in 2026: Sales, distribution, and what’s really working.
Moderator: Desmond John, Vibe Guide Ventures
Panelists
Kate Pollard, CEO of Fork Collective & exited Co-founder of Circle In
Tara Salmon, CRO at Firmable
David Fastuca, CEO & Cofounder of coachpilot.com
Grant Gwynne, Regional Lead (GTM) for Carta
11:00 – 11:50
The New Age Founder: Founders breaking the old mould, and how that’s changing the ecosystem.
Moderator: Thea Ngo, Host of Founders in Motion + Investor at Archangel Ventures
Panelists
Sam Richardson, Founder of Butter
Haobo Zhang, Founder of Polarbear
Arjun Agarwal, Founder of Inaam
Steph Brook, Founder of Rave
12:00 - 12:50
How Startups Are Building Teams in 2026: How startups are approaching hiring, pay, benefits, equity, culture, and ways of working.
Moderator: Megan Luttrell, Founder of Kairos Recruitment & Aussie Founders Club
Panelists
Jacqui Bull, Co-founder & COO of SideKicker
Pavi Iyer, Head of People & Talent at Fortiro
Victoria Beal, CEO of Submarine
Travis Gandy, COO of Compass
12:50 - 1:30
Lunch Break
Lunch is not provided as part of the event.
We’ve intentionally built in a break so you can explore the cafes and food spots nearby.
Use the time to grab food, step out, or keep conversations going.
Afternoon sessions start promptly at 1:30.
1:30 – 2:20
Who Wins Funding in 2026: VC, venture debt, and non-dilutive capital. What actually gets backed.
Moderator: Akhil Sharma, Strategy & Operations at Amber Electric (Previously, Investments Director at Antler)
Panelists
Liz Van Zyl, Head of Partnerships at Tractor Ventures
Paul Naphtali, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Rampersand
Kate Coffey, Investment Manager at AirTree
Judy Anderson-Firth, Group CEO Euphemia, Co-founder of Triple Bubble, Board of Birchal
2:30 – 3:20
How Startups Win Attention in 2026: Where attention comes from now, and how brands get seen.
Moderator: Sara Singh Tak, Founder of Humans of Australia
Panelists
Jobe Neal, General Manager of Recreate Australia
Sam Ayre, Head of Marketing at Cuttable
Millie Marconi, Founder of Testfeed
Lexi Sydow, Chief Analyst & Founder of The ATTN Economy
3:30 – 4:30
Headline Panel: Founders Who’ve Done the Thing: A grounded conversation with founders who’ve built companies that actually worked.
We’ll dig into the real journey, before, during, and after an exit.
The pressure, trade-offs, and realities that aren’t obvious when you’re in the middle of building.
This panel is for founders who want a clearer picture of what they’re working towards.
Moderator: Megan Luttrell, Founder of Kairos Recruitment & Aussie Founders Club
Panelists
Rob Philpott, exited Aconex, now CEO of Gravel Road Ventures and Founder Partner at Glitch Capital
Darius (Bubs) Monsef, exited multiple businesses, now Founder of Pre
Jodi Geddes, exited Circle In, now CEO & Founder of Brandiie
Workshops
1:30 - 2:20
Building an MVP Marketing Stack with Claude Code with Luke Marshall, Pointer
Why attend: If you’re early or moving fast, marketing stacks get messy quickly. This session shows how to keep things lean without guessing.
What you’ll take away: A clear, practical way to set up a marketing stack from scratch using AI tools. Luke will walk through what to use, what to skip, and key call-outs to watch for, with live demos along the way. You’ll leave with a cheatsheet and a setup you can apply immediately.
2:30 - 3:20pm
From Floppy Disk to AI: Reinventing Yourself When the Rules Keep Changing with Tim Griffiths Exited Co-founder of Xref (ASX:XF1) and Partner at Scalare
Why attend: Founders are under pressure to move fast, adopt new tech, and have answers early. This session is a grounded look at what it actually takes to keep building when the rules keep changing, from someone who’s lived multiple cycles of failure, reinvention, and scale.
What you’ll take away: Real stories from the trenches and three practical plays you can use this year. Tim shares what it feels like to miss payroll, shut things down, start again, and eventually build a public company. You’ll leave with clearer judgement, more confidence saying no, and simple ways to experiment without overthinking.
3:30 – 4:20pm
Branding and Visibility: What Actually Builds Reach Over Time
with Jemimah Ashleigh, La Trobe LaunchPad
Why attend: As a founder, visibility compounds, but only if you’re intentional about where you spend time. This session breaks down what’s actually worth doing now versus what can wait, so you’re not spreading yourself thin across every channel.
What you’ll take away: A clear framework for building visibility that lasts. Jemimah will walk through the core pillars founders should focus on, including personal brand clarity, network building, social channels, and when PR, awards, or speaking opportunities make sense. You’ll leave with practical ideas you can apply straight away to strengthen your visibility this year.
Office Hours
Alongside the panels and workshops, we’ll be running IRL office hours for founders who want more direct conversations.
LaunchVic Office Hours
LaunchVic will offer 20-minute in-person office hours for early-stage founders attending the day.
This is a chance to sit down with someone from the LaunchVic team and talk through:
what support is available
which programs fit your stage
what next steps might make sense as you build
LaunchVic will have six team members available, offering up to 30 founder sessions across a dedicated two-hour window.
We’re also exploring additional office hours with VCs and ecosystem partners.
This section may expand as we lock things in.
Office hour bookings will be limited and offered to attendees first.
A Note on Office Hours
The Office Hours Logistics are still being locked in over the next few days.
We’ll update the program as confirmations land.
If you’ve already started the year making big calls, this day is for you.
Come hear how other founders are approaching the same decisions.
Get new ideas. Drop a few bad ones. Leave sharper than you arrived.
Grab a ticket and be part of the first move.