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Colette Grgic

Head of Startup Ecosystem, AU & NZ at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

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Colette Grgic

About Colette Grgic

Colette Grgic is Head of Startup Ecosystem for Australia and New Zealand at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where she leads a team that gives startups commercial and technical support as they start and scale.

Before AWS she spent six years at BlueChilli, latterly as Chief Innovation Officer overseeing its accelerator programs, including SheStarts. Earlier she founded and bootstrapped the travel tech startup Arribaa, and managed Autogenie, an internal startup at ASX-listed Smartgroup. She has also served as a director of Heads Over Heels.

She was interviewed for Day One's History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem series, explaining why diversity matters to the ecosystem, and appears in parts 3, 4 and 6 of the documentary.

Talks about
Startup Lessons

In conversation.

4 episodes

Start hereColette Grgic explains why diversity is crucialHer full interview on her path from Arribaa and BlueChilli to AWS and why diversity matters.

Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem

The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 3

With Michael Batko, Wayne Gerard, Petr Adámek, Peter Devine, Rohit Bhargava, Terry Hilsberg, Peter Bradd, Zrinka Tokic, Rachael Neumann, Zoe Piper, Susan Oliver, Silvia Pfeiffer, Murray Hurps, Rachel Yang, Yolanda Redrup, Peta Ellis, Sarah Pearson, Niki Scevak, Colin Kinner, Mark Pesce, Ian Gardiner, Lauren Capelin, Matt Barrie, Melissa Widner, Cameron Adams, Georgie Turner, Baden U'Ren, Evan Thornley, Alan Noble, Kate Jones, Kate Cornick, James Alexander, Dharmica Mistry, Emily Rich, Lars Rasmussen

Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem

The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 4

With Simon Thomsen, Tim Boyle, David Burt, Rachel Yang, Sarah Pearson, Bruce Tulloch, Cheryl Mack, Lucinda Hartley, Joshua Flannery, Megan Sebben, Alex Scandurra, Phil Ireland, Julie Trell, Peter Devine, Dean McEvoy, Craig Swann, Pete Horsley, Aaron Birkby, Annie Parker, Paul Bassat, Maxine Sherrin, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Melissa Widner, Hamish Hawthorn, Lauren Capelin

Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem

The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 6

With Leslie Delaforce, Darryl Lyons, Megan Sebben, Wayne Gerard, Nicole O'Brien, Alex Carpenter, Evan Thornley, Baden U'Ren, Tim Fung, Trevor Folsom, Peter Davison, Craig Swann, Moira Were, Allan O'Connor, Rachael Neumann, Chad Renando, Annie Parker, Brendan Hill, Aaron Birkby, Malcolm Turnbull, Jodie Fox, Susan Oliver, Silvia Pfeiffer, Yolanda Redrup, Andrew Nunn, Melissa Widner, Alfred Lo, Sarah Pearson, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Colin Kinner, Lauren Capelin, Matt Barrie, Kate Cornick, Cheryl Mack, Andrea Gardiner, Niki Scevak

Go straight to the good bits.

Key moments from Colette Grgic explains why diversity is crucial.

  1. 0:29Meet Colette Grgic
  2. 1:23Overview of AWS Startups Support
  3. 2:19Importance of the Activate Program
  4. 3:27Passion for the Startup Ecosystem
  5. 4:45Colette's Journey into Startups
  6. 6:06First Steps in the Startup World
  7. 7:20Experiences with Startmate and Push Start
  8. 9:01Importance of Co-Working Spaces
  9. 10:20Transition to BlueChili
  10. 12:40Bridging Startups and Corporates

In their own words.

“Whatever layer you put between you and the customer is going to be the hurdle that you fall over.”
Colette Grgic — Colette Grgic explains why diversity is crucialThe History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 5 May 2022

The path so far.

  1. Now

    Head of Startup Ecosystem, AU & NZ · Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  2. Earlier · Startup

    Chief Innovation Officer · BlueChilli

  3. Earlier · Startup

    Founder · Arribaa

  4. Earlier

    Manager, internal startup Autogenie · Smartgroup (Autogenie)

Sources: dayone.fm

Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Day One

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a comprehensive cloud computing platform provided by Amazon.

4 people · 9 episodes
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

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Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026

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