Produced by W2D1 Media. Work with us →
Maxine Sherrin

Maxine Sherrin

Former Festival Director at Spark Festival

Startup Support

Maxine Sherrin is an accomplished program and project management professional based in the Greater Sydney Area, Australia. She is currently working on a contract with the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner at the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade. Maxine is renowned for her strategic planning, community engagement, stakeholder management, and event delivery skills, which she showcased as the creator and leader of the Spark Festival, Australia's Festival of Innovation. Her career includes co-founding Web Directions, where she developed strategies for numerous events in the Australian Web industry. Maxine is highly regarded for her ability to build digital communities and her significant contributions to driving innovation in New South Wales.

Watch the latest episode Jump to key moments LinkedIn ↗

In their own words

From Maxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovators · The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
A relentless passion for identifying your customer and identifying their needs and serving those needs. That's the only way, basically.
▶ Maxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovators

Career

  1. Now Former Festival Director · Spark Festival
  2. Earlier Team member (Strategic Communications/Partnerships) · Web Directions Conference

Sources: qihub.com.au

Key moments

Jump straight to the part of Maxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovators you want.

  1. 0:29 Meet Maxine Sherrin
  2. 0:53 Overview of Spark Festival
  3. 1:41 Why Maxine Does It
  4. 2:19 Maxine's Introduction to the Startup World
  5. 3:23 Early Involvement with Startups
  6. 4:35 Birth of Spark Festival
  7. 5:05 History of Sid Start
  8. 6:03 Early Days of the Startup Ecosystem
  9. 8:04 Awareness of the Startup Community in 2012
  10. 9:12 Differences Between Silicon Valley and Australia

Heard on

▶
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem · 19 December 2022 The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 1 With Mark Pesce, Hayden Williams, Evan Thornley, Tim Fung, Trevor Folsom, Peter Davison, Pete Lead, Terry Hilsberg, Matt Bullock, Allan O'Connor, Rachael Neumann, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Alan Jones, Paul Bassat, Hamish Hawthorn, Alfred Lo, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Cameron Adams, Bruce Tulloch, Matt Barrie, Kate Cornick
▶
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem · 19 December 2022 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, Colette Grgic, Pete Horsley, Aaron Birkby, Annie Parker, Paul Bassat, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Melissa Widner, Hamish Hawthorn, Lauren Capelin
▶
The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 3 February 2022 Maxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovators

Spark Festival on Day One

Spark Festival Spark Festival is Australia's largest entrepreneurial community, originating in 2016 as the Sydney Startup Festival. 1 person · 3 episodes →

Connections

Spot something wrong? Suggest a correction Updated 25 September 2026

Produced by W2D1 Media

Want a show of your own?

W2D1 Media — the team behind the Day One Network, which helped build Blackbird Ventures' Wild Hearts — builds and produces podcasts for funds, founders and operators. If you want a show built around your brand, let's talk.

Start a show →
—