Maxine Sherrin has spent nearly two decades organising events and communities for Australia's technology sector. In 2004 she co-founded the Web Directions conference series with John Allsopp.
From 2016 to 2023 she ran Spark Festival, a not-for-profit festival that brings founders, investors, small businesses, corporates and policymakers together to grow entrepreneurship in Australia. She kept it going through the COVID-19 lockdowns with online events, which took the festival well beyond its Sydney base, and left in mid-2023 when the organisation could not secure enough funding to run Spark year-round.
On The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem interview series, she discussed why building a community of innovators matters.
3 episodes
Start hereMaxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovatorsHer only full interview, on why Spark set out to bring founders, investors, corporates and policymakers into one community of innovators.
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem 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 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 Key moments from Maxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovators.
“A relentless passion for identifying your customer and identifying their needs and serving those needs. That's the only way, basically.”
Former Festival Director · Spark Festival
Team member (Strategic Communications/Partnerships) · Web Directions Conference
Sources: qihub.com.au
Spark Festival is a startup festival based in Sydney that has run every year since 2016; its eleventh edition ran from 21 to 27 September 2026.
1 person · 3 episodes
Adam SpencerHost, Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem 
Mark PesceFuturist & Host, The Next Billion Seconds 
Hayden WilliamsGroup Product Manager, MYOB 
Evan ThornleyCo-Founder & CEO, LongView 
Tim FungFounder & CEO, Airtasker 
Trevor FolsomCo-Founder and Chairman, Investible 
Peter DavisonCo-founder, Fishburners 
Pete LeadCoach, Scalable Leaders Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026
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