Skip to main content
Produced by W2D1 Media. Work with us →
All people

Zrinka Tokic

Senior Manager, Entrepreneurship Programs, ThincLab at Adelaide University

ActivatorLinkedIn
On Day OneOpen the latest episode For partnersExplore sponsorship
Zrinka Tokic

About Zrinka Tokic

Zrinka Tokic is Senior Manager, Entrepreneurship Programs at Adelaide University, where she is part of the ThincLab business incubator team. She leads incubation and entrepreneurship programs for student founders and early-stage startups, designing program frameworks and drawing on investor networks. She is also an instructor on the university's edX course Entrepreneurial Opportunities.

A former interior designer, she joined the University of Adelaide in 2005 and has worked with early-stage companies for more than 21 years. She led ThincLab and the Australian eChallenge pre-accelerator, and by 2022 ThincLab had sites in Singapore, New Zealand and regional South Australia. She attended a Stanford design thinking course in 2018.

She spoke to Adam Spencer for Day One's History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem series about how cloud and online tools changed the way startups are built.

Talks about
Startup Lessons

In conversation.

2 episodes

Start hereZrinka Tokic on the emergence of modern cloud toolsHow an interior-design background led her to design thinking, and how the eChallenge and ThincLab grew after she joined the university in 2005.

Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem

The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 3

Recorded as Australian eChallenge and ThincLab Manager, University of Adelaide

With Michael Batko, Wayne Gerard, Petr Adámek, Peter Devine, Rohit Bhargava, Terry Hilsberg, Peter Bradd, Rachael Neumann, Zoe Piper, Susan Oliver, Silvia Pfeiffer, Murray Hurps, Rachel Yang, Yolanda Redrup, Peta Ellis, Sarah Pearson, Niki Scevak, Colin Kinner, Mark Pesce, Colette Grgic, 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

Go straight to the good bits.

Key moments from Zrinka Tokic on the emergence of modern cloud tools.

  1. 0:31Meet Zrinka Tokic
  2. 1:05Overview of the eChallenge Program
  3. 1:55Zrinka's First Exposure to the Australian Startup Ecosystem
  4. 2:47Lessons from Interior Design Background
  5. 3:39Growth and Impact of the eChallenge Program
  6. 5:38Design Thinking Takeaways from Stanford
  7. 6:35Evolution of the Entrepreneurship Center
  8. 7:00ThincLab's Role in Supporting Students
  9. 8:41Challenges of Running Multiple Locations
  10. 9:22Rewarding Aspects of Launching New Locations

In their own words.

“Go into this loving what you're doing, but also be ready to change direction.”
Zrinka Tokic — Zrinka Tokic on the emergence of modern cloud toolsThe History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 28 April 2022

Adelaide University on Day One

Adelaide University is a South Australian public university formed by merging the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia (UniSA).

4 people · 7 episodes
Adelaide University

Across the network.

Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026

Put your brand alongside the voices founders, investors and operators come to hear.

Explore sponsorship
See it in practiceExplore Day One sponsorship campaigns.Meet our partnersThe organisations supporting the network.Talk to the teamFind the right fit for your brand.

One useful lesson,
once a month.

Get conversations and practical lessons from the founders, investors and operators on Day One.

Free. Unsubscribe anytime.

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 →