Bondi Pitch Club is back! + Founders lunch, AI insights, Sydney Buddy, and more

Read below for details on:

• Bondi Pitch Club - Wednesday 30 April

• Founders Lunch - Friday 2 May

• Walk & Talk - Friday 16 May

• Bondi AI Collective - Tuesday 20 May

• Bondi Innovation at Waverley Business Forum

• Brighest & Best Business Awards

• Join the Bondi Innovation WhatsApp conversation

• Bondi innovator story: Mercy Nekesa of Sydney Buddy

Bondi Pitch Club is back! Wednesday 30 April

Bondi Pitch Club started in Bondi... has expanded to run very successful events in Parramatta and Brookvale with more on the cards… and is coming back to its roots in Bondi next week!

Come along to pitch your idea in 2 minutes in front of our friendly patrons and startup enthusiasts. This is the place to connect and collaborate.

Register to pitch now https://forms.gle/DgLbQVn2Z99CdBtR6 or be sure to come along with the great crowd.

Bondi Pitch Club is organised by Thibault Roumagoux in partnership with Bondi Innovation, Bistro Chouchou and supported by Tap4Change.

Founders Lunch - Friday 2 May

Our last Founders Lunch was wonderful, so we’re aiming to do this regularly. Also considering doing some dinner gatherings if there’s sufficient interest, let us know!

Bondi Tratt is one of the best lunch experiences around, with spectacular views and great food.

Come and meet other inspiring founders. Not just for Bondi folk, also for entrepreneurs who need a good Friday lunch!!

Walk & Talk - Friday 16 May

Enjoy the big outdoors with inspiring entrepreneurs as we walk to Tamarama and back on one of the most famous paths in the world, talking entrepreneurship, life and community.

Bondi AI Collective event - Tuesday 20 May

The Bondi AI Collective is building with a fabulous community and great insights at our meetup each month. Read the distilled insights on our last Bondi AI Collective meetup on vibe coding - it was a fantastic event!

In our next event we will have:

• A tutorial on how to build your own AI Avatar by Rupert Chesman.

• Steffen Wilhelm will share insights and lead a group discussion on the opportunities and implications of AI digital twins

If you’re into AI make sure to join us!

Bondi Innovation at Waverley Business Forum

Bondi Innovation is part of the Waverley Business Forum, established by the new Mauor Will Nemesh to drive business interests in the area.

It comprises most of the Waverley councillors, Bondi Innovation, the Bondi Chamber of Commerce, and a panel of diverse business owners.

The first meeting was on 16 May, with Ross Dawson of Bondi Innovation sharing and discussing our vision for a leading innovation precinct in Bondi Junction. We’ll keep you posted on progress.

Brighest & Best Awards: Sponsorship Opportunities

Bondi Innovation partners each year with Waverley Council on the Best & Brightest Business Awards. Read below for opportunities to support and connect!

Sponsorship Expressions of Interest Now Open

Waverley Council is looking for expressions of interest to become a valued sponsor and gain repeated exposure that extends from the campaign launch in July , through to the flagship event on 2^nd October 2025 at the iconic Bondi Pavilion. Some benefits include:

· Showcase Your Commitment: Demonstrate your company’s dedication to excellence and support for local businesses to a wide audience. 

· Engage with a Dynamic Community: Connect with one of Australia’s most dynamic business communities, boasting over 35,000+ registered businesses. 

· Gain Invaluable Exposure: Reach an audience of 70,000+ residents and Waverley's extensive business network of 20,000+ businesses.

· Enhance Visibility: Capture this unique opportunity to enhance your brand’s visibility and position your brand alongside the finest in our business community.

· Tailored Benefits: Enjoy benefits designed to maximise exposure and recognition.

For more information, Contact [email protected]

Expressions of interest will close on 30^th April 2025 . Limited sponsorship opportunities are available, and any successful sponsors are ineligible to enter the 2025 awards. 

Bondi innovator story: Sydney Buddy by Mercy Nekesa

A wonderful venture from inspiring Bondi Innovation member Mercy Nekesa.

The Venture

Sydney Buddy helps travel agencies solve their clients' connectivity challenges through personalized, location-specific phone plan guidance. Our white-label solution enables agencies to provide tailored recommendations based on exactly where their clients will be staying, preventing those frustrating moments when travelers discover their chosen carrier has no service in their specific location.

We launched our first product this past Monday, March 31st, 2025, after months of development and research, and we're currently in conversations with our first potential agency partners.

The Inspiration

The idea came from observing how frequently travelers struggle with connectivity issues. When visiting a new country, travelers often face challenges like discovering dead zones at popular destinations, paying tourist prices for plans that don't work where they need them, or wasting precious vacation hours hunting for SIM cards.

These experiences highlighted a significant gap: travel agencies face this question constantly ("What phone plan should I get?") but lack the specialized knowledge to provide truly helpful answers. We saw an opportunity to solve this problem with location-specific data that most travelers—and even agencies—can't easily access.

The Early Discoveries

As a brand new startup, our first week of customer conversations has revealed interesting insights:

1. The Hidden Value: While many agencies initially say connectivity advice is "nice to have but not necessary," we've discovered cases where travelers chose one agency over another specifically because they offered this type of practical assistance.

2. Agency Priorities: Agencies have shared that their biggest challenge isn't actually providing better phone advice - it's finding reliable customer pipelines. Facebook and social media bring awareness but not quality leads, while referrals produce their best clients.

3. Connection to Customer Acquisition: We're learning how providing exceptional practical guidance on connectivity can help generate those valuable referrals agencies depend on.

Read on for more insights on the journey, including the discovery process, the path forward, why she connects with Bondi Innovation, and the road head…

Join our WhatsApp community!

The Bondi Innovation WhatsApp community is flourishing.

Join the community here, introduce yourself, share what you’re up to, and connect with like-minded local innovators.

If you’re already in the community, please add those who might like to be in there.

The existing online community will continue with job board, innovator stories, and other longer formats that we can link to.

Help grow the community!

Please support us, by coming to our events, telling the right people about Bondi Innovation, connecting us with anyone who has energy to help make good things happen for the community.

See you at one of our events soon!

Ross, Lou, Marta and the Bondi Innovation team