SXSW Sydney: exploring the space between startups and corporates

This week, for the first time ever, South by Southwest (aka SXSW) is leaving Austin and setting up shop south of the equator, in Sydney.

Amid the music, gaming and film festivals, we’ve been promised an eclectic conference lineup befitting SXSW’s reputation for both challenging and inspiring, plus the usual slew of game-changing ideas, innovations and technology on display from both the corporate and startup worlds.

“I’ll be attending with an open mind and I’m excited to explore the whole program,” says Toby Norton-Smith , Managing Director of x15ventures , the venture scaling arm of Commonwealth Bank , which will be hosting its own climate tech showcase at SXSW Sydney .

“So many conferences are still very industry specific, which seems like madness when ‘collapsing industry boundaries’ and ‘opportunities through the digitisation of the economy’ are such common conference themes. So, I love that SXSW Sydney has always taken a broader approach. Not just bridging different industries, but also exploring the space between culture and business.”

Like SXSW Sydney, x15ventures is no stranger to blurring boundaries. Founded in 2020, it operates in what Norton-Smith calls “the space between startups and corporates”.

“We build, buy and invest in startups that would benefit from access to the capital, brand and customer distribution of Australia’s leading bank – and in turn, could improve the lives of its 15 million customers,” he says. 

“Traditionally it hasn’t been easy for small startups to partner with large corporates – even when there are mutual benefits for doing so. We don’t pretend to have all the answers yet but were designed from day one with this challenge in mind. For example, our ventures operate in a tech, risk and operating environment that’s separate from but trusted by the bank. A space where they can innovate at pace, while also maintaining enterprise-grade standards of safety, security and scalability – and meaning they can benefit from access to CommBank assets when ready.”

While x15 has a mandate to build, buy and invest in startups, Norton-Smith says there’s often a bias towards building fintechs in-house, given the expertise that sits within CommBank. Recent examples of fintech builds include digital lender, Unloan and kids’ money app, Kit.

On the flip side, it recognises that services ‘adjacent’ to banking – and the inspiration and capability required to build them – are often best sourced from outside. x15 acquisitions include hospitality venue platform, Doshii, invoice-lending platform, Waddle; and it has also invested in payments business, Payble, and made earlier-stage investments into OwnHome, Splashup and Paytron via its Xccelerate program.

Meet the finalists of Xccelerate23 @ SXSW Sydney

Now in its third year, Xccelerate is focused on helping early-stage startups understand the pathway to partnership with a corporate. Each year has a different theme, with this year’s calling for ideas to help advance Australia’s transition to net zero.

At SXSW Sydney on 19 October at 11:00am at CommBank House in Tumbalong Park, you can hear from this year’s Xccelerate finalists and Norton-Smith. “The final four ventures will present their solutions around net-zero tech,” he says.

“We had more than 70 quality applications from early-stage companies who went through various stages to get to the final 16 and our Xccelerate Community Day. The Community Day included networking with stakeholders from CommBank and other corporates – including Medibank Private and AWS – mentoring from domain experts, and panels with leading investors in climate tech. I think all 16 startups got value from the experience.”

The final four teams were then invited back for an intensive day exploring what a partnership with CommBank could look like. “We get each startup to consider two questions, the first and most important being whether an enterprise partnership is right for them,” explains Norton-Smith. “We start with a default position that, unless it’s a clear strategic priority for the startup, it’s probably not right for them – or at least not yet. If enterprise partnership is right for them, then question two is ’what no-regrets steps can you take now to get ready for that enterprise opportunity?’”

Norton-Smith says that by focusing on those two questions, they’re able to identify which venture has the clearest opportunity for future partnership. “We’ll place a small investment in them – a SAFE note – with a view to staying close to them and developing a future pathway to partnership.”

He adds that a conservative estimate is there will be up to $3 trillion in incremental lending required to support Australia’s transition to net zero in Australia. “You can see the magnitude of the problem but also the opportunity,” says Norton-Smith. “Banks need to understand which emerging technologies and solutions are valuable and should be supported, and also recognise that consumers and businesses are asking for help in the energy transition, and I look forward to plenty of discussion on that at SXSW Sydney.”

Where to explore the space between startup and corporate at SXSW Sydney

Whether your background is climate tech or not, the Xccelerate showcase will be the perfect place for other aspiring tech entrepreneurs to connect with the x15 team. “I’m looking to meet people with ideas around three buckets,” says Norton-Smith. “Bucket one is fintech – anything that’s complementary or competing with the bank’s own offering.” Bucket two is tech that could help the bank deepen its relationship with customers, like digital conveyancing app Home-in is doing. Bucket three is regulatory tech, an emerging sector focused on helping big businesses operate more efficiently.

“Even if it’s at a very early stage, you never know – it might be something we’re already thinking about. As x15 works to solve the problem of connecting corporates and startups and make it repeatable and scalable, SXSW Sydney is a great chance to meet in a physical space.”

Should people not manage to connect with him during SXSW Sydney, Norton-Smith says: “Hit me up on LinkedIn!”