Morning Startup - Perth

Morning Startup is proud to host the official launch of the 2026 Western Australian Innovators of the Year (WA IOTY) Awards, celebrating WA’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit for 20 years.

The WA Innovators of the Year Awards recognise the people, ideas and technologies shaping Western Australia’s innovation ecosystem. Delivered by the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification, the program acknowledges emerging and growth-stage innovators who are creating economic, social and environmental impact for the State - from entrepreneurial ventures and cutting-edge research through to innovative products and services.

As the flagship awards program in Western Australia’s innovation calendar, WA IOTY supports innovators to grow, scale and succeed. Finalists gain access to funding, professional development and accelerator opportunities that strengthen capability, encourage collaboration and turn innovation into real-world outcomes for Western Australia.

What to expect at the launch
The morning will open with a welcome from the Minister for Science and Innovation, Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, followed by an address from WA Innovators of the Year Patron Professor Fiona Wood - one of the State’s most respected innovators and leaders.

We will then hear from the new Major Sponsor of the WA Innovators of the Year Awards, the Malka Foundation. With a strong commitment to entrepreneurship, education and long-term impact, the Foundation supports initiatives that help build capability across Western Australia’s innovation ecosystem and create clear pathways for the next generation of founders and innovators to grow, scale and thrive.

The program concludes with insights from Sarah Mitchell of Typeset on communicating the value of innovation to business and the broader community. Drawing on a career spanning technology and strategic communication, Sarah is a global leader in content marketing and an expert in writing winning award submissions.

Applications for the 2026 WA Innovators of the Year Awards officially open at 11:00am on the day, marking the first step in a milestone year that celebrates two decades of innovation excellence in Western Australia.

Agenda:

• 7:30 am: Morning Startup intro including 'shameless plugs and announcements' where you can introduce yourself or announce your startup to the Perth startup community!
• 7:45 am: Innovators of the Year Launch for 2026 with Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, Professor Fiona Wood, Derek Gerrard and Sarah Mitchel.
• 8:30 am: Networking & breakfast
• 9:00 am: Finish

Software is no longer written by people alone, so why are we still running our SDLCs as if it is?

In this talk, Aidan Morgan will draw on twelve months of hands-on experimentation with agentic engineering teams assembled for an AI-first delivery model.

He’ll introduce a mental model for AI-first delivery, share how he’s using deterministic tooling to create fast, automated backpressure to keep agents on track, and challenge some long-held assumptions about software delivery.

If you’ve been wondering how to move beyond “AI-assisted coding” and into genuinely agentic software delivery, this one’s for you.

About Aidan
Aidan Morgan is a four-time startup VP/CTO, founder, and seasoned technology executive with more than two decades of experience leading high-impact engineering teams and scaling organisations. He has driven innovation across startups, scale-ups, and enterprise environments in technologies spanning embedded systems, cloud platforms, and autonomous robotics.

Aidan is currently Chief Engineer at Bankwest, where he is helping guide the bank’s transition to a digital-only future while driving modern engineering and agentic engineering practices across teams and platforms.

He is also an Industry Fellow at AITAI, supporting research and industry engagement initiatives in advanced AI and engineering, and mentoring founders and technology leaders in the adoption of emerging AI capabilities.

Agenda:

• 7:30 am: Shameless plugs and announcements. Introduce yourself or announce your startup to the Perth startup community!
• 7:45 am: Stop Writing Code like it's April 2026 with Aidan Morgan
• 8:30 am: Networking & delicious breakfast treats
• 9:00 am: Finish

DATE CHANGE!!!
This Founder Sundowner has been moved to the following Wednesday (May 13th) as Otherside of Nowhere have an event on and need to shift us!

Calling all startup founders!

On the first Wednesday of each month (but note the date change above for this one!!), let's get together for a tasty beverage or two, celebrate and/or commiserate the month that was, and share plans and ideas for the month yet to be!

You might even meet your future Co-founder, Engineering Lead, or Senior Vice President of Vibes & Alignment.

As Elon Musk could have once said, "All my success is due to drinking with other startup founders as often as possible".

This is a very casual, monthly, after-work event, in addition to our fortnightly Morning Startup meetups at Spacecubed. So if you're not a morning person, this is for you!

There will be no speakers or formalities. Just a bunch of startups, in a pub, having fun, and learning from each other.

Pizza will be provided courtesy of our amazing Morning Startup sponsors (see below), but make sure you save up ahead of time to cover the cost of your own exotic cocktails and Perth-priced-drinks.

To find us, ask the bar staff for the Founder Sundowner table and they'll point you in the right direction.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Get around our amazing sponsors!

Morning Startup is a fortnightly meetup for WA startups, founders and entrepreneurs to help inspire and support entrepreneurship in WA. We're run by founders, for founders and our meetups are 100% free! Come along and connect with the WA startup community!

The details of this specific meetup are yet to be confirmed, but rest assured, if you're a WA startup, you'll walk away with new knowledge, connections, and start the day inspired!

Agenda:

• 7:30 am: Shameless plugs and announcements. Introduce yourself or announce your startup to the Perth startup community!
• 7:45 am: An awesome startup related talk, panel or pitch practice session!
• 8:30 am: Networking & delicious breakfast treats
• 9:00 am: Finish