Why I started CAST

I've spent more than a decade in music as an artist, a manager and a founder, and the thing I keep coming back to is how much the right network matters. The artists and projects that took off almost always had a crew around them pulling in the same direction.

When I moved into startups, building communities for pre-series A companies, I saw the same thing at a much bigger scale: founders and VCs backing each other, and billions going into new ideas. Entertainment needed some of that, and fast.

Leading Entain's Australian innovation strategy (a global entertainment giant) showed me the flip side. So many great startups couldn't get a foot in the door with the big players, and the people running venues, clubs and festivals rarely got to see what was being built for them. That gap is why CAST exists.

The single biggest reason we started CAST was the belief that the entertainment industry thrives the closer we bring arts, sports and technology together. I'm lucky to be doing it alongside our advisors, who bring 30+ years of senior experience across government and the private sector, and networks right across sport, music, innovation and entertainment.

It's only the beginning. If you're a curious mind, come and say hi: join@the-cast.org