# IRL by Amber

> IRL by Amber curates invite-only tech and startup events: founder and funder dinners, fireside chats, salons, roundtables, hacker houses and tech mixers. Founded by Amber Main in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), now running events across APAC and globally with brand and VC partners.

## What we do
- Curated IRL events for founders, investors, operators and senior tech leaders.
- 200+ rooms built to date, 5,000+ newsletter subscribers, 15,000+ network reach, 30+ brand and VC partners.
- Event formats: founder and funder dinners (10-20 guests), fireside chats, salons, roundtables, workshops, hacker houses, multi-day residencies and large tech parties (200+ guests).
- Ways to work with us: partner on our existing events (done for you), commission a custom viral launch, sponsor the podcast or newsletter, book a keynote or workshop, or learn to host your own rooms through the IRL Fellowship (done with you).

## Key pages
- [Home](https://irlbyamber.com/): the ecosystem directory, community, event formats, upcoming concepts, testimonials and FAQs.
- [About](https://irlbyamber.com/about): Amber Main's story and why the community exists.
- [Partner with us](https://irlbyamber.com/partner): partnership tiers, event formats, stats and how to start a conversation.
- [Events](https://irlbyamber.com/events): event formats and upcoming concepts.
- [Tech events Melbourne](https://irlbyamber.com/tech-events-melbourne): curated AI meetups, founder dinners, fireside chats and tech parties in Melbourne, Australia.
- [Tech events Sydney](https://irlbyamber.com/tech-events-sydney): founder and funder dinners, VC fireside chats, mixers and galas in Sydney, Australia.
- [Tech parties Australia](https://irlbyamber.com/tech-parties-australia): launch galas, rooftop after parties and 500 guest startup parties across Australia and APAC.
- [Tech events Brisbane](https://irlbyamber.com/tech-events-brisbane): curated AI meetups, founder dinners, fireside chats and startup mixers in Brisbane, Queensland.
- [Tech events Perth](https://irlbyamber.com/tech-events-perth): curated AI meetups, founder dinners and mixers in Perth, Western Australia.
- [Networking events Melbourne](https://irlbyamber.com/networking-events-melbourne): invite-only business and tech networking events in Melbourne for founders, investors and operators.
- [Networking events Sydney](https://irlbyamber.com/networking-events-sydney): invite-only business and tech networking events in Sydney for founders, investors and operators.
- [Enter the Australian market](https://irlbyamber.com/enter-the-australian-market): market entry launch events, landing pad programs and brand activations for global tech companies expanding into Australia.
- [Brand activation Melbourne](https://irlbyamber.com/brand-activation-melbourne): brand activations and experiential marketing in Melbourne for tech companies, AI brands and VC funds.
- [Experiential marketing agency Australia](https://irlbyamber.com/experiential-marketing-agency-australia): experiential marketing and brand experiences across Australia for tech, AI and VC brands.
- [Brand activation agency Sydney](https://irlbyamber.com/brand-activation-agency-sydney): brand activations, product launches and experiential campaigns in Sydney for technology brands.
- [Event marketing agency Australia](https://irlbyamber.com/event-marketing-agency-australia): B2B event marketing, demand generation events and founder dinners for tech, AI and SaaS companies.
- [Community](https://irlbyamber.com/community): who is in the room and how to join.
- [Community guidelines](https://irlbyamber.com/community-guidelines): how we show up IRL and online.
- [News & blogs](https://irlbyamber.com/press): press coverage, Substack essays, Instagram news posts and all partner case studies.
- [Media & podcast](https://irlbyamber.com/media): Bullish on IRL podcast, newsletter sponsorship and media partnerships.
- [Viral launch](https://irlbyamber.com/viral-launch): custom launch events for AI and tech companies entering the Australian market.
- [Keynotes & workshops](https://irlbyamber.com/keynotes): Amber's thought leadership on making IRL your unfair advantage.
- [IRL Fellowship](https://irlbyamber.com/fellowship): cohort based accelerator for people who want to build their own communities.
- [Talent](https://irlbyamber.com/talent): roles in the network and talent looking for roles.
- [Directory](https://irlbyamber.com/directory): service listings for the community.
- [Funding](https://irlbyamber.com/whisper-network): funding signal and investor access for founders.
- [Speakers](https://irlbyamber.com/speakers): speakers who have appeared in our rooms.
- [IRL Points](https://irlbyamber.com/irl-points): the community contribution and rewards system.

## Editorial and original writing
All essays and case studies are written by hand by Amber Main from firsthand experience running the events described.
- Substack (fortnightly essays and founder stories): https://substack.com/@irlbyamber
- Bullish on IRL podcast: https://irlbyamber.com/media
- Instagram (ecosystem news posts): https://www.instagram.com/irlbyamber/
- LinkedIn amplification reaches a 15,000+ network.

## Partner case studies
Each case study documents the partner, the goal, the ICP, the format we ran and the measured outcome.
- [Aura Ventures x Tidal Ventures](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/aura-tidal-rare-series-roundtable): Portfolio roundtable, Rare Series, Sydney, June 2026. A capped roundtable that put two VCs in a room of pre-seed to Series A founders.
- [Builure](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/manual-to-modern-roundtable): Manual to Modern roundtable, Sydney. Putting an automation platform at the table with the brokers it is built for.
- [Blackbird](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/blackbird-till-sunrise): Till Sunrise, mixer and party, Sydney, Sunrise. A Blackbird Sunrise side quest that ran founders, investors and scale-ups into the morning.
- [Stile Education](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/stile-education-partnership): Multi-event partnership, Melbourne. Three formats, one partner: Melting Pot, Best in Tech and the Cracked Builder dinner.
- [AIQURIS](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/aiquris-best-in-tech-vol-2): Best in Tech Fireside Chats Vol. 2, Melbourne, May 2026. A salon-style fireside that put AIQURIS in front of 30 heads of risk and cybersecurity.
- [Trampoline](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/trampoline-social-coverage): Social media coverage and amplification, Sydney. Social coverage that put a syndicate and its portfolio companies in front of the ecosystem.
- [Claude Code Meetup Melbourne](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/claude-code-meetup-melbourne): Hacker Houses & Build Days, Melbourne, December 2025. Australia's first Claude Code meetup: 90+ on the waitlist and an after-party built for the overflow.
- [Launch House](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/launch-house-ascend-summit): Hacker Houses & Build Days, Coming soon. Launch House at the Ascend Summit: a Google Cloud-activated startup festival.
- [Techvilla Takeover](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/techvilla-takeover-bali): Signature experience, multi-day residency, Bali, two days. Two days in a Bali villa with tech founders, mentors and workshops.
- [The Secret Tech Garden Party](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/secret-tech-garden-party): Signature experience, coming soon, Coming soon. A private mansion garden party, application only, address shared on approval.
- [Genesis Residency](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/genesis-residency-mount-martha): Mount Martha, season one, Mount Martha. The first Genesis residency: two houses, one community and founders building together.
- [Genesis Residency](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/genesis-residency-torquay): Torquay, season two, Six months later. From two houses to six: how Genesis scaled the residency format in Torquay.
- [Tapestry](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/tapestry-tech-mixers): Two tech mixers, Melbourne, 2025. Two tech mixers built around the engineers Tapestry wanted to hire.
- [Heidi Health](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/heidi-health-builders-after-dark): Builders After Dark after-party, Melbourne, December 2025. A sold-out meetup created its own after-party — and Heidi Health met the waitlist.
- [Ten13 x Stripe x Vanta](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/ten13-stripe-vanta-founder-event): Curated founder event + content capture, 2025. A curated founder event for Ten13, Stripe and Vanta, promoted and captured end to end.
- [COM × LaunchVic × Melbourne Uni](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/com-launchvic-melbourne-uni-ecosystem-tour): Ecosystem introduction tour, Melbourne, 2025. An ecosystem introduction tour connecting Melbourne's builders, institutions and support networks.
- [Startup People Summit](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/startup-people-summit): Event amplification, Australia. Amplified a founder-focused summit across our newsletter and social channels.
- [Social Spectrum](https://irlbyamber.com/case-studies/social-spectrum-launch): Launch event, 2026. A launch event that introduced Social Spectrum to the neurodiverse community and the people who support it.

## Contact
- Book a call: https://calendly.com/ambermain96/30-min-call-with-amber
- Events: https://luma.com/SparksXGenesis
- Email: ambermain96@gmail.com