A does and a teacher

Dear ,

It’s just four weeks until our 10th McIlwraith Lecture – and if you only make it to one AIP function this year, make it this one.

(To book click here).

Our guest, Steve Baxter, is a remarkable Queenslander. Not only has he built businesses from scratch, he’s also spent years mentoring and backing the next generation of entrepreneurs. Few people embody our lecture’s criteria – outstanding entrepreneurial achievement with a strong Queensland connection – quite so completely.

Steve’s story is pure Queensland. Born in Cloncurry, raised in Emerald and Rockhampton, the son of a railway worker, he left school at 15 to take up an Army apprenticeship – university wasn’t on the cards. From those beginnings, he built his first internet company out of a spare room, sold it with 35,000 customers, then teamed up with fellow Rockhampton alumnus Bevan Slattery to launch PIPE Networks. Nine years later they sold to TPG for nearly $380 million.

Since then, Steve has become as well known for his generosity to budding entrepreneurs as for his own business successes. He founded River City Labs in 2012, created programs like Startup Catalyst to immerse young Queensland founders in Silicon Valley, and served four years as a “shark” on Shark Tank Australia. In 2018, he was appointed Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur.

Today he is Co-founder and Executive Chairman of TEN13, a major startup investment platform, and Founder and Lead Investor at Beaten Zone Venture Partners, focusing on early-stage sovereign defence technology.

Steve has quite a story to tell – and you’ll want to hear it first-hand.

Event details:

Date and time: Wednesday, 29 October 2025 — 7:00 for 7:30 pm
Venue: Victoria Park Venue Centre, 309 Herston Road, Herston Q 4029
Price: $175 AIP members | $195 general public | $130 concessions
(includes two-course meal and drinks)
RSVP: Midnight, 22 October 2025
Booking: to book click here or email young@aip.asn.au

Kind regards,

GRAHAM YOUNG
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE FOR PROGRESS