Joel Connolly
Orange
Australia

Joel Connolly

Building Blackbird
Creative Director & Head of Blackbird Foundation
Orange
Australia

This Blackbird has flown the nest. You can get in touch with them below.

About Me

What do you do at Blackbird?

I'm Creative Director and I run our Brand and Comms team with Melia. I work on making Blackbird into a beautiful place full of creativity and rich in meaning. I've built our brand, helped to shape our culture, and tried hard to make Australia's startup ecosystem dynamic and inspiring. I'm also the head of the Blackbird Foundation - our mission is to unleash creativity in young people. Previously I was Head of Community and I worked to make Blackbird a community driven VC.

What did you do before Blackbird?

Before Blackbird I founded a talent management business. We managed bands including the Rubens, Cloud Control, Fishing and Urthboy. I also founded a craft beer festival called Sydney Craft Beer Week. I studied comms and theatre at Uni. I launched my career at KFC when I was 16.

What do you believe that others do not?

Everything ladders up to culture. Creativity is more important than anything. Competition is for sheep.

What ideas are you excited by right now?

Sunrise, Blackbird rebrand, design and fit-out of our Sydney office, building the Blackbird Foundation including our grant for passion projects, Protostars, helping setting our Vision, Mission and Values plus loads more.

Stories by

Joel Connolly