Sophie Greiner and Bella Filacuridi didn't set out to revolutionise an industry. They just believed the community that podcast fans had built online deserved to have a space in real life too.
On 29 March 2026, at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, DomeFest will be Australia's first festival dedicated entirely to podcast fandom. Hosted by queer comedian and creator Milo Hartill, the lineup spans culture, relationships, identity and sport: It's A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, The Psychology of Your 20s with Jemma Sbeg, Big Small Talk with Hannah Ferguson and Sarah-Jane Adams from Cheek Media and Momentum by Missing Perspectives with Kat Sasso.
From stadium to startup. The night DomeFest was born.
Sophie can still describe it in detail. 2018. Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour. She wasn't even a die-hard fan but she found herself in an arena, and something shifted. "I'd never felt so bonded with strangers… for no other reason than the fact we all loved the same thing," she recalls.
That instant connection – belonging without needing a backstory – became the seed of Dome, a startup built to turn podcast listening from a solitary habit into shared community. If that feeling could happen in a stadium full of Swifties, why not in a space built around the podcasts people connect with so deeply?
The challenge was building the thing from scratch, because nothing like it existed.
How DomeFest is translating passive listening to active fandom
Podcasts have quietly become one of the most intimate forms of media. They live in your headphones during your commute, your run, the moments between everything else. They build real loyalty and connection.
The medium has also evolved. What began as a pure listening experience now includes video, with major podcasts offering fans a window into the studio itself.
Sophie and Bella looked at the evolution of the industry, its growing engagement and saw a gap. Australia had live podcast recordings and industry events, but nothing that treated podcast fandom as the cultural force it has become.
So, came a simple question: what would podcasting look like if it got the festival treatment?
DomeFest's debut lineup features four of Australia's leading podcasts for Gen Z and Millennial women, covering culture, identity, relationships and the conversations shaping a generation, hosted by Milo Hartill. But when you ask the founders what success looks like, they don't talk about the stage first. "It never comes back to the podcasts themselves. It always comes back to the listeners."
They're building for serendipity—for the kind of instant friendship that starts with, “You listen to that too?” For Bella, it goes something like this: “I want people to walk away like, ‘I met the coolest diva in the bathroom and now we're best friends.’”
In other words, go for the shows. Stay for the people.
How 2 UTS graduates with different degrees built one startup
Sophie and Bella came to the same idea from very different directions.
Sophie started at UTS studying law and politics because, as she puts it, "it seemed like the right thing to do." Two and a half years in, she made the call to switch to communications. It wasn't a setback. It was the moment she found her purpose and regained her spark. "I was so much happier. It felt like I found my people."
Bella's journey moved through Creative Intelligence and Innovation, blending journalism with entrepreneurship. After graduating, she spent time in consulting, developing skills in product strategy and customer experience before looking for a mission that was worth going all-in on.
They found each other at an International Women's Day founder networking event. One conversation. A shared instinct. A sliding-doors moment.
How to build founder confidence before you graduate
Neither founder points to a single lecture or subject as the thing that prepared them most. What they remember is being pushed into the world before they felt ready and discovering that readiness isn't a prerequisite for action.
Bella traces her confidence back to early journalism classes that left no room to hesitate. Find the story. Talk to strangers. Hit the deadline.
We were thrown into the deep end straight away… you learn by doing.
Sophie says "UTS has incredible opportunities… it's unreal what you can do as a student." She found the internships, global programs and industry placements that UTS provides are all ways you can broaden your horizon and allow university to take you further than you imagined.
Both arrived at the same conclusion: the university experience is as large as you make it. The students who grow fastest are the ones who stop waiting for permission.
Launching a first-of-its-kind event with no playbook
Creating something that has never existed before means there's no playbook.
The hardest challenge for Sophie and Bella hasn't been logistics or convincing major creators to share their community with two founders and a big vision. Though, their passion truly is infectious and their dedication shows. It’s been helping people understand what DomeFest actually is.
They pitched before they had proof. They went to talent first, then the venue, then partners. They led with conviction and built a strong network to make DomeFest a reality.
"They had no reason to back us, but we had a vision and we had conviction."
Sophie Greiner and Bella Filacuridi
Founders of Dome and DomeFest
Real advice from students who've been exactly where you are
We asked Sophie and Bella to share some lessons that students can use right now.
Sophie and Bella's story is one that inspires action. There’s no better time to start chasing your dreams than right now.
A few things worth holding onto:
Switching paths isn't failure, it’s redirection.
Sophie spent two and a half years studying law before she found her people in Communications. You won’t know there’s something better fitted to your situation unless you try.
Don't self-exclude.
Tall poppy syndrome is real, and so is the instinct to hold back until you feel "ready enough." Bella's advice is direct: "You absolutely have the right to be in that room." So hold your head high and walk in.
An idea can carry you further than you think.
Execution matters but ideas open doors that no amount of polished credentials can. "Never underestimate the power of an idea."
Use the resources you have.
UTS offers internships, global programs, short courses, startup competitions, these aren't extras. They're accelerators. The students who make the most of them don't wait to be invited.