Shay Starrenburg doesn't do safe. Not in her work, not in her business, and absolutely not on stage. As founder of Idyllic Disruptive Design Studio, she's built a nationally recognised creative agency while juggling a young family and quietly becoming one of the sharper disruptive thinkers in the creative industry.
- Disrupting in the Streets with Guerrilla Marketing
Talking about the stunts Idyllic has pulled in the past and inspiring others to think BIG. - Marketing With Heart — The Power of Promoting Something You Actually Care About
Talking about using your marketing powers for good – promoting causes you care about - Emotion Is the Strategy
Everyone’s chasing data, algorithms, and trends. Shay argues that the most underrated tool in any marketer’s kit is how something makes people feel. - Building an Agency (While Everything Else Is Also Happening)
The unglamorous, honest, occasionally chaotic reality of building a business while raising young children, being a Woman, managing people, and refusing to shrink. - Resilience & Confidence – How to put yourself out there with no regrets
Finding your voice, owning your space, and building something on your own terms
Previous Events
A keynote speaker known for high-energy delivery, genuinely funny slides, and the rare ability to make a room full of business owners actually lean forward, Shay brings the kind of stage presence that gets talked about long after the conference lanyards have been binned.
Her keynote sessions are equal parts entertaining and genuinely useful, think less “death by PowerPoint” and more “why is this woman making me rethink everything while also laughing.”
Shay has taken the keynote stage, speaking on topics including disruptive marketing, guerrilla strategy, business resilience, unapologetic confidence, and the power of emotion in branding, and has connected with audiences at business, marketing, and leadership events throughout New Zealand.
Previous keynote audiences have walked away with:
A head full of ideas they can actually use
At least one moment where they genuinely laughed out loud
The uncomfortable realisation that they’ve been playing it too safe
Moderator at NZDW for talk Designing for a Greener Web with speaker Kyoko Locussol
Speaker at:
BPW New Zealand Conference in Auckland – Keynote Speaker “How to make your website a money maker”
Tonic Conference – Keynote Speaker “Leveraging Social Media”
Shay is a three-year keynote speaker at the international Designer Boss conference, where she’s delivered talks on unapologetic confidence, resilience, marketing yourself as a designer, using AI to get your life back, and making your website work harder than you do.
International Women’s Day Panel Event with
Kerry Bioelle CEO of TSB
Tui MacDonald, Director of Frank Communications
Suzanne Porter, CEO of TAFT
