If there is one thing Orsolya Toth-Pal is known for, it is starting a debate wherever she goes. Since arriving in Perth this February, it was only a matter of time before Debate Club made its West Coast debut.
Debate Club is known for bringing together people from all walks of life, particularly from the advertising, technology and startup ecosystems. The Perth launch took place as part of West Tech Fest (WTF), marking a full-circle moment for founder Toth-Pal and Kate Harris, who met at the festival exactly one year earlier. What began as a conversation last year became a collaboration on stage, officially bringing Debate Club to Perth.
“It’s been incredible co-creating this event with Kate. She was a true Debate Club member from day one, speaking about the event as if it were her own. She knows everyone in Perth, and her passion for the ecosystem is unmatched. I couldn’t be more excited to see Debate Club become a regular event in my second home, and I have Kate to thank for that,” said Orsolya.
The event was sponsored by Rockford Equity and featured a deliberately spicy topic: Startup Funding: Debt vs Equity.
Founders from Perth’s ecosystem golden child, The Volte, brought the family chaos and comedy energy the debate demanded. Two teams went head-to-head on the question of whether founders should choose debt or equity. And argue they did. Both sides agreed on one thing. Whether it is debt or equity, money is essentially a boyfriend. The real question is what kind of boyfriend you actually want.
Team Equity, featuring Dr Genevieve Hohnen PhD, James McHale and Trent Rachow, argued that venture capital unlocks scale, speed and ambition, making a strong case that VC money can feel like a very happy polycule when aligned correctly.
Team BernaDEBT, made up of Bernadette Olivier, Erin Bell and Isaak Dury, came in hot with their secret weapon: Daddy Debt Dave, an AI-powered team member with zero chill and one clear mission. The performance was so convincing it inspired Daddy Debt Mike to offer real funding live on stage, momentarily tempting members of Team Equity to switch sides.
The judging panel, Alana Atkinson, Lisa O’Malley, Ruth Hatherley, Mike Vegar and Wilson Tucker, had a tough decision to make.
In the end, Team BernaDEBT took home the trophy, while Team Equity won the audience vote.
Debate Club Perth is run by Harris, a strategic leadership advisor and performance coach who supports founders and senior executives navigating scale. Her work focuses on decision quality, leadership capacity, and performance at scale. Events will run quarterly.
“Bringing Debate Club to WA during West Tech Fest felt like a full-circle moment. After meeting Orsi at an event I hosted last year, I knew this format needed to exist in Perth,” added Harris.
“Structured disagreement creates a rare space for founders, investors and operators to interrogate real decisions, not theory, but lived experience.
“What stood out was the quality of thinking and the energy in the room. There was plenty of laughter alongside serious debate: founders challenging assumptions, investors acknowledging the trade-offs aren’t clean, and operators surfacing the real execution impacts behind capital decisions.
“These are the conversations that support leaders make better decisions under pressure and we need more of them in our ecosystem. I’m excited to continue these events into 2026!”
