The entrepreneur bringing a startup playbook to golf’s cultural revolution

Martin Karafilis, the former CEO of Aussie startup hub Fishburners and ground breaking AI company Tiliter, is swinging hard at his latest venture.

Though he’s only just edged into his mid-30s, serial entrepreneur Martin Karafilis has achieved more than many people twice his age.  

The former CEO of one of Australia’s original co-working spaces and Australia’s largest startup hub, Fishburners, has also founded and successfully exited a multi-million-dollar tech firm, Tiliter. In addition to authoring Crazy or Genius, a best-selling business book that topped all its Amazon categories when it launched earlier this year, Karafilis has advised some of Australia’s most innovative tech startups. 

Karafilis’ own business journey is underpinned by a passion for music, having worn multiple hats as a rock musician, tour manager and marketing specialist in his first startup role heading up indie Sydney band, Chasing Tuesday. 

But it is sport – another lifelong obsession of Karafilis – that powers his latest venture. For years now, much of his spare time has been devoted to building, playing, and helping shape the future of sport through creativity, community, and smart business. 

A self-confessed golf tragic, Karafilis is seeking to leverage what he believes is a cultural shift in the game. 

“The writing is on the wall of what’s to come in golf. It’s a sport with a rich tradition but there’s a new age upon us.” 

Martin has firmly established himself as an influential voice in Australian golf. With more than 10,000 followers on his @martinjames_golf Instagram account amassed in just a couple of months, Karafilis is advising brands, creating cultural media, and quietly building a brand of his own with co-founder Anya Valova, a label that will formally launch late 2025. 

 
“Everything I’ve ever built started with community, and this is no different. I’m just applying what I know from tech to a new arena – one with history, passion, and a massive opportunity for reinvention.” 

Karafilis points here to rising numbers of youngsters taking up golf and other statistics that are becoming increasingly hard for anyone interested in the business side of sport to ignore. 

He also highlights the fierce competition between incumbent PGA and challenger LIV in shifting the paradigm for professional golf. 

“We’re seeing rising interest in the sport from consumers and players, we’re seeing more brands pop up in the space and more activation from different councils and governments across the globe,” he says. 

One of the starkest examples of golf’s new age is evident on YouTube, where golf is second only to financial services in the video sharing platform’s top two most viewed categories. 

Karafilis also alludes to a geo-economic shift that many strategic thinkers have noted in recent decades – the decentralising of traditional power away from the US toward a more multi-polar structure. 

“I believe that’s one of the biggest things – we’re seeing huge takeup of golf in Asian countries not only from a player perspective but in the design and manufacture of equipment, with Japan the leader in forged golfing products (referring to those made by pouring molten metal into moulds),” he says. 

And from the European market, Karafilis calls out Finnish manufacturer Takomo, which has upended traditional sport equipment distribution with a direct-to-consumer model. Takomo recently signed him as ambassador. 

“There are so many different sporting brands and equipment manufacturers that have reached out for sponsorship, but this is a company I wanted to align myself with because of what they’re doing for the accessibility of the game,” he says. 

“That’s really important to me, and we’re starting to see a lot of other movement like that within the market…we used to only see US companies moving the needle but we’re now seeing competition from all over the world.” 

Karafilis believes golf and other sports will be increasingly disrupted as equipment distributors, competitions and tournaments, and fan bases expand beyond their traditional centres such as the US. 

And it’s not just lifestyle or equipment. Karafilis is bullish on golf technology, too.  “We’re just scratching the surface of how AI and fan technology will reshape sport,” he says. “The way fans learn, train, interact, it’s all changing, and golf is uniquely positioned to lead that.” 

Karafilis is perfectly placed to make these innovations real. With his startup background and global network, he’s connecting emerging tech with brand strategy and community. His vision goes beyond the game itself, it’s about reshaping how golf is played, experienced, and shared. 

To get the latest news on Martin’s new venture, follow him on Instagram at @martinjames_golf and @martin Karafilis and subscribe for early access at www.karafilis.me