CoFound

CoFound Reposition and refocus your business. Apply Now and fire up for 2023!

This business was one of my first clients. Their story started with us in a way that has become a bit of template for ou...
10/08/2026

This business was one of my first clients.
Their story started with us in a way that has become a bit of template for our founder- led clients:
In their kitchen one Sunday afternoon, Husband and Wife, Business Owners.
Post it notes and butches paper everywhere.
Coffee + Thinking tunes on, permission to dream and ideate.
We talked business model, end in mind goals, ideal numbers, workforce profile, values, behavioural and leadership profiling all the stuff that connects the end to the current state.
Permission to think bigger than the next invoice.

We weren't talking about HR.
We were asking bigger questions.
What are we actually trying to build?
What does success look like in five years?
What kind of workforce gets us there?
What sort of leaders will we need?
What behaviours become non-negotiable as we grow?
Everything connected.

Over the years that thinking turned into frameworks, tailored leadership development, new systems, workforce planning, difficult conversations, Fair Work matters, ISO9001 accreditation and hundreds of decisions that slowly shaped the organisation they have today.

The founders deserve most of the credit. Muzza and Hals were always willing to do the work. Ideas didn't stay in notebooks. They became decisions. Decisions became systems. Systems became culture.
That's something I've noticed with almost every successful founder I've worked alongside. They don't dismiss the dreaming phase because it feels slow.
They understand that spending time designing the future often saves years of fixing the wrong one.

At Cofound, that's still what we do.
We help founder-led businesses step off the dance floor long enough to design where they're actually going, then build the people, leadership and organisational foundations to get there.
That's what "Cofound" has always meant to me.
Co-thinking.
Co-designing.
Co-building.
Co-finding the ideal end future state.
Thanks Guys. It's been a privilege to be part of the journey.

Most business problems have multiple solutions.We use future-state. end in mind informed thinking to make sure its less ...
05/08/2026

Most business problems have multiple solutions.
We use future-state. end in mind informed thinking to make sure its less about what will give a short term fix and more about "What still works two years from now?"
A lot of my work is simply sitting beside founders and leadership teams, pressure testing ideas before they become expensive decisions.
We map the options.
Challenge assumptions.
Consider the risks.
Look at the second and third order impacts.
Then bring everything back to one question:
Does this move us closer to the business we're trying to build?
That's the conversation.
That's the work.
And it's why I still love sitting in front of a whiteboard with business owners.

Over the past two months, we have run 8 of these workshops with owners, founders and leadership teams, helping them step...
07/07/2026

Over the past two months, we have run 8 of these workshops with owners, founders and leadership teams, helping them step back from the day-to-day and design what the next 12 months will require. All of them already have a lot on the table, most have a fairly solid plan to do it, almost none have sat down and strategised with each other on it though.

We help by facilitating considerations like:
• Do we have the leadership capability to support the growth that is ahead chasing?
• Is demand outpacing our people and systems?
• Where will our current operating model begin to break?
• Are we building managers fast enough?
• Does everyone actually understand where we’re heading?

Growth isn’t simply about working harder. It’s about deliberately designing the business that can support the future you’re trying to create. Across every workshop we’ve facilitated, the outcome has been similar.
> A leadership team aligned around one direction.
> Shared ownership instead of assumptions.
> Clear priorities instead of competing opinions.

There are some very powerful moments that can happen when a plan is co-designed by the people responsible for making them happen.

If you’re planning FY27 and it still largely exists in your head, it might be time to get your leadership team around the table.
I have spaces for 2 more in July and then August.
DM for more info or book a call: https://calendly.com/tom-cofound/the-strategy-workshop-briefing

Expansion of sites, new offices, larger warehouses and bigger ambitions are exciting for any business.Only if everyone k...
01/07/2026

Expansion of sites, new offices, larger warehouses and bigger ambitions are exciting for any business.
Only if everyone knows where the business is heading. 😅

One of the most valuable parts of this session was realising that not everyone in the room fully understood just how ambitious the plans actually were.

New locations across Queensland. Growth across both residential and commercial divisions. A new CRM. AI-assisted workflows for site supervisors and administration teams.

For many founders and business owners, these ideas live in their head long before they live anywhere else. The challenge usually isn’t having a vision. It’s helping other people see it. Better still, creating the opportunity for others to challenge it, contribute to it and co-design what it could become.

That’s why I do this. Not because strategy documents are exciting, its really just that leadership teams rarely get the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day and have honest conversations about where they’re going. The lessons they’ve learnt. The parts of the business they want to protect. The things that have to change. The future they’re trying to build together.

One of the assets that comes out of these workshops is a designed Plan on a Page. Something simple enough to refer back to, but detailed enough to capture the future that was discussed, challenged, refined and ultimately agreed to together.

Some people will say this sort of work is only for large organisations. Others will say it’s a waste of money.

They’re probably right.
It’s definitely not for everyone.
Founders who want to make every decision themselves usually don’t enjoy this process.

But for leadership teams willing to think together, negotiate together and co-design the future, it can be incredibly powerful.

What pops out the end is a shared understanding of where the business is heading, why it matters, and the confidence to start making decisions that move everyone in the same direction.

I’ve got a handful of workshop dates still available over the coming months. If your business is entering a new chapter and you think your leadership team would benefit from a day like this, send me a message or book a catch up: https://calendly.com/tom-cofound/the-strategy-workshop-briefing

I run business design and strategy workshops. This one was with a farming family with 48 staff but the growth pace has b...
27/06/2026

I run business design and strategy workshops. This one was with a farming family with 48 staff but the growth pace has been intense for them.

These kind of conversations are often seen as only relevant for larger organisations but I believe small and medium businesses deserve access to the same thinking.

There was a moment during this workshop where the overseer looked around and said to the owners,
“I didn’t realise we were needing to grow this quickly, I also didnt realise these were our goals for next year.”
The owners wife laughed and said, "neither did I".

That moment happens more often than you’d think. Business owners spend months, sometimes years, carrying the future of the business around in their own heads. They assume everyone else can see what they see.

The moment the direction becomes visible, leaders stop solving only today’s problems and start preparing for tomorrow’s.

The next step is even more powerful. facilitating the process for Invite the leadership team to co-design that future together. The 'how' we get there is important.

That’s where ownership begins.

I don’t think strategy is about producing a document that sits on a shelf, it’s helping to build a shared picture of the future.

A common direction. A mutually agreed heading.

When people genuinely understand where the business is going, they make better decisions, speak up earlier, challenge ideas constructively, and contribute because they feel part of building something, not simply being told about it.

If your business is entering a new chapter, whether you have 20 people or 2,000, this work scales remarkably well.

I’ve still got a handful of workshop dates available over the coming months.

If you’re curious whether it’s the right fit for your business, send me a message or book a chat https://calendly.com/tom-cofound/the-strategy-workshop-briefing

Developing a 'plan' is not the hard part or the point of this really.Getting everyone who has to execute the agreed plan...
17/06/2026

Developing a 'plan' is not the hard part or the point of this really.

Getting everyone who has to execute the agreed plan - in the same room, looking at the same picture, pulling in the same direction that's the work and the outcomes are very much underrated.
This is a half-day workshop for founders, business partners and leadership teams. A facilitated process where the direction gets built together, so everyone leaves with the same heading and a shared stake in what comes next.

You also leave with something tangible. A plan on a page, your operating model, organisational structure, risks and opportunities mapped, leadership expectations defined, and a business design canvas that brings it all together.
Not notes from a meeting. A set of outputs built in the room, owned by everyone in it.
This is what Co-Design is.

7 businesses already in across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Townsville.

6 spots left in June and July.
Link in bio to book a 20-minute call. → https://calendly.com/tom-cofound/the-strategy-workshop-briefing

One of the risks of heading into a new financial year where rapid growth has arrived or is coming - isn’t a lack of idea...
16/06/2026

One of the risks of heading into a new financial year where rapid growth has arrived or is coming - isn’t a lack of ideas or individual capability issue.
It’s a lack of alignment.

The founder sees one future. The leadership team sees another.
Managers are operating from different assumptions.
Everyone is working hard, but not always towards the same destination.

Over time that creates drag. Priorities compete. Decisions slow down.
Energy gets spread across too many things.

The Strategy Workshop is designed to bring the people responsible for building the business into the same conversation.

Together we examine where the business is today, how it arrived here, what the next chapter demands and what matters most over the next twelve months.

The outcome is a plan to anchor to - co-designed by the people responsible for building. It’s shared ownership. Shared understanding.
A sense of direction that has been built together rather than handed down.

FY27 is approaching.

Six workshop spots left.

Link in bio to book a 20-minute call. →

This workshop isn’t about vision boards, personality profiles or someone else’s blueprint.It’s a facilitated process for...
15/06/2026

This workshop isn’t about vision boards, personality profiles or someone else’s blueprint.

It’s a facilitated process for business owners, founders and leadership teams.

A chance to start the new financial year with a shared sense of direction, co-designed with the people responsible for building it (you and your leadership team).

Step back from the day-to-day and assess, curate, design:

• Strategic direction
• Organisational design
• Leadership infrastructure
• Decision pathways
• Operating rhythm
• Priorities for the next 12 months

Before FY27 begins, get the right people in the room.

The Strategy Workshop | Half Day

I’ve already got seven businesses booked across health, construction, trades and agriculture throughout Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Toowoomba and Townsville.

For some, it’s a husband-and-wife ownership team up for clarity and direction.

For others, it’s an executive team coming together to align around what’s next.

I have capacity for 6 more workshops during June and July.

If you’re considering taking a more intentional approach to FY27, reach out and we’ll organise a 20-minute briefing call to see whether it’s the right fit.

https://calendly.com/tom-cofound/the-strategy-workshop-briefing

09/06/2026

35 Leaders - each one carrying something different into the room. The Change & Strategy Reset Workshop - for Small & Medium Business Leaders.

A structured session designed around what this specific business is actually navigating - the changes in motion, the decisions not yet made, the pressure sitting between departments that hasn't been named out loud yet.

I know where most of them will sit. I know which departments are carrying the most right now. The walking isn't setup. It's the work starting before they arrive.

What happens in rooms like this one is the reason I do what I do. Leaders who came in with one version of the problem leave with a clearer picture of what's actually underneath it. Sometimes whole directions shift. Not because I told them what to think - but because the session was designed to surface what the business already knows but hasn't said together yet.

DM if keen to attend the next one.

Recently provided Roma Cities Rugby League Club with advisory services, such a solid club with a hardworking committee d...
11/05/2026

Recently provided Roma Cities Rugby League Club with advisory services, such a solid club with a hardworking committee doing good things in their community.

One thing I have found with those small businesses, organisations, NFPs outside the metro - they are always the most down to earth, practical and always so grateful for services.

Address

Sunshine Coast, QLD

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when CoFound posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category