Business of Entrepreneurship Program
The Business of Entrepreneurship Program is BDO’s startup growth and financial education program for founders of early-stage, high growth companies in Queensland. BDO has partnered with Advance Queensland to deliver new financial education programs for startups and scaleups looking to take their company to the next level. For more information, contact the BDO for Startups team.
Financials for Founders Program
Financials for Founders is a two-day virtual workshop specifically designed to teach startup entrepreneurs the financial fundamentals required to grow and scale their company confidently. This is a must-do program for all Queensland startup founders. If you want to increase your confidence and financial literacy, then you need to enrol in this program.
Price: Free (usually $990)
Spaces: Limited to 25
Enrolments now closed LEARN MORE
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About the Financials for Founders Program
Over two days, you will learn all the financial fundamentals required to grow and scale your company confidently. You will be empowered with the knowledge of how to read your financial statements, maximise your current cash position and identify strategies to stretch and improve your cash flow. We teach you different ways to view your financial statements, explain the difference between cash flow and profit and help you build a 12-month cash flow forecast as well as a 90-day action plan to scale your company.
This program is ideal for:
- All founders of startups and scaleups who are looking to grow their company in the next 12 months
- Founders who want to develop skills to manage and maintain growth
- Founders who want to improve their financial literacy
- Startups needing a tool to support their day to day cash flow management.
VIEW PROGRAM OVERVIEW VIDEO
Hear from Director of Startups and Program Facilitator, Marc Orchard. He explains what founders can expect in the Financials for Founders Program.
What you will learn in the Financials for Founders program
BDO’s virtual financial education programs are interactive, engaging and provide you with practical resources and tools. They are designed to teach startup founders key financial concepts.
Day one learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- View your Profit and Loss as a founder, accountant and investor
- Understand the structure of your Balance Sheet
- Compare the different types of revenue streams and how they impact your startup
- Identify the difference between profit, cash flow and cash burn
- Understand how cash moves through a business.
Day two learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- Manage your day to day cash flow with ease
- Identify levers to stretch your cash flow further
- Identify your options for cash injections to extend your runway
- Build a 90-day business action plan.
How to get involved in the Financials for Founders Program
If you are ready to improve your confidence and financial literacy, improve your cash flow management, maximise your cash position and build a plan for scale, click the button below to enrol in the next intake of the Financials for Founders Program.
Program dates
| Tuesday 5 October 2021 |
9.00am – 4.30pm |
| Tuesday 12 October 2021 |
9.00am – 4.30pm
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Enrolments now closed
Pricing for Growth Program
This one-day virtual workshop is open to regional and metro-based startups in Queensland who want to validate their business model and pricing strategy for scale. If achieving a pricing-market fit, increasing your cash flow, and understand investment opportunities are important to the success of your company, you need to enrol in this Pricing for Growth program.
Price: Free (usually $495)
Spaces: Limited to 25
ENROL FOR OCT LEARN MORE
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About the Pricing for Growth Program
In this intensive, one-day virtual workshop, you will learn how to review and validate your pricing strategy and business model for scale. You will construct a revenue model using industry best practices to help you understand your income streams, cost of goods sold and expenditure. This enables you to benchmark your startup’s financial health against others in your benchmarks and investor readiness. You will gain insights and control of the four main types of revenue models that your startup can generate and discover how these revenue types influence your cash flow, investment options and company valuation.
This program is ideal for:
- Founders who want to validate their pricing strategy and business model for scale
- Founders who have a pricing-market fit and are preparing for investment opportunities in the next 12 months
- Founders who want to improve their financial literacy
- Startups needing a tool to verify their pricing strategy and gross profit percentage.
VIEW PROGRAM OVERVIEW VIDEO
Hear from Director of Startups and Program Facilitator, Marc Orchard. He explains what founders can expect in the Pricing for Growth Program.
What you will learn in the Pricing for Growth Program
BDO’s virtual financial education programs are interactive, engaging and provide you with practical resources and tools. They are designed to teach startup founders key financial concepts.
Day one learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- Test and validate your company’s pricing strategy and business model
- Evaluate different types of revenue streams and understand their impact on your cash flow, investment readiness and company valuation
- Calculate important metrics such as gross profit percentage, unit economics, cost of goods sold and churn
- Explore key industry benchmarks for each revenue stream and review their impact on your future pricing strategy and business model for scale.
How to get involved in the Pricing for Growth Program
If you are ready to test and validate your pricing strategy and business model to improve your cash flow, investment readiness and company valuation, then click the button below to enrol in the next Pricing for Growth Program.
Program dates
| Tuesday 26 October 2021 |
9.00am – 4.30pm |
Enrol for Oct
Investment Readiness Program
This is a brand new two-day virtual workshop open to regional and metro-based startups in Queensland looking to successfully raise pre-seed, seed or series A investment in the next 12 months. If an investment is a key to your future growth plans, this program is for you.
Price: Free (usually $990)
Spaces: Limited to 25
ENROL FOR NOV LEARN MORE
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About the Investment Readiness Program
Over two days, you will explore how to become investor-ready and create a financial strategy that supports your plans for scale, including a comprehensive business budget and a 90-day cash flow forecast. We will demystify the investment and capital raising process and work through the key components to a standout pitch. We will also examine how to value your startup and discuss how planning for your long-term success influences key decisions at the start of your company’s journey.
This program is ideal for:
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Founders who are looking to raise capital in the next 12 months
- Founders who want to develop skills to maintain growth
- Founders who want to improve their financial literacy
- Startups needing a tool to manage runway and build a financial strategy.
VIEW PROGRAM OVERVIEW VIDEO
Hear from Director of Startups and Program Facilitator, Marc Orchard. He explains what founders can expect in the Investor Readiness Program.
What you will learn in the Investment Readiness Program
BDO’s virtual financial education programs are interactive, engaging and provide you with practical resources and tools. They are designed to teach startup founders key financial concepts.
Day one learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- Demystify the investment and capital raising process
- Calculate financial metrics such as growth rate, revenue, gross profit, unit economics, cash burn, runway, MRR and PSR, customer churn and CAC
- Build revenue projections and a cash flow forecast
- Understand strategies to extend your runway.
Day two learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- Create the perfect pitch deck for investor introductions
- Understand factors that impact your company’s valuation for investment and/or exit
- Review deal terms and understand commercial economics and financial factors intersect
- Manage the ramp-up, during and after investment processes to scale your company successfully.
How to get involved in the Investment Readiness Program
If you are ready to raise investment, build a financial strategy and cash flow management forecast to support rapid growth, click the button below to enrol in the Investment Readiness Program.
Program dates
| Tuesday 18 November 2021 |
9.00am – 4.30pm |
| Wednesday 25 November 2021 |
9.00am – 4.30pm
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Enrol for Nov
Advance Queensland Accelerator Program
This two-day in-person workshop is invite-only for high potential Queensland startups and scaleups (regional and metro-based) who have participated in the Financials for Founders, Pricing for Growth and/or Investor Readiness virtual programs. The goal of this program is to take your financial education to the next level and to connect you to BDO’s national network of investors, advisers and ecosystem supporters.
INTEREST FOR JAN 2022 LEARN MORE
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About the Advance Queensland Accelerator Program
Over two days, you will have access to some of Queensland’s best investors, startup advisers and ecosystem supporters. We will review the capital raising process and provide you with opportunities to deliver your pitch to peers and investors. You will learn how to control and manage the capital raising process and be given real-life examples of Queensland companies that have successfully scaled via investment. You will also be exploring your leadership skills as you begin to transition from founder to CEO of your company and grow a team that can help you scale your company in the next 12 months. Finally, you will complete a founder pledge to implement key action items in your business in the next 90 days.
This program is ideal for:
- Founders who are scaling rapidly and are planning to raise investment
- Founders who want to expand their network of investors, advisers and startup supporters
- Founders who want to take their financial literacy to the next level
- Startups who are doing $200,000 to $1 million in revenue and are looking for mentorship and support as they transition from founder to CEO of a high growth company.
VIEW PROGRAM OVERVIEW VIDEO
Hear from Director of Startups and Program Facilitator, Marc Orchard. He explains what founders can expect in the Accelerator Program.
What you will learn in the Advance Queensland Accelerator Program
BDO’s in-person Accelerator program is highly interactive and engaging and designed to amplify the financial education foundations taught during the early virtual programs. Founders will participate in several interactive workshops and activities throughout the two-day program.
Day one learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- Control and manage the investment and capital raising process
- Deliver the perfect pitch and communicate your financials with confidence to investors
- Reverse engineer key financial metrics such as growth rate, revenue, gross profit, unit economics, cash burn, runway, MRR and PSR, customer churn, CAC etc. and build your company on purpose, with purpose
- Review your pricing strategy and business model for scale.
Day two learning objectives
YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
- Transition from Founder to CEO of your high growth company
- Build your team and craft your recruitment process for scale
- Understand how to recruit the right people into the right roles during rapid growth
- Implement strategies to build a great culture with high engagement.
How to get involved in the Advance Queensland Accelerator Program
The Advance Queensland Accelerator Program is an invite-only program for high potential startups and scaleups in Queensland. Accelerator participants will be chosen from founders who participate in the Financials for Founders, Pricing for Growth and Investor Readiness virtual programs.
Program dates
| Monday 24 January 2022 |
9.00am – 4.30pm |
| Tuesday 25 January 2022 |
9.00am – 4.30pm
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APPLY FOR ACCELERATOR
In Partnership with Advance Queensland
BDO has proudly partnered with the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland initiative to deliver our Business of Entrepreneurship Programs completely free to regional and metro-based startups and scaleups throughout Queensland. For more information on Advance Queensland’s programs for startups and scaleups, please visit http://advance.qld.gov.au.
Meet your Startup Growth Specialists
BDO’s Startup Growth Specialists are committed to helping early-stage, high growth companies become scalable, investable and saleable. Marc and Tim have over 20 years of experience working with startup and scaleup founders from across the globe.
MARC ORCHARD
Director of Startups
VIEW PROFILE
Marc is the Director of Startups at BDO and the founder of the BDO for Startups program. Prior to this, he was the Brisbane City Manager of Fishburners, an award-winning co-working space for early-stage tech startups.
Marc has also previously started, scaled and sold his financial planning firm, which he grew from $0 to $30 million of funds under management in less than three years.
Marc has extensive experience in early-stage, high growth company advisory, capital raising and board management and is well connected in the Australian startup ecosystem.
His goal is to help passionate founders grow world-class companies and to empower Queensland’s startup ecosystem to become a mecca for the world's best-scaling companies.
TIMOTHY HUI
Senior Manager
Timothy is a Senior Manager at BDO for Startups, focusing on assisting companies from preparation through to completion of their capital raise. Tim brings relevant insights as an active early-stage investor. Concurrently, Timothy is a founding partner of Mandalay Venture Partners – an early stage agrifood tech venture capital fund.
Prior to joining BDO, Tim was the Programs and Investment Associate at QUT Creative Enterprise Australia and launched Collider Accelerator – focusing on startups at the intersection of technology and the creative economy.
Timothy brings the ability to quickly jump between macro to microlens, which results in working with companies both strategically and tactically. In supporting startups for almost a decade, Tim has worked with startups from start to exit. Timothy is passionate about building communities, empowering entrepreneurs and building businesses with purpose.