How we help
Ninety days to see whether the business can carry the ambition.
And to start building what it needs.
432 Embed
Every partnership starts with 432 Embed.
A minimum three-month commitment to diagnose the business, analyse it and implement our operating approach. We start at management level, not across the whole business. Together we agree what value means for this business and how it will be measured; Embed then defines the financial, operational and structural changes needed to create it.
Because the measures are shared and reviewed in rhythm, both sides know early, and consistently, whether the business is on its way or not.
| Weeks | Stage | What happens | What you hold at the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Gather | Information Foundation Score; Values Compass®; Resonance® baseline; leadership interviews | A tiered view of how reliable your data is |
| 2–3 | Diagnose | Business Health Scan® across 20 sub-drivers; cash, margin and inventory review | A scored heatmap and the first answer: what growth is exposing |
| 4–5 | Design | Strategic Blueprint® (10-year, 3-year, 1-year); quarterly Goals with expected outcomes; 12-month forecast built from the plan | A plan with named levers and the numbers they should move |
| 6–8 | Develop | Accountability Framework®, Performance Dashboard®, Weekly Rhythm, Issues list run through the SOS Framework | Single owners, one dashboard, a meeting that runs |
| 9–13 | Drive | First Monthly Governance Pack | A board-quality monthly view, and a recommendation on what comes next |
The first answer comes in week three, at the end of Diagnose.
After Embed
At day 90, three good outcomes. Real change takes 18 to 24 months.
- 01The business adopts the method and runs it independently
- 02The fit isn't right, and we part well
- 03We continue into partnership, typically 18 to 24 months
Embed delivers value on insight, whichever path follows. The partnership is where value on execution is delivered. The leadership team runs the Weekly Rhythm; we prepare the Monthly Governance Pack, facilitate the Quarterly Realignment and run the Annual Realignment. The at-risk part of our return is measured on shared success over the same period.
What we measure
Bigger + Better + More Profitable ⇒ More Valuable.
Two businesses with the same operating results can be worth very different amounts, and the difference is in that last layer. Four founder questions: is it getting bigger? Better? More profitable? Is it becoming more valuable, for everyone it touches? If the answer isn't clear, the business needs better visibility.
- Customers (served by Bigger)
- Employees (served by Bigger)
- Community (served by Bigger)
- Environment
- Owners (served by Bigger)
Bigger
Revenue, channels, customers and reach.
- CustomersMore reach, range and channels
- EmployeesNew roles: 22 to 34
- CommunityLocal wages and suppliers grow with it
- OwnersRevenue up 26%
- Channel and range plan
- Demand-led buying
- Wholesale and partner growth
Three flat years, then growth that held: net sales up 26% in FY26, with FY27 forecast higher again.
Better
Brand, people, governance, and what the business gives its customers, community and environment.
- CustomersRepeat buyers up 35%
- EmployeesTurnover down from 38% to 14%
- CommunityLocal contribution up 29%
- EnvironmentEmissions down 26%
- OwnersQuality that compounds
- Scorecard and weekly rhythm
- Pay above award, a plan for every role
- Local suppliers, measured footprint
Repeat buyers up 35% and stock turn up 62% since H1 FY24, with margin rising alongside.
Staff turnover fell from 38% to 14% while the team grew from 22 to 34.
Local contribution rose 29%: more local wages, more spent with local makers, and programmes the business can now fund.
Emissions fell 26% in the same year sales grew 26%: sea freight, renewables, packaging and fewer returns.
More Profitable
Gross margin, channel mix and operating leverage.
- EmployeesA profit share tied to the scorecard
- EnvironmentLess rush freight and fewer returns
- OwnersEBITDA up 2.6 times
- Margin architecture
- Cost-to-serve
- Monthly management reporting
EBITDA rose 2.6 times, after reinvesting 260k in the team and systems that made it repeatable.
More Valuable
Working-capital efficiency, fundability and exit readiness: the verdict on the other three, for everyone the business touches.
- CustomersA business built to last
- Employees62% of value added paid to the team
- CommunityA share of profit for local causes
- OwnersEnterprise value up 3.7 times
- Founder-independent operations
- Investor-grade reporting
- Governance and board rhythm
Enterprise value grew 3.7 times: higher earnings, valued at a higher multiple.
Of the 3.0m in value the business created in FY26, 62% went to its people and 9% to its owners.
Who each lever serves
| Stakeholder | Bigger | Better | More Profitable | More Valuable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customers | More reach, range and channels | Repeat buyers up 35% | Not a primary effect | A business built to last |
| Employees | New roles: 22 to 34 | Turnover down from 38% to 14% | A profit share tied to the scorecard | 62% of value added paid to the team |
| Community | Local wages and suppliers grow with it | Local contribution up 29% | Not a primary effect | A share of profit for local causes |
| Environment | Not a primary effect | Emissions down 26% | Less rush freight and fewer returns | Not a primary effect |
| Owners | Revenue up 26% | Quality that compounds | EBITDA up 2.6 times | Enterprise value up 3.7 times |
Illustrative composite business, not a client result. AUD k unless marked. Exhibits drawn to IBCS notation (ISO 24896): AC solid, PY grey, PL outlined, FC hatched; colour only on judged variance. ○ marks where a lever is not the primary driver.
The partnership model
An operating partner, not a consultant or a hire.
| Compare | A consultant | A full-time CFO + COO | 432 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where they sit | Outside, reporting in | Inside, one function each | Inside the rhythm, across finance and operations |
| What you get | Recommendations | Two people's capacity | Two partners, a specialist network and an installed operating system, delivered as a whole |
| Incentive | Fees for time | Salary plus options | Embed: a fixed fee only. Partnership: a fee tailored to what the business can afford, plus equity or a performance fee earned only on agreed value |
| When it ends | The report | Never, by design | When the system runs without us |
Embed is fee only. An indicative fee is shared after the fit check and a 15-minute call. Any equity or performance-fee arrangement is subject to separate agreement, due diligence and legal review. No fee is ever calculated on capital raised.
Fit
Where this works, and where it doesn't.
Our method works when a business is ready to change how it operates, not only what it knows.
It works when
- The owners are open to change and willing to try things that feel uncomfortable.
- The business invests its own time, people and attention in new process and ways of working.
- There is a product with real demand, and an ambition big enough to need architecture.
- A missed number is treated as information, not as one person's fault.
It doesn't work when
- The business wants the answer but not the change. That is a consulting brief and not our core offering.
- Agreed actions are resisted, or nobody carries them out.
- The business is still pre-revenue.
Our scope covers both the answers and the change that makes them last. One without the other doesn't work.
Specialist services
Specialist services, and the network.
Alongside the partnership we offer specialist professional services: capital-raise readiness and support, restructuring, executive management, financial modelling, valuation and strategic CFO work. These can run as standalone engagements, because financing, equity raises and acute turnarounds need speed more than a new rhythm. In a raise we work on the company's side; licensed partners lead the transaction.
Our partner network extends the list: CFO and finance; design; growth marketing and digital; range and product development; wholesale. When the operating work is ready for it, private and institutional capital and investment boutiques. Brought in where the diagnosis calls for them, not sold as a bundle.
Questions
Embed is fee only: a fixed fee, scoped to the business's complexity, its reporting quality and the outputs required. Take the fit check and book a 15-minute call: you'll hear how we can help, the areas of focus sharpened, and an initial view on the services and fee that fit.
No. Embed is never paid in equity. In a partnership, an at-risk component in equity or a performance fee is agreed separately, and only where the fit is right, after due diligence and legal review.
No. We work on the company's side: the materials, the investment thesis and the preparation, and we support outreach. We don't run the raise. Where a raise needs a licensed adviser, we introduce delivery partners who hold an Australian Financial Services Licence to work alongside us.
Yes. We start at management level and work around the team you already have. Specialist partners scale up and down on a needs basis.
See where we'd start
Seven questions, then a 15-minute call.
The fit check maps what growth is exposing to what we'd do first and who we'd bring in. A partner sends your results with a time to talk, and an initial view on services and fee.
Take the fit check hello@fourthreetwo.com