25eight designs and delivers diagnostic-led capability programs for governments and industry organisations. Businesses strengthen their strategy, systems, leadership and AI capability, apply it in their own operations, and you gain evidence of what changed.
Awareness programs introduce ideas, build community and show who's interested. But for a business owner already stretched thin, information is rarely the only constraint. They need help deciding what to do next, applying it in their own business and knowing whether they are on the right track.
Registrations, attendance and satisfaction scores are often all that can be measured in a workshop or workshop series. These are useful signs of interest, they tell you who you reached.
Capability uplift, implementation guidance, depth of support measured against a diagnostic baseline and completion outcomes tell you what changed.
25eight fills the gap between one-off business education and intensive industry advisory. Our programs are designed to ensure and report real capability uplift and long term impact on revenue, jobs, and digital adoption, rather than just attendance and satisfaction.
Partners usually come to us when businesses need to adapt faster than their current capability allows.
Helping businesses find what comes next when a sector or major employer changes.
Strengthening local capability alongside population and business growth.
Preparing businesses to capture supply-chain, visitor-economy and market opportunities.
Helping businesses become ready to win work in unfamiliar markets.
Building the judgement and systems required to adopt digital tools and AI intentionally.
Rebuilding confidence, retaining employers and growing local economic capacity.
These challenges are not solved by information alone. They are solved by capability that is built, applied and measured.
An eight-week capability program for cohorts of approximately 20 businesses, built on 25eight's diagnostic and research so it's tailored to every individual business in the room. Winner of Economic Development Excellence in Consulting at the 2025 Economic Development Australia National Awards for Excellence.
Every participating business leaves with:
Many AI training offerings teach people how to use tools. This program builds the capability to lead a business in an economy where AI exists. Owners clarify direction, customers and operations first, then apply AI where it actually helps. The approach is tool-agnostic, so businesses build a way of working rather than a dependency on one subscription.
Every business completes a diagnostic before starting. It identifies growth stage, capability priorities and a measurable baseline.
The result shapes the participant's pathway against their own goal, rather than teaching every business to the middle.
Live workshops build shared momentum and practical capability. One-to-one coaching provides feedback on what each business is producing and implementing.
A post-program diagnostic measures change. Ongoing access and 90-day review prompts help the planning habit continue after delivery ends.
The offering is a platform, rather than a fixed course. The diagnostic architecture and applied-capability model remain consistent, while the emphasis, coaches and mentors, milestones and reporting can be shaped around your objectives.
Programs may culminate in a pitch event, procurement showcase or market-entry milestone where that supports the intended outcome.
The diagnostic does two jobs: it personalises the participant experience and creates the baseline that allows us to report to our partners what changed.
Completion, attendance, platform engagement and likelihood to recommend.
Change by capability domain, confidence shift and movement through business growth stages.
Revenue change, jobs created, and digital and AI adoption.
Six and twelve month follow-up to understand what continued after funded delivery.
See the full reportable metric set and sample report in the Partner Program Guide →
Eight weeks · up to 20 businesses · high-touch capability building
Best when the objective is measurable implementation, capability uplift and business outcomes.
One facilitated day or half day · larger group · diagnostic plus personalised opportunity map
Best when you need broader reach, community capability insight or evidence of demand before funding a full cohort.
The Opportunity Mapping Day is an awareness intervention that produces a useful output and population-level insight. It isn't a substitute for sustained capability building; the two do different jobs.
City of Whittlesea, City of Ballarat, Latrobe City Council and City of Greater Geelong.
Winner of Economic Development Excellence in Consulting at the 2025 EDA National Awards for Excellence, for the Next-Level Growth Program.
Market expansion and procurement readiness for established SMEs, with Latrobe City Council.
An accelerator with the Industry Capability Network for businesses winning work in new supply chains.
A capability accelerator named national finalist for an economic development award.
An accelerator for Victorian businesses entering defence supply chains.
Preparing businesses to make trade events count, with the Australian Defence Export Office.
Supporting established businesses to expand into new markets.
Place-based capability building across regional business communities.
Digital capability for the Hume City Council business community.
Digital capability support for the Colac Otway Shire business community.
Building the advisory capability of trusted business advisors, globally.
Compare the two program options, see what participating businesses leave with, and review the reportable metric set, indicative investment and a sample end-of-program report. It gives your team what it needs to begin assessing fit internally, without booking a meeting.
Prefer to talk it through? Book a call with Sam. No obligation, and useful even if the timing isn't right this cycle.
We take data privacy and security seriously. How we handle your information is covered by our Privacy Policy.
The first session establishes commitment and gets the program rhythm into participants' calendars. A deliberate communication cadence, peer accountability and catch-up space reduce the likelihood that someone disengages simply because they fall behind.
The diagnostic shapes each participant's pathway. Where a cohort spans a wide range, group sessions can also be split by stage so businesses work with peers facing comparable implementation challenges.
25eight provides a recruitment pack with eligibility criteria, expression-of-interest content, selection guidance and communications. The final division of responsibilities is agreed with each partner.
Wherever possible, we involve local coaches, facilitators and industry mentors. This strengthens the local ecosystem and leaves capability in the region.
Partners may fully fund a cohort, part-fund places with a participant contribution, or co-brand a commercially delivered offer to their community. 25eight can provide past evidence and suggested wording to support relevant funding applications.
Samantha and the team at 25eight were fantastic providing infinite value in the Small Business Accelerator program. I would highly recommend it if you are a small business owner and/or new to the world of business and struggling to understand the complexities of the world of business to do this program. You will get clarity in a simplified yet wholistic way on what you need to do going forward. I highly value what I learnt any extremely grateful for the opportunity provided by the Wyndham City Council to me.
Participating in the Defence Accelerator Course gave our company the confidence it needed when recently in the USA on a Victorian Government Mission. Our presentations and messaging was 'on point' and was well received by potential customer.
I attended the small business accelerator program. It has been an eye opener. I had been operating my business since 2021 however I was not that confident to share my business with others. I was doing everything with no focus and no brand. With this program I was able to build my brand and had clarity around my business and what I want to focus on. I finished this program with confidence to share my business with others. Sam was amazing! She always did more than expected and helped with building my brand . I could tell she has deep knowledge and passion for what she does. I would definitely recommend this program to small business owners.
I was lucky enough to be part of the Wyndham Small Business Accelerator program run by the beautiful Sam from 25eight. All I can say is a HUGE THANK YOU. This course came at the exact time I needed it. I feel this course has allowed me to define my purpose more, identify my ideal target audience, define my brand and brand values and has allowed me to become super focused on what I need to do to grow my business with solid foundations. With the course being structured to have in person and an online platform it really helped me merge it into my already busy day. I can't wait to continue my learning with a company that is genuinely invested in helping business. Thanks Jess x
Phil and Sam are very helpful, easy to work with and the Defence Business Accelerator course was a fantastic initiative run by 25Eight and sponsored through an ADA-Vic training initiative. Well worth getting involved if you have opportunity
Being selected in the Business Excelerate program specially with Sam was just what i needed at this stage of my Skincare business. She understood exactly what we lacked to achieve in buisness growth like email marketing, understanding target audience and how to stand out specially in a competitive market space. I would highly recommend this course and the expertise of 25eight as their knowledge and guidance was on a personal level and top notch where i can see growth already. The best part was that it was extremely comfortable to discuss finances and business problems with Sam like you would with a doctor 😀. I would'nt think twice on enrolling again or taking further sessions with 25eight. If i could decribe them in 3 words would be Reliable, Focussed and High-quality.
25eight where very accommodating leading up a pitch with Melbourne City Council that came in while I was overseas. I highly recommend the team 11/10
Samantha and the team at 25eight were fantastic providing infinite value in the Small Business Accelerator program. I would highly recommend it if you are a small business owner and/or new to the world of business and struggling to understand the complexities of the world of business to do this program. You will get clarity in a simplified yet wholistic way on what you need to do going forward. I highly value what I learnt any extremely grateful for the opportunity provided by the Wyndham City Council to me.
Participating in the Defence Accelerator Course gave our company the confidence it needed when recently in the USA on a Victorian Government Mission. Our presentations and messaging was 'on point' and was well received by potential customer.
I attended the small business accelerator program. It has been an eye opener. I had been operating my business since 2021 however I was not that confident to share my business with others. I was doing everything with no focus and no brand. With this program I was able to build my brand and had clarity around my business and what I want to focus on. I finished this program with confidence to share my business with others. Sam was amazing! She always did more than expected and helped with building my brand . I could tell she has deep knowledge and passion for what she does. I would definitely recommend this program to small business owners.
I was lucky enough to be part of the Wyndham Small Business Accelerator program run by the beautiful Sam from 25eight. All I can say is a HUGE THANK YOU. This course came at the exact time I needed it. I feel this course has allowed me to define my purpose more, identify my ideal target audience, define my brand and brand values and has allowed me to become super focused on what I need to do to grow my business with solid foundations. With the course being structured to have in person and an online platform it really helped me merge it into my already busy day. I can't wait to continue my learning with a company that is genuinely invested in helping business. Thanks Jess x
Phil and Sam are very helpful, easy to work with and the Defence Business Accelerator course was a fantastic initiative run by 25Eight and sponsored through an ADA-Vic training initiative. Well worth getting involved if you have opportunity
Being selected in the Business Excelerate program specially with Sam was just what i needed at this stage of my Skincare business. She understood exactly what we lacked to achieve in buisness growth like email marketing, understanding target audience and how to stand out specially in a competitive market space. I would highly recommend this course and the expertise of 25eight as their knowledge and guidance was on a personal level and top notch where i can see growth already. The best part was that it was extremely comfortable to discuss finances and business problems with Sam like you would with a doctor 😀. I would'nt think twice on enrolling again or taking further sessions with 25eight. If i could decribe them in 3 words would be Reliable, Focussed and High-quality.
25eight where very accommodating leading up a pitch with Melbourne City Council that came in while I was overseas. I highly recommend the team 11/10
