Small and medium businesses are the backbone of thriving communities
The future economy will not be limited by technology, but by human capability
25eight exists to ensure small businesses are not left behind
A new kind of business school
25eight exists to close this capability gap.
We help small and medium-sized businesses develop the human, business and digital capabilities required to thrive in a modern economy.
Our programs combine evidence-based education, coaching and mentoring with practical implementation so that business leaders do not simply learn new ideas; they build the capability to apply them.
This includes developing:
strategic leadership capability
strong business foundations & resilience to change
digital and AI fluency
the confidence to adapt and grow
Equity of access
We need small and medium business to succeed because it greatly impacts our society. They create local jobs, strengthen regional economies, and bring innovation and diversity to markets across Australia and beyond.
Yet running a small or medium-sized business today has never been more complex.
Business leaders are expected to make strategic decisions across finance, marketing, operations, digital technology and increasingly artificial intelligence, often without formal training in any of these areas.
At the same time, the pace of technological change is accelerating.
AI, automation and digital platforms are transforming how businesses operate and compete, creating enormous opportunity, but also widening the gap between businesses that can adapt and those that struggle to keep up.
This creates what we call the Small Business Capability Gap.
It is not a lack of ambition, effort or intelligence.
It is a lack of accessible, practical capability development that helps business leaders build the skills they need to navigate a rapidly changing economy.
By 2030 we will ensure a minimum of 20 million business leaders have built their confidence and strategic capabilities to lead a high performing digitally enabled businesses.
Our mission is to increase their success rate and empower leaders with the smarts, tools and confidence to thrive now and in the future.
Why do we do what we do?
Small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of local communities; providing opportunities for meaningful work, fostering local economies and account for 60-70% of jobs in most OECD countries. SME’s account for 99.8% of Australian businesses and contribute significantly to Australia’s economy.
However, small to medium-sized businesses have a much lower success rate than larger business and face greater hardships in extreme market conditions. SME’s are less likely to have effective growth, marketing or digital strategies or have adopted digital transformations due to a lack of time, resources, confidence and/or knowledge to do so.
By building their confidence and capabilities to develop effective strategies and use cutting edge practices , they can increase revenue, time, job creation and the longevity of their business whilst developing future of work skills that will help them now and into the future. This not only benefits them personally but contributes to the community around them.
For local communities
This means:
stronger local economies
more resilient communities
higher productivity
increased employment
greater innovation
Supporting the growth of capable business leaders is therefore one of the most powerful ways to create long-term economic and societal impact.
Our measurements of impact
Quality of program
We believe that business education, coaching and mentoring should be accessible and transformational. It should help change mindsets and lead to adoption (the implementation of the learning) continuously. In order to do this, we must first deeply understand the needs of the individual and business as well as best practice in adult learning and the latest innovative practices. We measure this with an assessment, data and a dedication to research.
Participant engagement
Average engagement and completion rates of free and paid courses and business support programs are typically quite low. Participants have to be highly intrinsically motivated to complete them. We set ourselves high targets in engagement and completion rates so that we provide a support environment that encourages all participants to complete a stage in their learning journey. We measure this throughout our engagement and learning experience with them.
Confidence & Continuation
Our unique assessment allows us to pinpoint the sweet spot of learning for our participants, allowing them to develop self-efficacy to action what they have learned. We measure that confidence and continue to measure the impact of the learnt frameworks and tools on them and their business. We believe that continuous confidence in action leads to greater business maturity and a willingness to innovate. Success comes when they reference the tools again with new information.
Impact on the business
The real measurement of our success is if our programs have created decent work and economic development. We measure further to the completion of our engagements to understand the impact on revenue, time and efficiencies, job creation, profitability and confidence in their abilities and resilience to market change. We know our programs are truly transformational when tangible changes are recorded. We also know they work by engaging past participants as Industry Mentors to pass on their lessons.
Theory of change
Research & Development
25eight has conducted extensive research to deeply understand the factors that ensure the success of a smaller business as well as the challenges and needs of the individuals that operate them. We have been working with artificial intelligence systems to develop our own proprietary tools as well as understand the application possibilities for business and society as a whole.
With a team that has Masters of Teaching degrees, we also ensure that the programs we design meet the learning needs of participants, such that the likelihood that participants successfully action what they learn meets our high standards. We ensure every single participant increases their capabilities in at least one area. We know that we do this, because we measure it.
Our ongoing R&D work to develop personalised assessments and learning experiences in a way that ensures high completion rates for time-poor business leaders increases our relevance and success rates.
We don’t make wild claims, we let the data do the talking.
If small to medium-sized businesses thrives, the community thrives
SME’s contribute to local economies by bringing growth and innovation to the community in which they are established. They also provide employment opportunities for many people, including those that may experience disadvantage, to achieve financial success and independence.
As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in business operations, the most valuable capability will not simply be technical knowledge, but the ability of leaders to think strategically, adapt quickly and integrate new technologies responsibly.
We love talking about the change we want to see!
Talk with Sam our CEO, by booking a discovery meeting using this link