Growth can look very different from one business to the next.

For some businesses, the opportunity is there but operational bottlenecks are holding them back. For others, the foundations are in place but the business needs greater capability, clarity or capacity to take the next step.

The challenge is knowing what your business needs now to be ready for what comes next.

The BEDA Growth Readiness Forum brings Brisbane business owners together to explore what growth readiness really means and how to assess where their business is today.

Hear from a successful Brisbane business leaders about their own growth journey, including the opportunities, challenges and decisions that shaped their next stage of growth. You’ll then take part in a facilitated, practical growth readiness assessment, giving you the opportunity to consider your business in real time and identify the areas that may be supporting or limiting your ability to grow.

The forum will also provide an overview of BEDA’s 2027 Growth Capability Programs, helping you understand the different pathways available and which type of support may align with where your business is currently at.

Whether you are preparing to scale, looking to strengthen your business before pursuing growth, or trying to understand what is holding your business back, this forum will help you take a more informed look at what comes next.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Understand what growth readiness means and the factors that can influence a business’s ability to grow
• Assess where your business currently sits across key areas of growth readiness
• Identify potential bottlenecks, capability gaps and areas requiring greater focus
• Gain practical insights from a Brisbane business leader who has navigated their own growth journey
• Explore BEDA’s 2027 Growth Capability Programs and the different pathways available to Brisbane businesses
• Leave with greater clarity around the next steps your business could take towards sustainable growth

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

This forum is designed for Brisbane business owners and leaders who are considering their next stage of growth and want to better understand whether their business is ready to take that step.

Whether you are looking to scale, expand, strengthen your operations or simply understand what is standing between your business and its next opportunity, this session will provide a practical starting point. 

GROWTH READINESS ASSESSMENT:

Take part in a facilitated practical assessment during the forum to evaluate your current level of growth readiness.

You’ll be guided through key areas of your business, helping you identify where you are well positioned for growth and where further capability, clarity or preparation may be needed.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Nigel Spork, is the Managing Director of Centor

Soon after joining the third generation company, Nigel invented and patented the mechanisms for the first weatherproof bifold door and helped transform over a million homes by connecting people with their beautiful world outside.

From there Centor was faced with the problem of yes, large door openings are great, but how do we keep out the bugs?  Several hundred thousand hours of R&D later, Centor is now the recognised leader in screens for large format doors. Today Centor manufactures all screens systems in its own factories in Chicago, Nanjing, Warsaw and Brisbane from where it supplies customers in North America, Europe, China and Asia Pacific markets.

Since Nigel was appointed MD of the third generation family business, Centor has grown over 30 fold.  Expansion stepped from domestic to exporting to regional distribution through to regional manufacturing with global supply chains. Having successfully grown nationally, then internationally, Centor is now endeavouring towards its next round of expansion targeting multinational scale in screen production. Centor has won numerous awards including Best of the Best at the Red Dot International Design Awards, Gold Award at the Australian Good Design Awards and Telstra Queensland Business of the Year.

Facilitator Dr Sam Bucolo:

Dr Sam Bucolo (Spark Consultants) is an experienced business advisor and innovation leader with over 30 years supporting SMEs to strengthen competitiveness, unlock growth opportunities, and build the capability needed to scale. His career spans senior roles across industry, government, academia, and the not-for-profit sector, giving him a unique ability to translate strategy into practical execution. Sam has held Professorial and University Leadership roles at UTS and QUT, establishing major research centres and cross-industry innovation programs. As Chair of the Australian Design Council, he leads national efforts to embed design-led innovation across business and government.