The fourth Early‑Stage Growth workshop focuses on People, Culture & Growth Capability, with insights on building teams for scale.

The 2026 BEDA Pathfinder Early-Stage Growth Workshop series is a structured immersion of 4 x one hour workshops designed to help early-stage businesses strengthen their strategic foundations, prioritise growth opportunities, and build the capability needed to scale with confidence.

This new workshop series features inspiring local industry business leaders whose role is to share real examples of how they have navigated strategic approaches and challenges.

The fourth and final of these new Early-Stage Growth workshops centres on People, Culture & Growth Capability. Our highly successful industry leader keynote speaker featuring will be sharing their growth story, with a focus on building team and cultural foundations for scale.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

This workshop involves:

• A focus on building the team and cultural foundations required for scaling

• Clarifying roles, identifying capability gaps, and establishing simple performance frameworks.

This workshop is ideal for: Participants who are owners/MDs of businesses with $500k-$1.5M revenue and 5-20 staff across sectors including manufacturing, professional services, retail, hospitality, and tech. They are past the survival stage but hitting growth ceilings. These businesses need strategic frameworks, not start-up advice.

This Panel Session will be facilitated by Dr Sam Bucolo (Spark Consultants), and Elena Gosse (CEO & Co-Owner of AIS Water)

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.

Elena Gosse OAM

Elena Gosse OAM is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and speaker whose leadership journey spans continents, industries, and personal reinvention. Born in the former Soviet Union and now proudly Australian, Elena rebuilt her life from the ground up after migrating to Australia with limited English and two young daughters.

Today, she is the CEO and Co-Owner of AIS Water, a globally recognised Australian advanced manufacturing company specialising in sustainable water disinfection technology. Over more than three decades, Elena has helped transform the business into an international innovator while building a culture grounded in resilience, accountability, and purpose. Under her leadership, AIS Water has received more than 50 national and international awards for innovation and business excellence.

Elena’s leadership philosophy was shaped by adversity and guided by a powerful vision - to Enhance Life by advancing people, innovation, and the common good. She is a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her service to manufacturing and the community and has also been recognised as Businessperson of the Year, Outstanding QUT Alumni, Westfield Local Hero, and a Fundraising Champion for her advocacy in preventing domestic and family violence.

An acclaimed speaker and author of Leadership Sh!t Show and The 3-3-3 Water Wisdom Protocol, Elena is known for her authenticity, humour, and powerful storytelling. She inspires leaders to navigate challenges, build strong cultures, and grow businesses that enhance life - commercially, culturally, and globally.