You’ve built the business. Now evolve how you lead it.
Women in Business Founder to CEO is a five-month leadership and business capability program for women founders navigating early growth and increasing complexity.
As a business grows, the founder’s role needs to grow with it. Decisions become more complex, more people need clarity and ownership, and the approaches that helped establish the business may not be what it needs for its next stage.
Founder to CEO gives you the structure, coaching and peer support to step back from day-to-day founder dependency and lead with greater clarity, intention and shared responsibility. You will test practical changes in your business while developing the leadership behaviours, organisational capability and ways of working needed for continued growth.
The program will support 20 women-led Brisbane businesses from February to June 2027.
“It gave me space to step back, look at the bigger picture and think more strategically about growth, sustainability and leadership. The biggest change so far has been shifting my mindset from founder-operator to strategic leader.” - Green Fox Studio, 2026 Women in Business Early Growth Program Participant
Key dates
- 26th October 2026: Applications open
- 5th November 2026: Growth Readiness Forum, Brisbane Business Hub
- 27th November 2026: Applications close
- Early December 2026: Successful applicants notified
- 9th February 2027: Program launch
- February to June 2027: Program delivery
- 15th June 2027: Graduation showcase
What's included
Participants receive access to:
- Program launch and onboarding event
- Two individual coaching sessions
- Three integrated in-person workshops
- Three facilitated virtual Momentum Group sessions
- Graduation showcase event
- Practical tools, resources and workbook activities
- Opportunities to connect and learn with other women founders
Your Founder to CEO journey
Each stage builds on the one before. You will first explore how your leadership needs to evolve, then test new leadership behaviours, before identifying the organisational changes that can help create value beyond the founder.
| Stage | The question you answer | What you build |
| Phase 1: Lead yourself | How does my role need to evolve as the business grows? | A future-role statement, Founder to CEO leadership goal, and one leadership change to test. |
| Phase 2: Lead the company | How do I lead through ownership, accountability and decision-making rather than doing? | New leadership behaviours and lessons from real-world implementation. |
| Phase 3: Build the business beyond you | What will enable the business to operate effectively beyond my day-to-day involvement? | A priority system and process roadmap, operational improvement plan, and a 90-day continuation plan |
| Graduation showcase | What has changed, and way comes next? | Your Founder to CEO journey and priorities for the next stage of growth. |
What you’ll walk away with
By the end of the program, you will have:
- A clearer understanding of how your role needs to evolve as the business grows
- A defined Founder to CEO leadership goal and future-role statement
- Leadership behaviours tested though real business challenges
- Clearer ownership, decision-making and accountability beyond the founder
- Greater clarity about what to retain, delegate, systemise or stop
- A priority roadmap for the systems, processes and operating rhythms your business needs next
- A practical 90-day plan to continue your transition
- A lasting network of women founders and Brisbane business owners navigating similar growth challenges
Who the program is for
Founder to CEO is designed for women founders whose businesses are experiencing early growth and increasing complexity.
To be eligible, your business must:
- Have its primary business address within the Brisbane Local Government Area
- Be at least 50% woman-owned
- Hold an Australian Business Number
- Have operated for at least two years
- Ideally have between 5 and 20 employees
- Have annual turnover for the 2025–26 financial year between $500,000 to $1.5million+
Places are limited. Meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee selection, and applications will be assessed by a BEDA-appointed panel.
Who you'll work with
Women in Business Founder to CEO Program is delivered by Luminate Leadership, with support from BEDA and Brisbane’s 2027 Women in Business Ambassador. Participants will be allocated a leadership coach and will work with a consistent momentum group across the program.
Your commitment
BEDA’s Women in Business Founder to CEO Program is an applied program. Participants are expected to attend the scheduled activities, contribute to workshops and Momentum Groups, and test practical leadership and organisational changes within their businesses between sessions.
The formal scheduled commitment includes:
- Launch and onboarding: 2 hours
- Two individual coaching sessions: 3 hours
- Three workshops: 9 hours
- Three Momentum Group sessions: 4.5 hours
- Graduation showcase: 2 hours
In addition to the formal scheduled commitment, you will be required to integrate your learnings into your business, such as running experiments and making changes in your business. That applied work is where the results happen.
Participants must also complete the end-of-program evaluation and annual follow-up surveys requested by BEDA.
Your investment
BEDA fully subsidises the Program’s delivery cost. Your investment is your time, commitment and willingness to apply what you learn in your business. As places are limited, successful applicants are expected to commit to the full Program journey and attend all scheduled Program activities.
How to apply
There are two steps to apply for the 2027 WIB Founder to CEO Program:
Step 1: Complete the Application Form
Step 2: Complete the BEDA Business Compass diagnostic
Frequently asked questions
Find answers to common questions about the WIB Founder to CEO program here
