ICN Business Accelerator
12 weeks of targeted support including MBA accredited business education, business coaching and industry mentorship to accelerate business growth for ICN Subscribers
Accelerate your business growth
Exceed your competition, break into new markets, and win contracts and tenders with ease.
The ICN Business Accelerator is an online micro credential program for ambitious leaders of small and medium sized business looking to increase strategic capabilities and business development skills.
In 12 weeks of targeted support, you will:
Complete micro MBA accredited business education that develops your understanding and application of strategic sales and marketing
Work 1:1 with a business coach to develop a bespoke growth strategy for your business
Meet 1:1 with Industry experts to gain insights,
Attend workshops to understand the latest industry developments
And consolidate your new knowledge and skills by pitching your business to Industry for valuable feedback.
As a leader, growing your business can be challenging. Your business might be outstanding at what it does, but making sure people know about it and can understand how good you are is the difference between plateaued sales and business expansion.
Does your business stand out from the competition?
Do you know your competitive advantage? Do you know what your customers value about what you offer above what the alternatives do and how you build on that to break into new markets?
The ICN Business Accelerator helps you identify and leverage your competitive advantage.
Stay in control
You might think ‘Why don’t I just hire a consultant to create a growth strategy?’
We believe that there is no one knows your business better than you, so why hand that power to anyone else when you can build your own strategic capabilities to lead your business to the next stage.
One of the biggest challenges for many leaders is time as there are always so many competing priorities, however, our program is designed to be flexible so you can fit it into your schedule.
By investing this time in yourself and your business, you’ll get more long term benefits that time saved by hiring a consultant.
Get better return on investments
From increasing the number of contracts you win, leads you receive, and your reputation in the market, a few hours of work can give a significant return on investment.
Completing the ICN Business Accelerator means:
You don’t have to outsource your growth strategy to a consultant that you pay to develop their knowledge of your business and if you do hire consultants, you can make sure that they have the right strategy to implement, ensuring a much larger return on investment in a short space of time.
You build the strategic capabilities internally to ensure you stand out from your competition and reach the next level of success for your business and understand the tools you need to make those decisions in the future when market conditions change.
You’ll get results much faster than going alone and the clarity and direction you need to propel your business forward.
With timely guidance and support, your confidence to drive growth in your business will increase and continue to soar as the results of what you implement start getting you results.
Attract and convert prospects into customers
It’s not just about attracting prospects but ensuring that the effort you put in is rewarded with a higher conversion rate of them becoming a customer. Through the ICN Business Accelerator, you’ll create a clear growth strategy for how to target and market your business to increase leads and convert them into customers.
Ensure your business thrives
Our aim is to build your capabilities to succeed in a way that can be applied for immediate results and so that you get more results from the actions you take now and in the future.
The ICN Business Accelerator ensures you have a strategic approach to attracting and converting more clients and gives you the opportunity to work with and hear from people that can make the difference to that next proposal or request for tender.
In 12 weeks, you will have an in-depth understanding of your prospective customers needs, how you position your business to be the perfect solution to meet them and how you nurture them through to becoming a customer with you.
The work you do in this program will positively impact the rest of your business and have long term impact as you use the same frameworks to build further growth strategies in the future.
Past participant results
“I really can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve benefited from taking part in it… to the point where I credit a lot of our current success to you both and the program! You’ve allowed me to think incredibly clearly about what our product is, who our target consumer is, what problem we’re solving and so much more. I’m sure you’ll be excited to know that as of the 10th of this month, we’ve got nearly $1m in confirmed orders and in the past month have scaled up ten-fold!
— Daniel, Medihood
Structured support for accelerated growth
MBA accredited online Business Education
25eight Academy houses personalised micro education that meets you where you are. Don’t learn what you already know, take your business knowledge to the next level. Utilise simplified frameworks that get powerful results to help you make strategic decisions quickly.
Our education has been developed to be engaging, impactful and relevant for SMEs. We use the latest learning technology and innovative business frameworks. You work through the content incrementally applying it to your business with help from your business coach and insights from the Industry experts.
Business coaching to increase your business performance
Just like a personal trainer helps you to be the best version of yourself and keeps you accountable to your progress, so do the 25eight business coaches. They’re with you on your journey through the accelerator to ask the hard questions, keep you motivated to succeed and navigate through any obstacles.
They will help you to pinpoint your competitive advantage, feed you ideas to help you to stand out from other businesses and ensure you maximise the opportunity you have to present your business to Industry.
Industry insights, Industry Mentors & Industry Experts
Be the business in the know with access to Industry experts that help you understand the challenges your prospective customers face in the market you are targeting. Get insider information, tips and advice in group workshops.
Access an Industry Mentor for 1:1 virtual sessions to get specific feedback and information relevant for your business relevant to the program and your goals moving forward.
Present your business to Industry at the end of the program to build awareness for what you do and get valuable feedback on how you can succeed in the market.
Who this Accelerator is for:
Business Owners/Leaders
No one knows your business like you and whilst you also may feel like you have the least amount of time to invest in building your capabilities, you set to gain the most.
You’re a seeker of knowledge, you value a structured process that is transparent, helps you to make better decisions quickly, for you and your team.
Our program will help you to:
Refine/define the focus of the business for growth, for you and your staff
Identify your true differentiators and strategic advantage in specific markets, what makes you different to your competition from your customers point of view so you (and your staff) can communicate the unique value of your business
Refine/define your optimal target audience, how to market to them and how you can expand your market
Build your strategic agility to deal with market changes and make swift decisions for business success
Business Dev/Sales Leaders
You’re driven to find and secure new clients for the business and have most likely a lot of experience in your industry.
You may have a technical or engineering background and whilst you are very comfortable in how your product/service works, you sometimes find it difficult for others to understand what you do that’s different. We can help you to:
Spend less time feeling like you’re selling and more like you’re showing (your product/service in action because the client is already interested)
Have a clear understanding of who your primary targets are based on their highest need for your solution and highest value
Use a structure to tailor your pitches and presentations for any audience and any situation so that it always resonates with them and they are compelled to take action
Build your own strategic agility, reputation and professionalism within your industry
This is not for your if:
Growth is not a priority
You’re happy with where you are at with your business and you don’t want to grow it any further, get any new contracts or expand your market. Your also not concerned with your own personal growth as a leader.
You don’t want control
You prefer to hand over control to a consultant that will do all of the work for you in creating a strategy without you having to think or understand why you might engage in an activity.
You expect a silver bullet
You are attracted to the jet-setting lifestyle and think you should be able to 10x your business without any hard work from you or your team if only one of your social posts goes viral.
The 25eight experience
This is like no other course, training coaching or mentoring that you have done before. It’s personalised, supported by real experts and focused on you what you do in your business now, for faster results:
Don’t learn what you already know! Save time and effort by only focusing on leveling up what you know and do in your business.
You don’t spend hours on something that can be explained simply and quickly, we then give you step by step instructions on how to do this for yourself in short micro lessons
Book into your coaching and mentoring sessions to get human support to answer questions or help you tailor your approach for a specific situation at a time that suits you
Hear from industry experts in scheduled virtual workshops
Apply everything that you learn to your business immediately for incredibly fast results (and ROI)
Meet your coach and mentor
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Sam Hurley
With several digital transformations under her belt and 20+ years of senior executive experience increasing global revenues, Sam helps you to sit at the intersection of business, creativity and technology. She coaches you to build your strategic agility and make leadership decisions that accelerate your businesses growth and adapt quickly to market changes.
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Phil Ore
If 10,000 hours is the benchmark for excellence, Phil reigns supreme as a mentor. His extensive experience supporting defence businesses is married with his ability to identify opportunities for your business to stand out. He provides the ‘gold nuggets’ you need to get traction and his black book of contacts connects you to all of the right people at the right time.
Partners we’ve worked with
What People Are Saying
“As a 20-year old company, we tend to approach our messaging and marketing in the same way that we have done for years. This program gave us a fresh perspective on how to communicate the value of what we do and boy, what a difference that made. Great program thanks so much for the opportunity to participate!”
— Julian, Senetas
“I found the key outcome was the structure and discipline around the narrative of the pitch. As pitching does not come naturally to me and does require effort, I found this extremely helpful! Each week I assessed different elements of my business and product and how we present it. Great program, knowledgeable & experienced facilitators - thank you so much!”
— Bernadette, Cogito Group
“After being in the marketing wilderness for some years, I was gobsmacked by the premium training delivery model, support and in-depth structure provided. Sam took us through piece by piece and is responsible for the marketing plan integrity we had when we started. Money was tight and the pressure was on, but we came out with an immense asset.”
— Stephen, 6Clicks
This is your time to grow your business
Frequently Asked Questions
+ When do the programs start?
We run four cohorts a year with limited spaces. Complete the no obligation EOI form on the ICN Gateway and we will contact you to book you into an enrolment call. We can then answer any further questions and discuss the best timing for you and your team.
+ How does it work?
Once you have submitted your EOI, you will be contacted by 25eight to discuss the program in detail and the expectations and time commitments required. We will get to understand your growth goals and specific industries or territories that you would like to expand into. This helps us best match you with the right coaches and mentors.
If we both think that the program is the right fit for you at this time, you will be welcomed into a cohort with like-minded business leaders.
You will receive calendar invites for the virtual welcome session, scheduled workshops (x 2) and timing of the business presentations and pitches.
At the welcome, you'll gain access to ‘25eight Academy’ - our learning platform.
You complete an alignment quiz to determine what you know or do in relation to the program you have enrolled in. Based on your answers, you are then recommended short micro lessons that will help you reach the outcome of the program.
Through the platform you book in to meet with your business coach and industry mentors at set times throughout the program.
All of your work is contained within the portal. If you are working through the content as a team (which we highly recommend) you have the option of having one log in but work together for the same cost or purchase a discounted portal access for your colleague. so that they can watch the learning content and work on their own version of the documents. Or each work on your own and come together to review as a team.
+ What happens if I miss a scheduled Workshop session?
We ask that you book into the scheduled sessions at least 30 minutes before the time session and if you're unable to make it you cancel in the system at least 15 minutes before the session. The Workshops are a chance to get further insights from Industry, ask specific questions and work with your fellow cohort on challenges together. We find that those that attend every workshop get the most out of the program, however, we understand that things can happen. Due to the confidential nature of sharing business experiences in a cohort, the sessions are not recorded.
+ What happens if I miss a scheduled Mentor session?
We ask that you book your mentor sessions at least 60 minutes prior to the session and cancel or reschdule at least 60 mins prior to the session, otherwise the session is then counted towards the number of sessions you're eligible for.
+ How much time should I schedule each week?
To get the best outcomes, we recommend putting aside 3-4 hours each week over the 12 weeks to work through the program (you could do it on your lunch breaks!). And, if you have other people from your business working on it, you can split the work and it shouldn't take as long. Some of you may wish to spend more time, whilst others may not need as much. The more you put in, the more you get out in the end we say!
+ Are the programs delivered in-person or online?
The entire program is delivered online
+ How much do the programs cost?
Our program is significantly less than purchasing a strategy from a consultant, which tend to cost upwards of $10k and the long term benefits to both you and your business os priceless. We feel that access to credible education, experienced business coaches and industry mentors for 12 weeks at $4,995 is exceptional value for money. Winning just one new contract as a result of the program, which the vast majority of our alumni experience, gives you the ROI you need to make this investment now.
To ensure that this is accessible to growing small business we have payment plans available. We also offer discounts to Female owned, Indigenous owned and B Corp companies.
+ What can I expect to get out of it?
Past participants have reported increases in leads, engagements, enquiries, won contracts, revenue, focus, time and staff morale. We're still recording outcomes from programs we delivered years ago, with feedback on how we've helped provide a structure framework that leaders can follow for continous growth.
+ How long do I have access to the content?
Once you have a profile on 25eight Academy, you have 12 months access to the program you are enrolled in. This means you can access the resources as many times as you wish 12 months after the program has concluded.
+ Is there a refund policy?
We've never had anyone take us up on this, but we do offer your money back within the first 30-days if you are not satisfied with the program. Please email us directly at hello@25eight.co.
+ Do I need any prior business knowledge?
The expectation is that your business has achieved a certain level of achievement. You have been in the market long enough for you to understand who your competitors are and the feedback your product/service gets from customers or prospective customers. Your business knowledge is such that you know your product/service, we can help you build your knowledge and skills in how to sell more of it.
Equally, if you have extensive business experience, the program helps you to reframe your business in increasingly competitive markets and learn innovative frameworks that you can use to help you stand out and expand in todays market. We won't teach you what you already know, respecting that you have been in business for a while, rather we'll level up your knowledge and strategic agility to adapt to the current conditions.
+ What if I have any questions?
We recommend that you submit a no obligation EOI and then schedule your enrolment call. We can talk through all of the questions you might have without any pressure for you to sign up.