FOUNDER ADVISORY · ANZ, BUILDING GLOBAL

A sounding board built for the decisions that don't come with a template.

Monthly advisory for ANZ-based founders past $500k in ARR, building accounting technology or vertical software with fintech built in, for a market well beyond Australia and New Zealand.

THE GAP

Past $500k, the good advice gets thinner.

Early on, there's no shortage of help — accelerators, generic coaches, first-time investor advice, all pitched at getting a business off the ground. Once a business clears real revenue and starts building toward a market well beyond ANZ, most of that support stops fitting.

What's left is either too generic — a coach without a category of their own — or built for businesses that never had to think past a single small market. In between, most founders make their hardest calls on capital, hiring, and international expansion largely on their own, checking their thinking against people who haven't actually built and scaled something like it out of ANZ.

"You don't need someone to run the business with you. You need someone to tell you what they'd do, based on their experience."
THE OFFER

Not coaching. Not a fractional exec. A retainer with someone who's sat in your seat.

Utilised is a monthly advisory retainer, not a project or a program. Each month, materials come in — financials, shareholder updates, decks, board papers — and we run through them together.

The engagement is built to move with the business. It can stay at a light monthly review, or step up to board attendance, hands-on help with capital materials, and eventually a formal non-executive seat and active involvement in raising, depending on what the next stretch of the business actually needs, not what a fixed program prescribes.

This is

  • A monthly retainer, not hourly consulting
  • The same person, every time, not a rotating team
  • Built to escalate as the business's needs change

This isn't

  • A course, framework, or coaching program
  • A part-time operator executing tasks inside your business
  • A generalist advisor without direct operating or capital experience
TRACK RECORD

Who you'd actually be working with.

Guy Pearson
Founder, Utilised

In 2009, Guy founded Interactive Accounting, now Scendar, one of the world's first cloud accounting practices, built to service the earliest wave of SaaS and tech businesses and written up globally for it. After growing it into one of the fastest-scaling accounting firms in the world, Guy stepped back from day-to-day leadership, and he later sold out of the firm.

That same year, he co-founded Ignition (ignitionapp.com), the revenue and billing platform used by thousands of accounting and professional services firms worldwide. Over the next twelve years, Ignition raised more than A$115m across six funding rounds, growing to more than 9,000 customers managing over 1m clients a year and more than A$5bn in payments volume annually across five countries — Australia, the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand.

Alongside operating, he's raised over A$100m without ever using an investment bank, and has backed more than fifty companies as an advisor and scout for syndicates and funds.

Guy transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman in 2025.

15+
Years operating & investing
A$100m+
Capital raised, without investment banks
1 exit
Plus one founder-led step-back
As an investor
50+
Companies backed
5+
Funds, as scout & LP for syndicates
10+
Exits and IPOs across the portfolio
A selection of companies backed, via Utilism.com and associated entities
ANZ companies backed, going global
Weel Aider Exited AuditCover Primary Sophiie AI Vinyl Care Patron Derive.BI Cake Equity Marloo
Relevant global companies backed
Relay Financial Hubdoc Exited MindBridge AI Storylane
Funds associated with
Co Ventures EVP Glitch Capital Black Nova The Flock Athletic Ventures Second Quarter Ventures Ventari
HOW IT WORKS

Four steps, then a standing appointment on your calendar.

01

Enquire

A short note on where the business stands and what's not working right now is enough to start.

02

Fit call

Thirty minutes, both ways. More engagements are turned down than taken on.

03

Scope the tier

Sounding board, board and capital support, or a full board seat, set against the next 6–12 months.

04

Start the retainer

Three-month minimum. Materials start flowing, calls get booked, a direct line stays open.

ENGAGEMENT & FEES

Priced like a retainer, not a rate card.

All three monthly plans run on a three-month minimum. With options on a time basis to match a 12 month engagement.

TIER 01

Sounding Board

A$2,000per month
  • Six hours per month, reviewing materials
  • Financials, shareholder updates, pitch decks and board papers
  • Direct line for decisions that can't wait for the next cycle
TIER 02

Sounding Board + Board Advisor + Capital Support

A$4,000per month
  • Everything in Sounding Board
  • Attendance at board meetings (if required/wanted)
  • Hands-on help with decks, models and shareholder updates
TIER 03

Full Board Member + Capital Partner

A$8,000per month
  • Everything in Tier 02
  • Formal non-executive board seat
  • Representation at events and pitch meetings
  • Active involvement in capital raising

Transaction / capital raise support, on its own

An advisory fee to help you get raise-ready and introduce you to the right investors, scoped independently of any monthly retainer.

A$25,000 minor 0.25% of amount raised or sold, whichever is greater

Monthly plans can move between tiers as the engagement develops.

All expenses incurred for travel, out of pocket costs to be recouped / alternatively the business can pay directly. Vesting options to match the annualised fee to be added to each engagement and straight line vest alongside the engagement. I want to be aligned with the business success.

FIT

Built for a specific kind of founder.

Right fit

  • Based in Australia or New Zealand, past $500k in revenue
  • Building accounting technology, or vertical software with fintech built in, for a specific industry
  • Ambitious about building a business that competes globally, not just locally
  • Facing board, capital, or international expansion decisions in the next 6–12 months
  • Comfortable working with one person directly, not a firm

Not the right fit

  • Pre-revenue, or still finding product-market fit
  • Building horizontal, general-purpose software with no vertical or fintech angle
  • Content to stay a local ANZ business, with no ambition to expand internationally
  • Looking for someone to execute day-to-day operating tasks
  • Looking for a one-off consulting project, not an ongoing relationship
QUESTIONS

What this is, precisely.

Is this coaching?+

No. Coaching is typically built around mindset and accountability. This is board-and-capital-literate advisory from someone who has operated and invested at your stage and beyond, you're getting judgment and a network, not a curriculum.

Is this a fractional executive role?+

No. There's no embedding inside day-to-day operations or running a function inside your business. The engagement reviews, advises, attends, and where useful, opens doors into capital. Execution stays with you and your team.

Why the three-month minimum?+

Good advisory needs context. Most of the first month goes into understanding the business properly, the minimum protects both sides from a one-off engagement pretending to be a relationship.

Can I move between tiers?+

Yes. Most engagements start at Sounding Board and step up to board attendance or capital support once the need becomes real, rather than paying for it upfront.

What if I only need help with a raise or a sale?+

That's the standalone Transaction Support option, scoped separately from the monthly retainer, priced at A$25,000 minimum or 0.25% of the amount raised or sold, whichever is higher.

Where are you based, and who do you work with?+

Based in Sydney, working with ANZ-based founders building accounting technology and vertical software with fintech built in, aimed at a global market. Engagements run across Australia and New Zealand over video, with in-person meetings where useful.

GET IN TOUCH

Share your story.

A short note on where things stand, why you think you'd like help and a general profile of the business.

Email hello@utilised.io

No mailing list. No follow-up sequence — just a reply, from me.