Advisory services,
but different.
We offer advisory services, but we’re not your traditional consultants.
We’ve been
where you are
We’re social enterprise operators and purpose-driven consultants who’ve built businesses, made mistakes, and learned what works by doing the work.
We’ve started and scaled social enterprises, supported disability enterprises through transformation, worked through acquisitions and navigated the systems that shape employment and social impact.
That experience shapes how we advise. We understand the commercial, operational and organisational realities behind a strategy, and what it takes to turn good ideas into practical action.
If you’re running a social enterprise, Disability Enterprise or not-for-profit, we can help.
Four areas of advisory support. One practical approach.
Social Enterprise
Practical experience across the social enterprise journey.
We’ve built and operated social enterprises and understand what it takes to run a business while delivering the wraparound supports that help people succeed at work. We also know what it takes to move from an idea through to growth and scale, and can bring the right knowledge, experience and connections to each challenge. Our advice is rigorous enough to stand up to scrutiny, practical enough to use and grounded in the realities of creating social and commercial impact.
Disability Enterprise
Market-leading expertise in disability enterprise transformation.
We bring together commercial expertise, disability employment knowledge and an understanding of the policy and systems shaping the sector to help disability enterprises navigate transformation, strengthen commercial sustainability and create stronger pathways into open employment.
Learn more about our work with Evolve
Mergers and ventures
Expansion through acquisition, capital raising and funding readiness.
We’ve supported social enterprises and purpose-driven organisations through acquisition planning, due diligence, transition and integration. We understand both the strategic opportunity and the practical realities of making an acquisition work after the deal is done. We can also help organisations assess growth opportunities, prepare for capital raising and build their funding readiness.
Philanthropy and government
Designing and testing new approaches to employment and social impact.
We work with government and philanthropy to design programs, test new approaches, build evidence and explore how social enterprise can contribute to employment and social outcomes.
Talk to us about your challenge
Whatever you’re working through, we’re happy to have a conversation about where we might be able to help.
We’ve been
where you are
We bring together three things that are rarely found in a single advisory partner.
Technical expertise
We bring strategy, analysis, commercial thinking and transformation capability to complex organisational challenges. Our recommendations are informed by evidence, market understanding and the realities of the sectors in which our clients operate.
Practical experience
We’ve built, operated and scaled social enterprises ourselves. We’ve worked through growth, transformation, acquisitions and organisational change. We’ve experienced the realities of building businesses that need to deliver both commercial performance and social impact. Our advice is grounded in what it takes to make change work in practice, not just what it looks like on paper.
Industry connections
We work across social enterprise, disability employment, government, procurement and commercial sectors. That means we can bring the right people, expertise, partnerships and opportunities into the work when they’re needed.
The Whitebox way
We bring the right knowledge, experience and connections to each challenge, with advice that’s rigorous enough to stand up to scrutiny, practical enough to use and grounded in the realities of creating social and commercial impact.
Our work in practice:
Intelife: Building a stronger future through acquisition and transformation
White Box has been working alongside Intelife, as part of the Evolve program, to develop and implement a long-term roadmap focused on commercial growth, employment pathways and organisational sustainability.
A key milestone in this journey has been Intelife’s acquisition of Brightwater’s Linen Division, a commercial laundry business that has operated in Western Australia for more than 25 years.
Beyond the Evolve program, White Box has played a hands-on role throughout the process, supporting acquisition planning and due diligence, leading the business transition, and providing ongoing operational and strategic support.
This has included guiding the transfer of the business from Brightwater to Intelife, supporting the rebrand and market positioning of the laundry, and helping establish the foundations for long-term commercial success.
Today, White Box continues to work alongside Intelife as the business transitions into its next phase, helping ensure the acquisition delivers both strong commercial outcomes and meaningful employment opportunities for Western Australians with disability.
Support provided:
- Disability enterprise transformation
- Acquisition strategy and due diligence
- Business transition and integration
- Social enterprise growth strategy
- Brand and market positioning
- Commercial operations support
- Employment pathway development
Connect Northern Rivers: bringing a new social enterprise to life
“We wouldn’t have got NextShip off the ground if it wasn’t for White Box – you gave us the confidence to do so.” – Melissa Hughes, Connect Northern Rivers.
Connect Northern Rivers engaged White Box to help launch NextShip, a new jobs-focused social enterprise for the Northern Rivers. The enterprise was created to generate employment opportunities while responding to growing demand for warehousing, fulfilment and logistics services across the region.
Working alongside the Connect Northern Rivers team, White Box provided end-to-end support to assess the opportunity, test its viability and develop a roadmap for launch. This included market research, business planning and financial modelling.
Beyond the business planning phase, White Box supported the development of the NextShip brand and go-to-market strategy.
This included brand positioning, identity development, messaging and marketing strategy, ensuring the new enterprise was equipped to attract customers, build credibility and establish a strong presence in the market from day one.
Support provided:
- Social enterprise feasibility and business planning
- Market research and opportunity analysis
- Financial modelling and business case development
- Brand strategy and identity development
- Marketing and go-to-market planning
- Implementation and launch support
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of organisations do you work with?
We work with jobs-focused social enterprises (WISEs), disability enterprises, not-for profits, governments and funders. Whether you’re starting a new enterprise, growing an existing one or navigating organisational change, we can tailor support to your needs.
What kinds of support do you provide?
Can you help us start a social enterprise?
Yes. We regularly support organisations exploring social enterprise models, including feasibility assessments, business planning, operating models, governance structures and impact design. We can help you assess whether a social enterprise is the right approach and what it will take to succeed.
Do you only work with established social enterprises?
No. We work with organisations at all stages, from early-stage ideas through to large, established enterprises looking to grow, diversify or transform.
Can you help disability enterprises transition to open employment models?
Yes. Supporting disability enterprises to create stronger pathways into open employment is a growing area of our work. Through initiatives like Evolve and our work alongside disability enterprises across Australia, we understand both the opportunities and challenges involved in organisational transformation.
How is White Box different from a traditional consultancy?
Our advice is informed by first hand experience. We have built and operated social enterprises, delivered employment programs, managed government-funded pilots and worked directly with people facing barriers to employment. We combine this practical experience with strategy, research, evaluation and systems-level thinking.
Can you help us improve our employment outcomes?
Yes. We specialise in helping organisations create and strengthen employment pathways for people facing barriers to work. This includes workforce design, participant support models, employer engagement, transition pathways and outcome measurement.
Can you help us secure funding or investment?
We can help organisations strengthen their business models, develop investment and funding strategies, build business cases and prepare for opportunities such as grants, contracts and outcomes-based funding arrangements.
Do you provide implementation support or just strategy advice?
Both. While some clients engage us for strategic advice, many also seek support to implement recommendations, manage change, build internal capability and navigate complex projects over time.
Do you work with governments and funders?
Yes. We work with government agencies, philanthropists and impact-focused funders to design programs, test new approaches, build evidence and better understand the role social enterprises can play in creating employment opportunities.
How do we know if we're ready to work with White Box?
You don’t need to have all the answers before reaching out. Whether you’re exploring an idea, facing a specific challenge or planning for growth, we can help you identify the right next steps and determine where support will add the most value.
Do you work across Australia?
Yes. We work with organisations nationally through a combination of in-person workshops, site visits and virtual engagements
Need Finance?
We love to collaborate. If you share in our belief that employment can change lives and the solution lies is jobs-focused social enterprise, get in touch.
Stay Connected
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