Questions About Building Your Business?
Starting or growing a business in Australia comes with real challenges and honest questions. We've spent years working with entrepreneurs who needed straight answers, not sales pitches.
How We Got Here
brenolixave started because three accountants got tired of watching capable people struggle with finances. Not because they lacked talent – they just needed someone to explain things in plain language.
The Beginning
Geraldine Thornbury, Beatrix Svendsen, and Marcus left their corporate roles in Melbourne. They'd seen too many small businesses fail because basic financial planning felt overwhelming. Started with twelve clients in a shared office space.
Finding Our Approach
Covid changed everything. Moved to Townsville and realized remote support actually worked better. Clients could share screens, ask dumb questions without feeling judged, and we could work with businesses across Queensland and beyond.
Building Tools That Help
Created our first online course after answering the same cashflow questions for the hundredth time. Figured if everyone was asking, we should just teach it properly once. Added video breakdowns, real spreadsheets people could actually use.
Where We're Going
Supporting over 200 businesses now. Planning autumn workshops in Brisbane and Sydney. Working on better resources for retail businesses – that sector needs specific help we haven't offered before. Always learning what entrepreneurs actually need.
What Makes Our Approach Different
Most financial advice talks down to people. Or uses jargon that sounds impressive but means nothing when you're trying to decide whether to hire someone or buy equipment.
We built our method around conversations, not presentations. And yeah, that's harder – takes more time, requires listening instead of lecturing.
Plain Language First
Every term gets explained. If someone doesn't understand EBITDA or working capital, that's on us to clarify – not their problem for asking.
Context Over Templates
Sure, we have frameworks. But a café owner in Cairns has different pressures than a consultant in Perth. Templates get you started – real advice requires understanding your specific situation.
Teaching, Not Just Doing
We could just handle your books and call it done. Instead, we show you why numbers matter and what to watch. Helps you make better decisions when we're not around.
Real Businesses We've Worked With
These aren't polished success stories. Just examples of actual problems we helped solve, including what didn't work the first time.
Homewares Shop in Mackay
Owner had strong sales but kept running out of cash. Turned out they were ordering too much inventory at once because bulk discounts felt smart. We mapped their actual sales cycles, adjusted ordering patterns, freed up about $15k that had been sitting on shelves.
IT Consultancy Growth
Three-person team wanted to hire but worried about stability. We built financial projections showing they could afford one person safely, two if they landed a specific contract. They hired one, contract came through six months later, hired the second. Sometimes it's about showing what's actually possible versus what feels risky.
Geraldine Thornbury
"I spent fifteen years explaining balance sheets to executives who pretended to understand. Now I teach entrepreneurs who admit when they're confused. Much more rewarding. Also less pretentious boardrooms. Our Brisbane workshop series starts October 2025 if you want to learn this stuff properly – we keep groups small so everyone can ask specific questions about their business."