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Kim Pothecary, Adapt’s Leader of Delivery.

The people who help you build a business that lasts.

We have built businesses of our own, so we know what it takes to make one worth more without you.

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Adapt wasn't built in a boardroom. It was forged through lived experience.

In 2008, Bill Withers' software company was thriving: eighty people, four countries, growing fast. Then within a few months his wife, Debbie, was diagnosed with lupus, their eleven-year-old son, Sammy, had his first epileptic seizure, and the Global Financial Crisis hit the business all at once. Bill had built a company that ran on him, and at the moment his family needed him most, he could not step away from it.

What he discovered under that pressure became Succession Thinking®, a way to build a business that no longer depends on its owner. He founded Adapt, then known as Adapt By Design, to give other owners what he did not have when it mattered.

Then Bill applied the thinking to himself. He found his successor, handed Adapt to Gabe Enslin, and stepped back.

Bill Withers and Gabe Enslin in conversation, the handover of Adapt's leadership.
Gillian Bester, Adapt coach, mapping at the whiteboard Gabe Enslin presenting to a room of business owners Bill Withers in conversation Steve Tapley, Adapt product leader Kim Pothecary, Adapt delivery leader Suzanne McGrechan coaching at the whiteboard Zoe Finlay-Jones, Adapt coach, working a model through on glass

Built by owners, for owners.

Gabe Enslin leads Adapt today. A three-time founder across transport and logistics, import-export, and immersive technology, he has also led teams in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, including serving his community as a detective and an emergency first responder.

He works alongside a veteran team of owners, leaders, coaches and engineers. Together they bring 100+ years of combined SME leadership and coaching experience, and have helped countless owners scale, sell or hand over.

Who we work with.

Adapt is built for a particular kind of owner.

  • You built something real, and it still runs through you.

  • You are weighing what comes next, and you want it on your terms.

  • Your leaders are ready to carry more, the moment the business lets them.

See the thinking in the room.

Bill and Gabe, working through the ideas that make a business independent of its owner.

The team behind the Adapt engine.

The coaches, leaders and engineers who install the framework, and stay until it holds in your business.

The partner network that scales the impact.

A growing network of coaches and partner firms, carrying the Adapt framework to established owners across the country.

  • Kay Solanki
  • Brendan Forwood
  • Susan Male
  • Cam Shepherd
  • Scott Harris
  • Debbie Millard
  • Kane Leersen
  • Ryan Smyth
  • Tadhg McCarthy
  • Tristan Harris
  • Wayne Robinson
  • Glenn Scarlett
  • Chris Alexander
  • Suzanne McGrechan
  • Thomas McClung

If you advise, coach or consult to established privately held businesses and their owners, and want to find out about our partner program, please say hello.

For advisory firms Bring Adapt’s IP and platform into your advisory work, keep your client, and build recurring revenue share. Partner with Adapt For coaches For experienced coaches who want their work to last. Carry the Adapt framework, platform and community to owner-led businesses across Australia. Coach with Adapt

Our vision

To be a world leader in SME stewardship.

We help owners build resilient and sustainable businesses that give them what they really want. Businesses which are excellent at decision making and leadership, creating safe and motivating environments for their employees, where they get to do their best work.

Read the full vision

What we stand for.

Five values, written down and lived. They are part of the business fabric, used in decisions and measured in our own culture data, the same way we ask every client team to do it.

  • Maximise Trust

    Trust and psychological safety are fundamental to building high-performing teams and contributing to a successful society. We work hard on building trust so our people can be authentic with each other. Our commitment to maximising trust is in our DNA and guides how we behave with each other, our customers and our eco-system.

  • Grow Together

    We believe in the power of curiosity and creativity to enable learning as individuals, as teams and as an organisation. We treat each other as equals and encourage input along with challenging ideas. This means owning our own behaviour and looking for opportunities to share what we learn along the way.

  • Give a Shit (GAS)

    Having a high GAS factor means we care and want to be part of the solution. We choose to set our community and society up for success. This means people over profit. We are actively engaged with our work, our customers, our stakeholders and our community.

  • Build Shared Value

    Adapters are purpose people, actively helping to build the society in which we want to live. We create value so it maximises outcomes for all stakeholders, our people, our customers, our society and our environment. We recognise our success and social progress are interdependent.

  • Walk the adapt way

    We are a proud SME. We take delight in empowering SME owners and leaders to build great businesses. We put into practice our own principles and disciplines. By walking the adapt way, we are a shining example of using our tools, our technology and our processes.

See where your business still depends on you.

Under five minutes, no email. See your highest-risk area and the first move to make.

Take the Owner Independence Diagnostic → Book a confidential review