Rebuilding a Business After Collapse

Mid-Sized Australian Enterprise Technology Firm (Post-Administration). ANZ & Southeast Asia | Systems Integration & Workforce Solutions

The Starting Point

At its peak, the firm generated around $80 million in revenue and employed around 120 people. Then a string of hard years led to voluntary administration. Most of the business was sold off, and what survived was a much smaller organisation with little confidence, uneven delivery, and no clear growth path.

The core that remained was a project resourcing and staff augmentation practice. It still generated revenue, but it was fragile. Costs were heavy. Too many people were idle. Pipeline visibility was poor. Forecasting wasn’t reliable. Marketing was weak, and sales were inconsistent.

I was brought in to do two things at once:

1. Stabilise what remained.

2. Leverage that base to build a new systems integration business alongside it.

The First Moves: Cost, Capacity, Control

Before growth could happen, stability had to return.

The priority was getting control of cost, capacity, and performance. I mapped the work that existed, the work that was likely to exist, and the skills genuinely needed to deliver it. The analysis was confronting: several roles were no longer aligned to current or future revenue.

We made changes quickly. Around $1 million in costs were removed- not to cut, but to eliminate what wasn’t contributing to delivery or growth.

That created room to invest, and room to rebuild. And, once the business could breathe again, we turned in a new direction.

The Direction: A Plan People Could Execute

Momentum requires clarity.

I built a strategic go-to-market and operational plan that defined the company’s direction, target markets, and revenue path. It detailed what we would build, what we would sell, who we would partner with, what we’d stop doing – and what progress would look like quarter by quarter.

Everything that followed flowed from that plan.

What Was Built and Executed

Some of the key initiatives included:

Stabilising the existing business.

We rebuilt the foundations of the resourcing practice. Client relationships were strengthened, sales processes rebuilt, and forecasting discipline introduced so leaders could separate signal from noise. Roles across sales and delivery were clarified, and accountability improved. The aim was to stop leakage and make performance visible.

Building the new systems integration business.

Alongside stability, we built a second growth engine focused on data, integration, and event-streaming services – responding to demand across enterprise and government sectors, particularly in financial services, transport, utilities, and the public sector.

We developed new offerings that could sell. For example, we launched early-adopter programs in financial services for tier-two banks shifting to modern core banking platforms. Our teams built strong expertise around data extraction, migration, and integration – practical work with clear value and clear buying triggers.

Strengthening partnerships that mattered.

We expanded formal relationships with AWS, Confluent, Databricks, NextGen, Smart Communications, Mambu, and Change Financial. These partnerships elevated credibility, deepened capability, and opened doors to new client opportunities.

Rebuilding the go-to-market function.

Marketing and messaging were rebuilt to reflect the company’s dual-business model – resourcing and systems integration. We redesigned websites, refreshed brand narratives, and ensured that both prospects and partners understood what the company now was, not what it used to be.

Aligning incentives with outcomes.

A new incentive and commission framework shifted focus to the right behaviours and results, improving motivation and performance across the commercial team.

Staying close to customers.

I stayed personally involved with major enterprise accounts across banking, transport, government, and utilities – ensuring stability while introducing new services that solved real problems. Growth came from proof, not persuasion.

In parallel, we ran internal programs focused on revenue generation, client experience, productivity, and cost discipline. These became core operating rhythms, not side projects.

The Results

From a base of around $8 million.

Year One: Revenue reached $16 million.

Year Two: Revenue grew to $22 million.

Growth came from two places: a core business that stopped leaking value and a new systems integration practice generating both project and recurring revenue.

But the deeper transformation was control.

• The cost base matched reality.

• The plan was clear.

• The pipeline was visible.

• Execution became predictable.

The business moved from survival to momentum.

What This Case Study Shows

This was not a turnaround driven by a single deal or short-term luck. It was a disciplined rebuild after collapse – a structured restart built on clarity, control, and focused execution.

First, remove what isn’t earning its keep. Then, set direction. Then deliberately build the next revenue stream.

Turnarounds aren’t won through inspiration. They’re won through discipline – one clear move at a time.

If revenue is unpredictable, and growth feels heavier than it should, message me.

Grant Kratz – Founder & CEO, SalesFlex

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About SalesFlex

Revenue shouldn’t be guesswork. Growth shouldn’t depend on you.

At SalesFlex, we help SaaS and technology companies build systems that make revenue predictable and the business easier to run. Our work transforms uneven sales performance and the strain of scaling into a consistent rhythm the team can own - giving founders and CEOs confidence that growth will continue without burning them out.

Learn more at salesflex.co or reach out to Grant Kratz at grant.kratz@salesflex.co or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantkratz/