Winning Work
Know exactly who you are built for, get found by them, and win on value instead of rate — with a pipeline you can actually forecast.
Explore Winning Work →Margin. Focus. Control.
Growth advisory for Australian environmental consulting firms
There's a ceiling in most environmental consulting firms. The technical work is rarely the problem. The commercial model is.
Environmental industry focus
Sector-specific advice on markets, service lines, pricing, utilisation, and delivery models
Productisation experience
Software and hardware spin-off experience, recurring revenue price model development
Operator-led, MBA-trained
Advice from an ex-CEO with 3 exits, 2 BRW Fast Starters, and 1 BRW Fast 100 business
01 The Constraint
Busy teams. Tighter margins. More complexity.
Environmental consulting firms rarely stall because the technical work is weak. The constraint is usually commercial: how they choose markets, price risk, package expertise, sell work, and manage delivery economics. The model that worked at ten people often starts to strain at 10+ headcount.
Where it shows up
- Revenue grows, but profit and management control do not keep pace
- Pricing decisions depend on habit, history, or fear of client pushback
- The founder or managing director is still pulled into sales, pricing, and escalation
- Repeatable expertise is sold as if every engagement were fully custom
- Client and market choices remain reactive despite cyclical demand
02 What We Help With
Three stages of a firm’s commercial life
We work across three stages: winning the right work, scaling it profitably, and realising the value you have built. Most engagements start with the one constraint holding the firm back.
Scaling Operations
Protect the margin you win: the operating model, AI-augmented delivery, and the quality and safety systems that hold as the firm grows.
Explore Scaling Operations →
Mergers & Acquisitions
Realise the value you have built: prepare for exit, advise through a sale, or grow by acquiring and integrating without breaking what you buy.
Explore Mergers & Acquisitions →03 Process
A practical engagement tied to operating decisions
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01
Diagnose
Review pricing, pipeline, utilisation, service-line economics, client mix, delivery constraints, and founder bottlenecks.
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02
Prioritise
Identify the constraint with the greatest effect on margin, focus, or management control, then agree the decisions that need to change.
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03
Redesign
Build the new pricing logic, service-line structure, market focus, sales discipline, or management cadence with the leadership team.
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04
Execute
Support implementation far enough that the new commercial model becomes part of how the firm sells, prices, delivers, and reviews work.
04 About
About Us
Greenhat is the advisory and operating platform of Ben Starr, built from two decades of experience scaling technical businesses across environmental consulting and B2B software.
Greenhat exists to help professional service companies commercialise their technological expertise in a scalable and profitable manner. We typically works with firms sized between 10 and 100 staff to improve sales, utilisation, project profitability, positioning, operational systems, recurring revenue, and long-term enterprise value to position for trade sale.
Ben is a 3x founder and CEO whose career spans both entrepreneurial and corporate environments. He has founded three consulting and technology businesses recognised in the BRW Fast 100 and Fast Starters lists, two of them multiple times, and held senior leadership roles at software firm Bentley Systems (NASDAQ-listed) and global engineering firm Jacobs (NYSE-listed).
Before founding Greenhat, Ben scaled O2 Group from 2 to 50 staff, building one of Australia's leading soil and water consultancies. He joined eagle.io as a co-founding investor in its early days and led the team as CEO from a handful of customers through to its acquisition by Bentley Systems. He also founded SigSense, an electronics business acquired by Intellidesign. Ben holds an Executive MBA and a Bachelor of Science.
05 Track Record
Previous Projects
A highlight of recent commercialisation efforts and operational improvements.
SigSense
Built channel strategy for a regulated infrastructure rollout
Developed the commercial strategy, distributor model, and market positioning for SigSense, helping establish a leading channel position in the NSW non-urban telemetry rollout market.
Focus areas
- Channel strategy
- Regulatory market positioning
- Distribution growth
- Commercial scaling
eagle.io
Repositioned a technical SaaS platform for environmental markets
Led the commercial repositioning of eagle.io into a specialist environmental monitoring platform, improving pricing alignment, partner engagement, and market focus prior to acquisition.
Focus areas
- SaaS positioning
- Pricing strategy
- Partner ecosystems
- Market segmentation
FSA
Supported acquisition integration and operational stabilisation
Led operational and commercial restructuring activities following the acquisition of FSA, supporting leadership transition, organisational stability, and integration into a broader consulting group.
Focus areas
- Post-acquisition integration
- Leadership transition
- Operational stabilisation
- Commercial restructuring
O2 Environment Engineering
Scaled a specialist environmental consulting business
Helped scale O2 Environment Engineering from a small technical consultancy into a multidisciplinary environmental business through service-line focus, operational structure, regulator engagement, and commercial systems development.
Focus areas
- Service-line strategy
- Consulting operations
- Growth management
- Commercial systems
Turbid
Commercialised a specialist stormwater treatment offering
Developed the commercial model and go-to-market strategy for Turbid, supporting regulatory acceptance, market adoption, and recurring supply revenue growth.
Focus areas
- Product commercialisation
- Regulatory strategy
- Go-to-market design
- Recurring revenue development
O2 Marine
Established a specialist marine consulting capability
Supported the launch and scaling of a marine environmental consultancy by aligning specialist personnel, operational systems, safety capability, and project delivery structure.
Focus areas
- Specialist consulting operations
- Service-line development
- Operational systems
- Capability scaling
06 Testimonials
What operators say about working with Ben and Greenhat Group
"Ben was instrumental in the establishment and growth of O2 Marine."
Chris Lane CEO, O2 Marine
"Ben was instrumental in making the O2 group as successful as it is today."
Graeme Uechtritz Director, Turbid
"Ben's direction and ability to grasp problems is a key reason O2 evolved so quickly."
Terry Clark Director, TopoStart Here
Contact Us
We offer a no-obligation initial conversation to understand your business and where it wants to go. If there’s a fit, we’ll tell you plainly, and if there isn’t, we’ll tell you that too.
Phone
Address (by appointment)
10 Prospect St
Fortitude Valley Qld 4006
Australia
Fortitude Valley Qld 4006
Australia