Independent Succession Experts
Helping mid-market family and founder-led businesses deal with the human elements of succession.
Most businesses have accountants and legal advisers to help with the important structural and technical elements of succession and business planning. But it’s the human and emotional dimensions that are often harder to deal with. Communication, identity, expectations, role clarity, decision-making and relationship challenges can all put the best laid plans at risk.
Using proprietary IP, facilitation and coaching expertise, we help family and founder-led businesses unlock issues, gain the clarity, trust, people systems and development needed for everyone to thrive, and improve the value of your business in the process.
Whether you are looking to transition to the next generation, facilitate family discussions, bring in external managers, develop your leaders or prepare your business for a successful exit, we can help.
About Us
Chris Bates (Founder)
After an initial career in insurance and financial services and observing both of his parents farming families take different succession pathways, Chris founded a strategy and leadership firm in 2004 (Checkside) that he sold via a partner buyout in 2021. He then transitioned successfully into a CEO role for a diversified mid-market family business (Waringa) for 4 ½ years.
With experience as a business owner, CEO, coach and advisor, Chris relates to what is important to clients and works effectively with accountants and other advisors.
His qualifications include a Bachelor of Business degree from Curtin University, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors course (GAICD) and Certified Chair with the Advisory Board Centre.
Chris has helped over 200 mid-market family and founder-led clients with strategy, leadership and succession planning challenges over the years and retains a passion for helping people reach their full potential.
Who we help
Our clients are typically mid-market family or founder-led businesses (circa $10M to $250M annual revenue). The mid-market makes up only around 2% of all Australian businesses, but is an economic engine room, contributing close to 25% of total business revenues and providing an outsized contribution to economic growth.
We are sector agnostic, with experience across almost every industry, including farming and agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, mining, civil, transport, technology and professional services.
For businesses at this scale (or close to it), succession is nearly always a strategic priority, but carries a high degree of complexity when it comes to dealing with the human elements. Other professional advisers are often conflicted in how far they can dive into family relationship dimension and refer us in to help.
There are simply not many independent experts available with first-hand commercial experience in the mid-market family and founder-led business space.
Sidelight fills that gap.
Testimonials
"I've worked with Chris for over 20 years across my own businesses and have also referred him to other business owners.
What differentiates Chris from other coaches is that his advice is grounded in real commercial experience. He understands first-hand the realities of running, growing and exiting a business and that comes through in the quality and practicality of his guidance."
Eric Cain
CEO - QPR Premium Funding
"Chris worked with me and my leadership team at Fleet Network over a 3 year period. He brings a commercially astute lens to coaching and it was always clear that he believed in and cared about our team reaching our full potential.
His work helped prepare us for our next stage of growth and has endured, including our brand promise that remains core to the way we work at Paywise today."
Frank Agostino
CEO - Paywise
"Chris helped EBM with a review of our organisational structure to support our growth and provided coaching support for our leadership team as we prepared for and implemented those changes.
He has a strong understanding of what is important to a professional services firm like ours and has always provided me and our leaders with valuable insights and advice."
Ward Dedman
Director / Former CEO - EBM
“As CEO and as an adviser to us, Chris has helped us grow all three of our business in terms of structuring, process improvement, acquisitions, succession planning and the development of our teams.
Chris has a strong business skill-set and also cares a lot about coaching people to build their capabilities and achieve their potential."
John Warr
Managing Director - Waringa
Independent Succession Advice
Sidelight helps mid-market family and founder-led businesses deal with the human and emotional elements of succession.