Some founders want more than a growth partner. They want an equity partner. One with capital in the deal and skin in the game.
Bodie & Tom · Exit Forward
The connection
Brand, marketing, systems, growth. The engine, doing its work.
For some, the conversation goes further.
They don’t want another supplier on a retainer. They want someone invested in the business, not billing it by the hour.
That’s where Exit Forward comes in.
Exit Forward is the parent. Dilate is one of its businesses — the growth engine that sits inside the group and powers every partnership.
It’s the same team. The same capability. But a fundamentally different arrangement — one where we’re not billing your business, we’re building it with you.
What it is
Exit Forward takes a stake in founder-led businesses. Then we grow what’s already there, using the same engine that powers Dilate.
It’s the middle path between grinding it out alone and selling out to a stranger. The option most founders don’t know exists.
Not a supplier. Not a fund.
We’re not a broker. Not a fund chasing a return on capital. Not consultants billing for time. We only win when you do, because we own a piece of the outcome.
Equity is the deal
Every partnership involves us taking equity. Always.
That’s not a catch. It’s the point. It’s what puts us on the same side of the table as you.
We only win when you do, because we own a piece of the outcome.
If equity isn’t on the table, there’s no deal. Worth knowing before you read on.
When founders come to us
The business has found its feet and there’s clear runway, but going faster alone is hard. We bring smart capital and the growth engine. Your half of a bigger business is worth more than all of a smaller one.
You’ve built something solid and carried it a long way. You want some money off the table without losing the business. We take a stake. You take a distribution. We step in alongside you.
You’re ready to step back, not step away. The business is stable and worth protecting. We give you a clear path and the people to run the next chapter.
The growth engine
Behind every partnership sits one of Western Australia’s most established full-service agencies. Built over more than a decade, still running at scale.
Creative, performance, strategy, and technology capability brought to bear on every business we partner with. Not an outside agency on a brief — our team, your growth.
Who it’s for
Founders who move, get things done, and are open to a real partnership.
Not fast-exit seekers. Not advice shoppers. Not anyone who won’t part with equity.
If the numbers work and the fit is right, we talk. If not, we don’t. No pressure either way.
Who we are
Started Dilate in 2012 and built it into one of Western Australia’s most respected digital marketing agencies over 14 years, navigating six equity transactions along the way. Founder rapport, narrative clarity, and a sensitivity to succession that only comes from having lived it.
The integrator. Financial discipline, structural rigour, and the ability to scale what’s been proven. Together, Bodie and Tom have acquired and integrated three businesses since stepping back from the Dilate day-to-day.
If that’s a conversation worth having
No pressure. No pitch. Just a real conversation about whether there’s a fit.
We work with a small number of founders each year. By design. If the numbers work and the fit is right, we’ll know quickly.
We work with a small number of founders each year. By design. No pressure. No pitch. Just a real conversation, when you’re ready.