About

Built by an operator. For operators.

Backbench was founded by a senior operator who scaled a NZ service business from 6 figures to 8 figures in revenue — 10x'ing the headcount across four regions. Every system, every reporting rhythm, every hard call — lived, not learned in a slide deck.

Why we built Backbench

Most businesses don't fail from lack of work.
They fail from lack of structure.

We built Backbench to solve the problems we saw repeatedly inside trade and service businesses — messy reporting, reactive decisions and operational chaos.

Owners doing $2M–$15M+ don't need more consultants. They need senior operators who will roll up their sleeves and build the structure the business was always meant to run on.

Not theory. Structure.

Founders

Operator-led. Structure-first.

01 · FOUNDER

Luke Seymour

Get in touch

I've spent the last 15 years building and leading operational businesses across New Zealand.

Most recently I took a service business from 6 figures in annual revenue to 8 figures — 10x'ing the headcount across four regions. Along the way I learnt what actually breaks businesses under growth — poor systems, reactive management, weak reporting and owners carrying too much themselves.

Backbench exists because I've lived those problems. I've hired through labour shortages, managed cashflow under pressure, built leadership teams, restructured businesses, improved profitability and built the systems that allow businesses to grow without everything depending on the owner.

I don't believe most owner-led businesses need another consultant. They need experienced operators who can bring structure, accountability and commercial discipline into the business and leave it stronger than they found it.

That's what Backbench does.

Focus

10x headcount growth6 → 8 figure revenueFour regions, NZ-wide

Our model

Your team. At fractional capacity.

Backbench isn't a consultancy. We're a fractional team that becomes part of yours — giving you access to senior operators, AI specialists, software architects and governance talent that would normally be out of reach for a $2M–$15M+ business.

You don't pay full-time salaries. You don't get slide decks. You get embedded support at the capacity you need — hours, days or ongoing.

You keep the controls. We bring the discipline — and the team.

Backbench operator at desk planning systems

EMBEDDED · DAY ONESTRUCTURE · SYSTEMS · SCALE

Next step

Ready to get your back office under control?