Updates
Chapter One: What We're Learning
A founder update on what we are learning from people joining The Bench, founders, recruiters and businesses.
I started The Bench after being made redundant for the second time.
At first, the idea was simple: create somewhere for good people to land after redundancy, stay connected and potentially find meaningful work.
That is still the heart of it.
But after a week of conversations, the idea has already started to change shape.
Why this started
Redundancy does not just affect a job title.
It affects confidence, routine, income, identity and the people you were used to building with.
When a company lays people off, the market usually sees individual CVs.
But what often gets lost is the capability that existed between people.
Teams that had sold together, built together, launched together, fixed problems together and learned how to work under pressure together are suddenly scattered.
The Bench started from that feeling.
What if there was somewhere better to land?
Three things we learned in the first week
Businesses need outcomes, not just CVs
Businesses do not always need another hire. Sometimes they need a specific problem solved.
That might be building a sales function, launching into a new market, fixing RevOps, setting up partnerships, improving customer success, building analytics or getting an AI workflow off the ground.
The question is not always "who do we hire?" Sometimes it is "what do we need solved?"
Redundancy scatters capability
When people are made redundant, they are treated as individuals again.
But many of those people were part of working combinations that already knew how to deliver together.
The market sees CVs. It does not always see the teams, trust, context and shared experience that have just been broken apart.
That feels like wasted capability.
The Bench is being shaped by the people showing up
People joining The Bench are saying they want somewhere to land, but they also want to keep working with good people.
Recruiters are reaching out because they can see the calibre of talent becoming available.
Founders and businesses are asking what problems these people could actually help solve.
So The Bench is not being shaped in isolation. It is being shaped by the people closest to the problem.
What The Bench might become
We are testing whether The Bench can help businesses access proven people and small teams to solve specific problems over defined periods.
This might look like fractional teams, not just fractional individuals.
Not just a person. Not just a CV. Not just advice.
A small group of experienced people assembled around a clear outcome.
Potential first use cases include:
- Build a sales function
- Launch into Australia
- Fix RevOps
- Set up partnerships
- Stand up customer success
- Build analytics
- Create AI workflows
- Support a portfolio company through a growth sprint
This is not finished. It is a working hypothesis.
What we are testing next
There is still a lot we do not know.
The questions we are working through now are:
- What would a business actually pay for?
- Do businesses want individuals, teams or outcomes?
- Does it matter if people have worked together before?
- How do we make delivery accountable?
- How do we keep this useful and fair for the people doing the work?
- How do we avoid becoming just another recruitment or consulting model?
- How do we build enough trust for businesses to try this?
Who needs this now?
Who needs a sales function built, a market launched, RevOps fixed, partnerships set up, customer success improved or analytics built, but does not want to wait six months to hire a team?
If you are trying to build capability without hiring a full team from scratch, The Bench is worth a conversation.
If that sounds like you, or a business you know, I would love to hear from you.
Or email hello@jointhebench.co
The Bench is being shaped in public, with the people closest to the problem. If this sounds useful for your business, or for someone you know, I would love to hear from you.