We Started in a Cramped Office Above a Cafe

Back in early 2019, three of us squeezed around a second-hand desk with coffee shop noise bleeding through the floor. We'd all left corporate finance roles because we kept seeing the same pattern: smart people making terrible decisions at negotiation tables simply because no one taught them the basics.

Stellan had just finished a particularly frustrating consulting gig where a client lost $80,000 in vendor negotiations over misunderstanding escalation clauses. That's when we decided someone needed to actually teach this stuff properly.

We're not here to sell you magic formulas or guarantee overnight success. Budget negotiation is a skill you build through practice and understanding real-world scenarios. What we can offer is honest guidance based on what actually works when you're sitting across from a supplier or department head who wants more money than you have.

Financial planning workspace showing budget documents and calculators

How We Actually Teach This

No fluff. No motivational speeches. Just practical techniques you can use next week in real negotiations.

Real Scenarios

We use actual negotiation cases from Australian businesses. Every example comes from situations our instructors have either handled directly or observed in detail. You'll work through vendor contracts, departmental budget requests, and resource allocation disputes that mirror what you'll face.

Iterative Practice

You negotiate the same scenario three times with different approaches. First attempt is usually rough. Second time you apply feedback. Third round is where things click. This repetition builds muscle memory for high-pressure conversations.

Honest Feedback

We record your practice sessions and review them together. It's uncomfortable watching yourself fumble a counteroffer, but that's where the learning happens. Our instructors point out exactly where you lost leverage or missed an opening.

Meet Your Lead Instructor

Learn from someone who's actually sat through hundreds of difficult budget conversations

Stellan Breckridge, lead budget negotiation instructor

Stellan Breckridge

Lead Budget Negotiation Instructor

Stellan spent 14 years in corporate finance before he got fed up with watching colleagues accept terrible terms because they didn't know how to push back effectively. He's negotiated everything from $2 million software contracts to monthly office supply budgets.

What makes him a good teacher? He remembers what it's like to be terrible at this. His first major vendor negotiation in 2012 cost his company an extra $40,000 because he accepted the first counteroffer out of nervousness. That failure taught him more than any success.

He doesn't teach theory. Every technique he shows you comes from actual negotiations he's conducted or analyzed. When he says something works, he can tell you exactly when and why it worked in a real situation.

"Most people think negotiation is about being aggressive or clever with words. It's not. It's about preparation, understanding incentives, and knowing when to walk away. I teach you those fundamentals so you can adapt them to any budget conversation."

Budget analysis documents and financial reports Negotiation strategy planning session materials Financial calculation tools and budget spreadsheets