Our Team

Our Founders

groei was founded by Amanda Cole and Tara Jacobsen. These two originally met in 2002 at a networking event and have been peers and friends since. In 2018, Amanda and Tara started discussing the challenges they were seeing in the small business sector and that there did not seem to be solutions available to support these challenges in the market. groei is born out of a combined 30 years of small business experience both in their own businesses and supporting others.

Like everyone in our groei community, we have made the critical business decisions that will guide us in building our longer term vision.

Our Purpose

Why we do what we do

To facilitate the growth of sustainable businesses which will increase employment and economic sustainability in regional and urban communities across Australia and New Zealand. We help you navigate the complexity of small business growth – wherever you are.

Our Ambition

In today’s world fast and technologically driven, expecting all students to thrive in a rigid, one-size-fits-all education system is no longer feasible. Many young people leave school without a clear sense of direction, not because they lack ambition, but because the traditional system fails to prepare them for an ever-evolving job market.

At Groei Education, we believe that young people don’t need to have all the answers when they graduate; they need the skills and opportunities to explore, adapt, and grow. That’s why we focus on equipping students with future-ready, transferable skills through innovative, project-based learning experiences. Our peer-driven programs encourage critical thinking, creativity, and real-world problem-solving, giving young people the tools they need to succeed across industries. Instead of relying on a standard path, we offer a flexible approach with stackable skills badging that allow students to build their skillsets step by step.

Whether they aspire to lead, innovate, or become entrepreneurs, our programs empower them to shape their own futures. We work closely with industry partners to ensure students are not just learning but actively preparing for the careers of tomorrow. At Groei, we are dedicated to fostering the next generation of thinkers and doers—ready to take on the world with confidence and resilience.

Our Values

All for One

We are stronger together as partners, businesses, peer groups and communities. We have each other’s back and will challenge ourselves to be our genuine selves so we can achieve our goals individually and collectively. Make the load the lighter .. take the approach of give first… ask “how can we help?”

Keep it simple

Our lives are complex enough. Make every groei experience curated, relevant and actionable. Simple language, logical steps, the right information at the right time… no bullshit keep it real.

Find the fun and maintain the balance

Life is too short to forget to enjoy ourselves. Enable the space for people to have fun. Acknowledge the celebration for shared lived experience. Create and maintain the routine to enable our goals. Big rocks in first. Laugh, connect and share the story.

Lifelong learning

Always a new version of ourselves to become and another challenge to overcome. Creating underpinning knowledge to support embedding of content to support you to learn.