If ever a company needed flexible office space, it is Evolve Capabilities, which builds bespoke Business Management Systems (BMS) and has rapidly grown from a startup with a couple of founders to 25 staff in just three years.
The astonishing growth of the business, based at WOTSO’s Dickson site in Canberra, wasn’t part of the original plan, says CEO Dayne Matatia.
But a series of significant contract wins with the Department of Defence super-charged Evolve Capabilities’ own evolution.
“We never actually intended to be this big,” Dayne says. “It was only ever envisioned to be four to five people – it was just a group of friends really.
“We just happened to be in the right place at the right time doing great work.”
Matatia says the business was started by Managing Partner Erin Smythe and co-founder Nicole Menzies, a BMS Architect, in early 2021.
“I was working as a volunteer on the admin side, and we weren’t too sure what was going to happen and where it was going to go,” says Dayne.
“I was at home a lot and I was getting cabin fever. So I started looking around for a place where I could separate my work from the place I lived.”
Dayne discovered WOTSO while searching for space online, got a co-working desk in Dickson, liked the collaborative environment, and told Erin and Nicole, who moved in.
Soon after, Evolve secured a significant Department of Defence contract that meant increasing staff to 10 to handle the extra workload.
At this point it was clear Evolve needed a self-contained office but enquiries with real estate agents into traditional commercial meant they would have to sign inflexible leases of three to five years, which wouldn’t work for such a dynamic business.
Nor did they suit Evolve’s cultural disposition.
“The really interesting thing was every space we walked into, it felt almost too corporate, especially for who we are as people,” says Dayne.
“We found the WOTSO environment so warm and inviting. You get to know people, have drinks and go to events with them.
“We didn’t want to go to a space which was just our space.”
Somewhat inevitably they took out dedicated flexible office space at WOTSO Dickson, which proved to be a smart move given that the company has more than doubled in size since then.
Management now includes James Gill, Paris Smith-Davies, and Thomas Ashmore, who started as employees and recently became partners and co-owners to facilitate the growth of Evolve.
But its core values remain. Giving back to the Canberra community has always been integral to Evolve.
“We live here, we’re based here, our money is made and spent here,” says Dayne.
Evolve employs a community engagement manager and commits 7% of its revenue to not for profits assisting people in need.
“We’re currently supporting a charity called the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation & Advocacy (CAHMA), which helps people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction across Canberra.
“Our community engagement manager organises weekly meals and support for CAHMA.
“We also provide free mental health and yoga sessions for people in the WOTSO building and have been doing so for the past six or eight months.”
To quote biologist Charles Darwin, as Evolve does on its website: “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”.
