Build at Bain: Launching a business from scratch
Build at Bain: Launching a business from scratch
How an integrated team helped a client build a new e-commerce venture in under nine months
What does it actually look like to build a business from scratch at Bain? In this video, Associate Partner Sebastian Astone and Partner James Brooks share how they helped a client build a brand-new e-commerce business from the ground up. Working alongside specialists across strategy, marketing, technology, and analytics, and embedded with the client in a Melbourne co-working space, their team took a new business to market in under nine months.
At the end of the nine-month project, you could very clearly look back and see what we had constructed.
James Brooks
Partner
Go behind the scenes of a case where Bain teams partnered with a client to launch a new business from idea to market in under nine months.
A truly collaborative build
On this project, consultants worked alongside experts across innovation, design, advanced analytics, and enterprise technology, collaborating across multiple global offices to bring the idea to market.
Just as important, they partnered closely with the client every step of the way. The experience felt less like a traditional case and more like joining a startup, working side by side to develop capabilities and make decisions in real time.
From concept to company in nine months
In under a year, the team helped build the foundations of a fully operational e-commerce business, from supply chain setup to go-to-market launch.
For many team members, especially newer consultants, the experience stood out because of how tangible it was. By the end of the project, they could clearly see what they had built and watch it continue to grow in market.
Projects like this highlight a different side of consulting at Bain: not just advising clients but helping create and scale new ventures. It’s an opportunity to work in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments, collaborate across capabilities, and build something that lasts well beyond the case itself.
