Unpacking the Past: Life Before Compadres
Shaun Christie-David doesn’t just serve food, he serves purpose. As founder of Plate It Forward, he’s built a hospitality group that does more than feed people: it changes lives. The model is simple and seismic, employ marginalised women to cook and share food of origin, and reinvest profits to fund meals for communities in need across Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and beyond.
The mission was resonating. The restaurants were thriving. But the business was starting to stall.
Without a formal management structure or growth framework, Shaun found himself bottlenecked, making every major decision, propping up multiple teams, and firefighting instead of future-proofing. The work was impactful, but the organisation wasn’t scaling with it. The cracks were starting to show.
Embracing Change: The Compadres Journey
We met Shaun at the crossroads: high impact, low infrastructure. The vision was powerful—but the vehicle needed tuning.
We began with 1:1 founder guidance to help Shaun separate from the daily tangle and think bigger-picture. From there, we introduced the Compadres Growth Framework, bringing his senior leadership team into focus and mapping a plan for how the business could grow without burning out.
The work was practical and pointed:
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Realigning the leadership team’s roles and accountability
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Designing a scalable business structure with clear ownership
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Identifying revenue pathways through strategic commercial partnerships
Shaun’s gift is radical hospitality. Our role was helping him build a structure strong enough to hold it.
The Dawn of a New Era: Celebrating Transformation
Since embedding the Growth Framework, Plate It Forward is tracking toward 40% growth—driven by new commercial partnerships, a revitalised SLT, and a business model built for scale.
The culture hasn’t changed, it’s still warm, inclusive, mission-first. But the clarity has. There’s now a professionalised structure beneath the purpose. A team that owns the vision, not just echoes it. And a founder who can lead without being the linchpin.
It’s not just growth. It’s evolution. Plate It Forward is stepping into its next chapter—soul intact, systems engaged, and scale finally within reach.