MURRAY LONGE
Founder with 2 exits
Published Business Author
Adviser to Founders & Executives
CUSTOMERS
BIO
I co-founded and sold two tech startups. The first, TrueLocal, started in Sydney and was sold to News Limited. The second, YourLocal, launched in Ireland during the global financial crisis, reached the number two market position within four months, and sold to Independent News & Media. Both exits taught me what actually works when building and scaling businesses.
I documented those lessons in six business books that cover the startup lifecycle from idea validation to scaling past 100 people. The books distill what I learned the hard way into frameworks other founders can use without making the same expensive mistakes.
Between and after those ventures, I worked in executive and advisory roles at ASX-listed companies including REA Group, Deep Blue Company, and Vicinity Centres. I built and ran program offices, led product councils, and managed complex integrations including a $25M acquisition. This work showed me how to apply startup thinking to larger organizations without losing speed or breaking what works.
I combine formal business training with hands-on startup and corporate experience. This lets me move between both worlds and deliver results in either. I work with early-stage founders who need someone who’s been through exits, and with established companies that want to move faster without adding chaos.
If you need someone who understands both the startup grind and corporate reality, and can bridge that gap without the usual friction, we should talk.
BOOKS
I’ve made every mistake a founder can make. I’ve also had two successful exits. These books are what I wish someone had handed me before I started my first company—practical guides built from real experience, not business school theory. From validating your first idea to scaling past 100 people, they cover the challenges that actually trip founders up. No fluff, no filler, just the hard-won lessons that took me years to learn.
WHAT I DO
Startup & Founder Advisor
Two exits. Six books. Every stage of the founder journey, done in practice, not theory.
I work with early-stage founders who need straight answers from someone who has been through it. Validating the right problems, building products people buy, raising capital without giving the company away, growing without watching the culture fall apart. I sold my first company to News Limited and built and sold a second in Europe. I wrote six books documenting exactly how I did it.
Advisory comes in three formats: a single 90-minute session, a monthly retainer, or a defined project engagement for a specific outcome.
If you want someone who has been where you are, get in touch.
Product Strategy & Development
Most founders build the wrong thing first. I help you find a problem worth solving, validate it before you waste months on development, and build a product customers actually want to use. From initial idea through to market fit, this draws directly from two real companies and six books built around that exact process.
Fundraising & Investor Readiness
Raising capital is not about the pitch deck. It is about understanding what investors actually want and building a business that meets those criteria. I help founders prepare their story, their financials, and their investor pipeline. I have been through this process myself and wrote the practical guide on how to do it.
Scaling Operations
Growing fast breaks things. Culture, processes, team structures, and quality all come under pressure the moment you hit 10 to 50 people. I help founders scale without losing what made the business work in the first place. This is hands-on, practical work based on patterns I have seen across multiple companies at every growth stage.
Exit Planning & M&A Readiness
Most founders think about exits too late. I sold two companies, including one to News Limited, and the preparation started long before the deal. I help founders who are 12 to 24 months from a potential exit get the business, the story, and the numbers into the shape that serious buyers expect to see.
Team Leadership & Culture
The team is either your biggest asset or your biggest problem. I help founders hire the right people, build teams that perform under pressure, and create a culture that holds together as the company grows. This applies equally to a three-person startup and a 50-person scale-up facing its first serious leadership challenges.
Project & Program Delivery
Complex projects fail for predictable reasons. Unclear scope, weak governance, and poor stakeholder management sit behind most of them. I have led large-scale delivery across startups, ASX-listed companies, and government programmes. I help organisations run projects that finish on time, on budget, and actually deliver what they promised at the start.
CONTACT ME
If you feel we’d be a good fit working together, drop me a line and let’s talk.