About us | BoutiqAcademy

From an association to a shared curriculum

The NZBCA was founded in September 2024 to advance the interests of boutique consultancies through collaboration, connection and advocacy. For too long the consulting market had been shaped by the large firms. Boutiques offered a more flexible, cost-effective and ethical alternative, and they needed a voice.

As the network grew, members started comparing notes on how they run their firms: how they win work, price it, deliver it and develop their people. The same pattern kept appearing. Each firm had solved parts of the puzzle brilliantly, and every one of them was solving the rest from scratch.

BoutiqAcademy is our answer. We capture the collective practice of the association, structure it into courses that follow a consultant from first engagement to leading a firm, and make it available to every member. One library the whole sector can learn from, built by the people who do the work.

Three ideas behind every course

Best practice belongs to the community

Every course starts with how member firms actually work. We capture it, structure it and give it back so the whole sector improves together.

Practical over theoretical

Consultants learn by applying. Courses are built around frameworks, templates and checks a practitioner can use on the next engagement.

A common standard raises everyone

Shared language for sales, advisory and delivery lets a firm hold quality steady as it grows, and lets clients trust the boutique sector as a whole.

The founding team

Dan Minkin

Founder, NZBCA and BoutiqAcademy

Dan founded the New Zealand Boutique Consultancy Association in 2024 after a career scaling professional services firms, most recently as Executive General Manager of Planit Software Testing NZ. His focus has always been the people and operations side of growth: how a firm hires, develops and organises consultants as it moves from a handful of practitioners to a business that runs without its founders.

At BoutiqAcademy he leads strategy, partnerships and the AI-native production model that turns member practice into structured courses in hours rather than months.

Natalie Minkin

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer

Natalie runs delivery and marketing across the NZBCA and BoutiqAcademy. She is responsible for how courses reach learners: production quality, the learning experience, and the communication that keeps member firms engaged.

Her operating discipline is what lets a small team publish a growing library to a consistent standard.

Experience the curriculum draws on

The NZBCA Advisor Programme gives member firms access to seasoned practitioners across marketing, sales, finance, contracts, delivery and leadership. Their experience shapes what we teach and how we teach it.

Terri Gasparich

Founder, TG Design

Marketing strategy, web, email and social media for consultancies.

Shane Hewson

Country Manager, Qual IT Solutions / Planit

Sales engagement, growth strategy and business planning.

Andrew Smith

Business coach and consultant, Auckland

Strategy development, acquisitions and building effective sales teams.

Lisa Doney

IT&S commercial contract specialist

Contract review, drafting and negotiation for IT services agreements.

Mark Sloan

Former CEO and COO, private equity and start-ups

Professional services strategy, resourcing and PSA tooling.

Doug Johnstone

Founder, Digital Pivot

Digital transformation, business pivots and partner-led growth.

Jenny Turner

Former Head of Delivery Practice, Beca

Process optimisation, team development and organisational change.

Nina Fountain

Management consultant, workplace strategy

Hybrid workplace strategy and consultative selling to corporates.

Andrew Johnston

CFO, 20+ years' experience

Financial best practice for consultancies.

Built by the firms who practise the craft