Two people.
No layers.
Brass Stack Co is a Sydney-based software consultancy run by Mark Stead and Linden Varley. We've known each other for 25 years. We built this business to do good work for good clients without the overhead and politics of a larger firm.
Meet the team
Photo coming soon
Mark Stead
Co-Founder & Operations Director
Mark's background spans executive operations and customer experience roles at some of the world's leading technology companies. His work focused on re-engineering programmes, processes and tools to close the loop on poor outcomes, understanding why something broke, and building the systems to make sure it did not happen again..
When you work with Brass Stack Co, Mark is your main point of contact. He does not just manage the build, he brings that same lens to your business. Before a line of code is written, he will look at how your processes work, where the gaps are, and whether the software you think you need is actually the right solution.
Away from the desk, Mark is a father of two and a keen footballer and golfer. Always happy to discuss your next project over 18 holes.
Photo coming soon
Linden Varley
Co-Founder & Technical Director
Linden has spent over two decades in technology — starting as a systems administrator, moving through infrastructure architecture and DevOps, and into software development and delivery. He studied Computer Engineering at the University of Sydney, but the bulk of what he brings to the table came from being in the trenches — building, breaking, fixing, and supporting real systems in production.
Before co-founding Brass Stack Co, Linden ran his own consultancy for a number of years. Prior to that, he led engineering and service delivery teams across SaaS, logistics, fintech, and managed services — everything from cloud platform builds and software releases through to PCI DSS compliance, ISO 27001 remediation, and operational risk management.
That background is what shapes how he builds software today. He doesn't just write code — he thinks about how it gets deployed, how it scales, how it gets monitored, and what happens when something goes wrong at 2am. Clean architecture, maintainable code, and systems that actually hold up in production.
When you engage Brass Stack Co, Linden leads delivery. He's the person who makes it real.
Away from the keyboard, Linden is a father of two boys and the kind of person who can't leave a problem alone — whether that's wiring up home automation, smoking a brisket low and slow, or convincing himself the boat will definitely get out this weekend.
Why we exist
Closing the gap for Australian small businesses.
Most Australian small and medium businesses are caught in the middle. Too big for off-the-shelf software to handle their complexity, but not big enough to justify enterprise vendors or deal with their costs and red tape.
Generic software forces you to adapt your business to fit the tool. That is backwards. We exist to close that gap. To bring executive-level thinking and serious technical delivery to businesses that deserve it, without the enterprise price tag.
The way we do it is different too. We build on a library of proven modules, components we have designed, tested and refined across every client we have worked with. That means your build is faster, lower risk, and gets better the longer we work together.
"We keep our client roster deliberately small. We'd rather do exceptional work for ten businesses than average work for fifty."
Closing the gap for Australian small businesses.
Most Australian small and medium businesses are caught in the middle. Too big for off-the-shelf software to handle their complexity, but not big enough to justify enterprise vendors or deal with their costs and red tape.
Generic software forces you to adapt your business to fit the tool. That is backwards. We exist to close that gap. To bring executive-level thinking and serious technical delivery to businesses that deserve it, without the enterprise price tag.
The way we do it is different too. We build on a library of proven modules, components we have designed, tested and refined across every client we have worked with. That means your build is faster, lower risk, and gets better the longer we work together.
"We keep our client roster deliberately small. We'd rather do exceptional work for ten businesses than average work for fifty."
How we operate
Consultancy first. Development shop second.
01
We understand before we build
Every engagement starts with real time spent understanding your business — how it works, what's broken, and what success actually looks like. We scope before we quote.
02
We build on proven modules
We don't start from scratch every time. Our module library — built and refined across every client we've worked with — means faster delivery, lower risk, and builds that get better the longer we operate.
03
You deal with us directly
No account managers. No hand-offs to a team you've never met. Mark runs the engagement, Linden builds the solution. That's the whole chain.
04
We stay on after go-live
Most of our clients move onto maintenance agreements after their build. We're a long-term partner, not a project vendor who disappears at the finish line.