Co-founder, Made 4 Tradies
Richard Kelsey
Richard Kelsey is a co-founder of Made 4 Tradies, based in Sydney. He co-founded the online retailer Beer Cartel in 2009, ran it until 2025, and was named in Inside Retail's Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce in 2019, 2021 and 2022. At Made 4 Tradies he builds the websites, search foundations and lead systems that get tradies more work.
Richard Kelsey at a glance
- Role
- Co-founder, Made 4 Tradies
- Based in
- Sydney, New South Wales
- Previously
- Co-founder and CEO, Beer Cartel (2009 to 2025)
- Recognition
- Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce, Inside Retail: 2019, 2021, 2022
- Board
- Retail Drinks Australia, 2019 to 2025
- Studied
- Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and Finance), University of Canterbury; Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, Massey University
Who is Richard Kelsey?
Richard Kelsey is a co-founder of Made 4 Tradies, a done-for-you website business for tradies. He is based in Sydney, grew up in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, and has spent more than 20 years in marketing, research and online retail.
He started with his own business, Student Hub, then worked in market research at Colmar Brunton and BDRC Jones Donald before moving into retail. He ran Porter's Liquor, a liquor store in Artarmon, and co-founded Beer Cartel with Geoff Huens in 2009. He was CEO and Director of Beer Cartel until 2025 and sat on the board of Retail Drinks Australia from 2019 to 2025.
He studied marketing and finance at the University of Canterbury, then completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration at Massey University. In 2026 he co-founded Made 4 Tradies with Geoff Huens.
What did Richard Kelsey build at Beer Cartel?
Beer Cartel is an Australian online craft beer retailer that Richard co-founded with Geoff Huens in 2009. Richard was CEO and Director until 2025. Under their leadership it grew from a lounge-room start-up into a category leader in Australian online craft beer, with high seven-figure annual revenue, more than 150,000 customers and more than 30 staff at the Covid peak.
Richard's focus was the digital side of the business: the website, the marketing, conversion and the customer experience. He has also been Head of Ecommerce and run multi-channel retail teams in Sydney since the early days of Shopify.
Beer Cartel acquired and grew a gifting business, Brewquets, and bought a corporate supplies business, Unifor Corporate Supplies, which it sold in 2014. The business won Beer & Brewer Magazine's Online Retailer of the Year six years running, from 2017 to 2022, and Australia Post's Best Online Retail Marketing award in 2018.
What is Richard Kelsey's role at Made 4 Tradies?
Richard owns the build engine, the search foundation and the lead-generation systems behind every Made 4 Tradies website. Made 4 Tradies builds a five-page website for a tradie in 7 days, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
In practice that means three things: the AI tooling that produces each site quickly, the search work that helps the site rank on Google and be understood by AI assistants, and the tracking and enquiry forms that show whether the site is bringing in calls and quotes. Geoff Huens leads brand, positioning and customer research. Richard also works as an independent consultant on digital marketing and AI strategy.
What AI experience does Richard Kelsey have?
After leaving Beer Cartel, Richard spent late 2025 and early 2026 on a planned career break focused on AI skills. His LinkedIn profile lists 13 AI and generative AI certifications, mostly through LinkedIn Learning, including Career Essentials in Generative AI (Microsoft and LinkedIn), Leading Responsible AI in Organizations, Generative AI for Business Leaders, Ethics in the Age of Generative AI and Learning Microsoft 365 Copilot for Work.
Since then he has built the AI tooling that Made 4 Tradies uses to produce and check its websites, which is why a site can go from brief to live in 7 days. The certifications are course-based. The practical work is the tooling he builds and runs every day.
What has Richard Kelsey won?
Richard has been named in Inside Retail's Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce three times: 2019, 2021 and 2022. Those are his personal recognitions and they are listed first. Beer Cartel, the business he co-founded with Geoff Huens, describes itself as Australia's most awarded independent online beer retailer and has collected retail and marketing awards over the years. Those belong to the business as a whole, so they sit in their own table below.
| Year | Award | Awarded by |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce | Inside Retail |
| 2021 | Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce | Inside Retail |
| 2019 | Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce | Inside Retail |
| Year | Award | Awarded by |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 to 2022 | Online Retailer of the Year | Beer & Brewer Magazine |
| 2022 | BigCommerce Make It Big award | BigCommerce |
| 2019 | #CuriosityatWork Marketing Marvel | SurveyMonkey |
| 2018 | Retail Innovator of the Year | eftpos Australian Retail Awards |
| 2018 | Best Online Retail Marketing | Australia Post Online Retail Industry Awards |
| 2016 | Champion Craft Beer Retailer and Champion Craft Beer Subscription Club | Sydney Craft Beer Week Awards |
| 2014 | Visa Australian Independent Retailer of the Year, runner-up | Australian Retail Awards |
| 2012 | Top 50 Australian Startups | Startup Smart |
What is Richard Kelsey's career history?
- 2026 to presentCo-founder, Made 4 Tradies
- 2026 to presentIndependent consultant, digital marketing and AI strategy
- 2025 to 2026Career break and AI professional development
- 2009 to 2025Co-founder, CEO and Director, Beer Cartel
- 2019 to 2025Board member, Retail Drinks Australia, the industry body for Australian liquor retailers
- 2018 to 2025Director, Brewquets, Beer Cartel's gifting business
- 2011 to 2018Owner, Porter's Liquor, a liquor store in Artarmon, Sydney
- 2011 to 2014Owner, Unifor Corporate Supplies, a corporate supplies business (sold in May 2014)
- 2008 to 2013Consultant and project manager, BDRC Jones Donald
- 2006 to 2008Project manager, Colmar Brunton Research, a market research firm
- 2003 to 2006Founder and owner, Student Hub (sold)
Education
- University of Canterbury. Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing and Finance.
- Massey University. Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration.
What is Richard Kelsey an expert in?
- Ecommerce and online retail
- Conversion rate optimisation
- Lead generation for tradie businesses
- SEO and AI-search visibility
- Digital marketing
- Generative AI and AI tooling
- Market research
Questions about Richard Kelsey
Where is Richard Kelsey based?
Richard is based in Sydney, New South Wales.
Did Richard Kelsey found Beer Cartel?
Richard co-founded Beer Cartel with Geoff Huens in 2009 and was CEO and Director until 2025.
What is the Top 50 People in Australian E-Commerce?
It is a yearly list published by Inside Retail that recognises the leading people in Australian ecommerce. Richard was named in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Where can I check Richard Kelsey's background?
His full work history, awards and certifications are on his LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/richardkelsey.
How do I get in touch with Richard?
Message him on LinkedIn, or use the contact page on this site and mention Richard.
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