Success of accelerating coral restoration efforts worldwide rests on how well programs can incorporate the “ten golden rules” of restoration, a framework recently proposed for reefs based on lessons learnt in terrestrial systems over the past 30 years. We present the recent evolution of the Coral Nurture Program - a globally unique partnership between science and tourism – established in 2019 to build novel reef rehabilitation and stewardship capacity amongst the collective of tourism operators for cost-effective coral propagation at “high value” Great Barrier Reef sites. We consider how it maps to these golden rules through (a) cost-effective methods imbedded in existing stakeholder operations, (b) planning ahead in terms of infrastructure to ensure continued operations under diverse circumstances, (c) a ‘positive feedback’ model to build scale – learning by doing through collective action but also critical research to inform improved coral growth and survivorship across sites and operations, (d) accounting for resilience and diversity, including development of new approaches to inform stock selection (species that capture functional diversity, more tolerant colonies), and (e) sustained financing through understanding gaps in rapidly evolving conservation financing landscapes. We discuss how this provides a template for other reef stakeholder-led activities in building scalable outcomes.