Coaching for founders and CEOs
One-to-one coaching for founders and CEOs whose company is outgrowing how they run it. Confidential, and built around the decisions on your desk this month.
Six years at Google. Two at Amazon. CPO of a listed company. ICF-accredited coach.
What founders bring
“It’s been waiting on me since last Tuesday.”
The decision only you can make, or the one you’ve been avoiding. Usually both.
“I’m not sure about the senior hire.”
You hired them to take something off your plate. It’s still on your plate.
“The board wants a plan by the next meeting.”
Investors, the board, the next round: the people you report to now, even when you own the company.
“My co-founder and I want different things.”
You built it together. Now you’d each run it differently, and the team can tell.
“I used to build. Now I mostly run.”
The work you started the company for has moved to other people, and the job that’s left is new.
“I’m running on empty.”
You’re the one everyone leans on. Nobody asks how you’re doing.
“I’m not sure we’re building the right thing.”
Some days you wonder whether to keep going at all. You’d like somewhere to think it through before you say it to anyone else.
How it works
1
We talk
A free 20-minute Clarity Call, then usually a Strategy Session, where we go through what’s happening, what you want to be different and what’s in the way, and you leave with a plan.
2
We agree what to work on
A few written lines on what you want from the coaching, so we both know what good looks like.
3
Then we work
Sessions every week or two, over a few months, on the real decisions in front of you. What you say stays between us: you decide what to tell your board, your investors and anyone else. And I’ll tell you what I see, including about you.
Often alongside workshops with your leadership team, so the company and the person running it change together.
Neurodiversity: every brain works differently, so I shape the work around how you think best. You don’t need a diagnosis, or to tell me anything.
A seed-stage founder and CEO turned his personal exit plan into a mission his company could own, then handed day-to-day running to a general manager, as he’d planned.
Two co-founders of a UK consumer brand stopped tripping over each other. They agreed what each wanted from the business, and now rely much less on one sales channel.
I've been there
I’ve sat beside founders, and started three small businesses of my own. So I know what it’s like to be the person the founder relies on, and what founders need from the people around them.
Since then I’ve worked with 16 startup leadership teams and over 200 leaders.
Sending this to a founder?
Here’s a line you can paste:
Richard coaches founders through the change from starting the company to running it. It’s confidential, and built around the decisions on your desk.
If you invest in a founder, or sit on their board, introduce us.
Next steps
1
Book a call
A 20-minute Clarity Call. Free, confidential, no preparation needed.
2
Then a Strategy Session
Free. We talk about you, the company and what you want to change, and you leave with a plan.
3
A clear proposal
What we’ll work on, how often, and the price. If we both want to work together, we’ll find the right way to make it happen.
Frequently asked questions