A startup CEO coach helps founder CEOs with the hardest part of building a company: scaling themselves at the rate that the business is scaling. That means making good decisions, staying focused, and not burning out in the process.

It’s useful to clear up what a coach is not:

A therapist helps you process emotions and past patterns.

A mentor tells you what they did.

A consultant or advisor solves specific business problems for you.

A coach doesn’t do any of those directly. Instead, a coach helps you figure out your own answers - by asking the right questions, introducing frameworks, and holding you accountable.

I usually “coach” as described above but sometimes I do know the answer (based on my 20+ years of operating experience). In those cases, I’ll just tell you what (I think) it is.

Think of coaching as having a thinking partner whose only job is to help you succeed.

What does that look like in practice?

A coaching session usually starts with whatever is most urgent or alive for you. You go deep on that issue, often challenging assumptions you didn’t even know you were making. You explore options, commit to a course of action, and leave with accountability (what you agree to accomplish before the next session).  In the next session, you come back and refine it. It’s a cycle of clarity, action, and reflection.

I start my coaching sessions with a 2 minute meditation. A CEO spends most of her time “in the fight”. Our job is to look at the business from above and decide what changes to make. That job requires a different mental state and I find that meditating helps get us there.

Next we review what you agreed to accomplish by the session. And finally we set an agenda for this session (which usually starts with whatever is most urgent / alive).

CEOs bring all kinds of topics to coaching. Some of the most common:

“Am I focused on the right things?”

“How do I manage my imposter syndrome?”

“How do I hire for X?”

“How do I handle conflict with my co-founder?”

“Should I fire this person, and how do I do it right?”

“How do I manage my board without feeling like it’s a distraction?”

“I’m exhausted - how do I keep going?”

The benefit isn’t just problem-solving in the moment. Over time, coaching builds the muscles that make you a better CEO. You learn to focus on what only you can do, to make decisions more quickly and with more confidence, to communicate more clearly, and to recover faster from setbacks.

The reasons founders hire coaches often boil down to five things:

Performance - scaling yourself alongside the company.

Clarity -  making decisions with less noise and second-guessing.

Accountability - someone making sure you follow through.

Perspective -  uncovering blind spots you can’t see alone.

Resilience - avoiding burnout before the company makes it.

If the job feels bigger than you right now, if the same leadership problems keep coming back, or if you want a partner who’s not your board, your team, or your spouse, then a coach is one of the best investments you make.

At its core, a startup CEO coach helps you become the CEO your company needs - faster, with less wasted energy, and with a lot more staying power.

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