Coaching for founders at the moment when the old playbook stops working
For founders who are starting to question whether the way they're working, or what they're working towards, is still right for them
The instincts that built your business – moving fast, staying close to everything, backing yourself – are real strengths. But at a certain point those same instincts start working against you. Decisions that should be made without you keep coming back.
The way you lead worked brilliantly for the company you were. It’s creating friction for the company you’re becoming.
That’s a different conversation from the one about strategy.
You might be here because of something specific...
A key person has left, and you’re not entirely sure why.
The culture you talk about and the one your team experiences have drifted apart.
The business is growing, and you’re enjoying it less than when it was smaller.
You’ve hit a level of success that should feel like enough, and it doesn’t.
Or the way you’re working no longer fits the company you’re becoming.
What we'll work on
The bottleneck pattern – why decisions keep coming back to you and what it actually takes to change that
Identity and transition – who you need to be as the company grows, and what you’re holding onto from an earlier chapter
How you make decisions – the assumptions underneath your instincts, and whether they still serve where you are now
Sustainable pace – building a way of leading that doesn’t rely on heroic effort or being in everything
What you actually want – whether the business you’re building is still the one you want, and what success looks like from here
I was behaving like an employee of my own company
“I was pretty reluctant to start speaking with someone and waited over a year of spinning wheels to take the jump. You think you see the problems and ‘talking to someone won’t help because I already know what is wrong.’ But I found out that the actual problems weren’t where I thought they were at all.”
“Concretely, I’ve stopped one contractor, cut back on some service costs (things that I’d signed up for because of a ‘one day’ plan) and increased prices, which has helped revenue. I’m now spending more time doing the thing that I enjoy (writing and making stuff) and have a plan I am happy with for the near future.”
Martin | Founder, author & course creator
How we work together
A regular rhythm
Fortnightly sessions of around an hour over six months, starting with a longer session on what you want to be different.
Between sessions
You’ll have things to try, and you can reach me if something comes up that won’t wait a fortnight.
Reviews built in
We review at the halfway point and at the end. Some people stop there, others carry on monthly.
How we meet
Over Zoom, or in person if preferred and if within reach of London and the South West.
I’m an ICF-certified coach with a MicroMasters in Organisational Psychology and a background in brand strategy at Procter & Gamble and other luxury and consumer goods companies. I’ve spent thirteen years building my own business – which means I’ve lived the transition I work with founders on. My clients have included founders and leadership teams from scale-ups across tech, consumer, and media, as well as global organisations including Unilever and Reckitt.