How do Great Founders Scale?

Become the leader your fast-scaling company needs with a leadership system trusted by CEOs of companies from Series A to IPO.

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Founder Leadership Needs a Different Playbook

Most leadership coaching wasn’t designed for startup CEOs. It was designed for corporate managers with stable teams and predictable priorities.

But you’re not just managing work—you’re trying to build something truly great.

And you’re firefighting, second-guessing your team, and wondering if you’re still the right person to lead this—all at the same time.

The more you grow, the fewer people there are who can help you.

That’s why I developed the Founder Leadership System™—a system built from the ground up to help startup CEOs lead in a way that’s effective and personal to them.

It’s not about stepping back or “letting go.”

It’s about becoming a better founder—the founder you were born to become.

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Trusted by the World’s Top Founders

I’ve coached over 200 venture-backed CEOs—founders navigating the messy, high-stakes transition from startup to scale-up. The average coaching relationship lasts 2.5 years.

Alongside my coaching, I’ve led workshops with over 1,000 founders, helped build companies worth over £5 billion, and reach more than 50,000 entrepreneurs through my newsletter.

Tim Heyl

CEO of Homeward

Raised $501M

Perse Faily

CEO of Tillster

Raised $87M

Malte Kosub

CEO of Parloa

Raised €214M

Jose Velez

CEO of Bold

Raised $105M

Anastasia Leng

CEO of CreativeX

Raised $35M

Tim Guilliams

CEO of HealX

Raised $115M

Sandrine Zhang Ferron

CEO of Vinterior

Raised $20M

Alexandre Remor

CEO of Medway

Raised $15M

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Work with Dave

As your founder coach, I bring hands-on coaching, practical frameworks, and space to reflect with other top founders building iconic businesses.

Coaching for Startup CEOs

For venture-backed founders who want to evolve into world-class leaders.

Learn More →

Free Workshop on Founder Mode

Learn the unconventional habits that separate successful tech CEOs from traditional operators.

Watch the free workshop →

VC Partnerships

I run founder retreats and LP days with top-tier funds like Partech, Point Nine, and Insight Partners.

Partner with me →

“Working with Dave helped me see my role in a completely new light—and gave me the systems I needed to scale up without burning out.”

Playbooks for Becoming a Better CEO

A great founder needs a great mentor. I write essays that go deep into the psychology, systems, and strategy of leadership at scale. These are the playbooks my clients return to again and again.

See more frameworks and articles →

From Founder to Coach

Before I became a founder coach, I was a founder—several times over. I helped scale Delivery Hero as a late co-founder, and I’ve built companies across Europe and Latin America. I know what it’s like to raise capital, launch products, build teams, and wrestle with the pressure to grow fast.

Over time, I noticed a pattern:
Founders don’t fail as CEOs because they lack intelligence. They fail because no one teaches them how to lead at scale.

When your company starts to grow, everything gets harder—alignment, hiring, focus, setting standards.

I looked for leadership frameworks that worked in startup environments, but most of what I found came from the world of corporate management.

So, I started building my own.

What began as a few models I shared with clients turned into a full-blown system—refined over thousands of hours coaching some of the most successful CEOs in tech.

It’s called the Founder Leadership System™, and it’s designed to help founders upgrade their leadership faster than their companies can scale.

Explore the Coaching Approach →

Where Would You Like to Start?

Ready to scale as a CEO?

Apply for coaching and explore whether the Founder Leadership System™ is right for you.

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Curious about my approach?

Join my free workshop, Founder Mode Foundations, and learn how top startup CEOs lead differently.

Join the Free Workshop →

What CEOs say about me

Zack Onisko, CEO of Dribbble

★★★★★

“Dave helps to clear the fog, squelch the fear, and correct the ship. I'm grateful for the guidance Dave has provided along my journey, often when I've needed it the most.”

Zack Onisko, CEO of Dribbble

Investors: Raised from Tiny

Diego Fanara, CEO of Unibuddy

★★★★★

“Dave has been an incredible coach to work with. He has a way of asking questions to dig to the core of challenges, suggesting solutions, and getting actionable commits that drive real change.”

Alan Jiang, CEO of Beam

Investors: Raised $125M from Sequoia Capital, Affirma

Rebecca Kelly, CEO of VenueScanner

★★★★★

“I'll readily admit I was a coaching skeptic when we started, but I couldn't be more of a "fan girl" today. Dave gives me clarity, focus, and a roadmap to being a better CEO that I feel I slowly chip away at with every session.”

Anastasia Leng, CEO of CreativeX

Investors: Raised $30M from Guggenheim, Beringea and Index

Jonathan Lakin, CEO of IntentHQ

★★★★★

“Coaching with Dave has transformed the way I show up as CEO. I've learned how to articulate my vision and strategy with all stakeholders, build a passionate and aligned team, and a galvanized customer audience.”

Tim Heyl, CEO of Homeward

Investors: Raised $500M from Northwest Venture Partners

Learn about coaching

Not Everything That Works Makes Sense

And not everything that makes sense works.

I write a newsletter for startup founders who want to lead better.

No fluff. Just honest, hard-won insights from coaching 200+ venture-backed CEOs — and learning plenty of lessons the hard way myself.

If you're scaling a company, and leadership feels weird, my newsletter will help make sense of it.

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Don’t reinvent the wheel

Every week, I find new solutions to old problems with my clients. Would you like a sneak peek?

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