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.
Watch how I coach CEOs â
Founder Leadership Needs a Different Playbook
Most leadership coaching wasnât designed for startup CEOs. It was designed for corporate managers with stable teams and predictable priorities.
But youâre not just managing workâyouâre trying to build something truly great.
And youâre firefighting, second-guessing your team, and wondering if youâre still the right person to lead thisâall at the same time.
The more you grow, the fewer people there are who can help you.
Thatâs why I developed the Founder Leadership Systemâ˘âa system built from the ground up to help startup CEOs lead in a way thatâs effective and personal to them.
Itâs not about stepping back or âletting go.â
Itâs about becoming a better founderâthe founder you were born to become.
Trusted by the Worldâs Top Founders
Iâve coached over 200 venture-backed CEOsâfounders navigating the messy, high-stakes transition from startup to scale-up. The average coaching relationship lasts 2.5 years.
Alongside my coaching, Iâve led workshops with over 1,000 founders, helped build companies worth over ÂŁ5 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
CEOÂ of Parloa
Raised âŹ214M
Jose Velez
CEO of Bold
Raised $105M
Anastasia Leng
CEOÂ of CreativeX
Raised $35M
Tim Guilliams
CEOÂ of HealX
Raised $115M
Sandrine Zhang Ferron
CEO of Vinterior
Raised $20M
Alexandre Remor
CEO of Medway
Raised $15M
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.
Free Workshop on Founder Mode
Learn the unconventional habits that separate successful tech CEOs from traditional operators.
VC Partnerships
I run founder retreats and LP days with top-tier funds like Partech, Point Nine, and Insight Partners.
âWorking with Dave helped me see my role in a completely new lightâand gave me the systems I needed to scale up without burning out.â
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.
From Founder to Coach
Before I became a founder coach, I was a founderâseveral times over. I helped scale Delivery Hero as a late co-founder, and Iâve built companies across Europe and Latin America. I know what itâs like to raise capital, launch products, build teams, and wrestle with the pressure to grow fast.
Over time, I noticed a pattern:
Founders donât 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 harderâalignment, 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 systemârefined over thousands of hours coaching some of the most successful CEOs in tech.
Itâs called the Founder Leadership Systemâ˘, and itâs designed to help founders upgrade their leadership faster than their companies can scale.
Explore the Coaching Approach âWhere 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.
Explore Coaching âCurious about my approach?
Join my free workshop, Founder Mode Foundations, and learn how top startup CEOs lead differently.
Join the Free Workshop âWhat CEOs say about me
â â â â â
“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
â â â â â
âDave 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.â
Alan Jiang, CEO of Beam
Investors: Raised $125M from Sequoia Capital, Affirma
â â â â â
âI'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.â
Anastasia Leng, CEO of CreativeX
Investors: Raised $30M from Guggenheim, Beringea and Index
â â â â â
âCoaching 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.â
Tim Heyl, CEO of Homeward
Investors:Â Raised $500M from Northwest Venture Partners
