Executive coaching · London
A CEO coach who has actually been a CEO.
Most CEO coaches have coached. Very few have founded a venture-backed tech company and scaled it up. I’ve done both: fifteen years as a founder, including Delivery Hero which IPO’d in 2017, and eight years coaching 250+ CEOs from Series A to Series D.
My clients are backed by firms from Sequoia Capital to Founders Fund, and hundreds in between.
What great coaching actually does.
Whether you call it executive coaching, leadership coaching or CEO coaching, the label matters less than whether your coach has run the job you’re in. Good coaching helps you make better decisions faster: spotting the blind spots you can’t see from inside the company, structuring your role so you work on what only you can do, and holding you accountable to the priorities that compound. Not therapy, not cheerleading. A confidential working relationship focused on making you better at running your company.
With me, that happens through three things. A focused plan: each quarter we set your CEO agenda and the calendar that protects it. My CEO toolkit: frameworks and training sessions on whatever your company needs from you next, from running your exec team to communicating strategy, drawing on 500+ frameworks built across hundreds of engagements. And world-class coaching: the confidential space where you pressure-test the decisions you can’t discuss anywhere else, with someone who has been the founder making them.
Coaching London’s founder CEOs.
I’m based in London and coach CEOs here in person, alongside remote engagements across the UK, Europe and the US. The city’s venture-backed founders sit at the heart of my practice, from fintech to AI, and some of the CEOs below you may already know.
“Dave’s models synthesise all the complexity into a really simple process you can follow. It almost feels like cheating.”
Tom Eyre · CEO, Loqbox · London
“Dave gives me frameworks and tools I can apply with the team, and that has made all the difference.”
Anastasia Leng · CEO, CreativeX · London
“Being a founder is learning by doing, but without reflection there is little to learn. Nothing has the impact of reflecting on great questions tailored to you.”
Mikela Druckman · CEO, Greyparrot · LondonWho I work with, and who I don’t.
A fit
- CEO of a venture-backed tech company
- Post-product-market fit · Series A–D · 20–1,500 people
- You want structure, not just conversation
- Decisive, open-minded, action-oriented
Not a fit
- CTOs, COOs and investors. I only coach CEOs
- Pre-product-market fit or pre-revenue
- Looking for life coaching or therapy
- Convinced the problem is everyone else
Earlier than Series A? Start with the essays. One a week, read by 11,000+ CEOs, and the coaching will be here when you get there.
Is an executive coach worth it for a founder CEO? +
The honest answer: only past a certain stage. Before product-market fit, your constraint is the product, not your leadership. After it, the company starts scaling faster than your role, and a coach who has run that transition is usually worth multiples of the fee in decision quality alone. My clients stay an average of 2.5 years, which is its own answer.
What’s the difference between executive coaching and CEO coaching? +
Executive coaching was designed for senior managers in established companies. CEO coaching for founders addresses a different job: you built the company, you answer to a board you assembled, and you can't be promoted out of the problem. Advice that helps a corporate VP can actively hurt a founder CEO. That's why I call myself a CEO coach, whatever the search box says.
Do you coach in person in London? +
Yes. I'm based in London and coach CEOs here in person, alongside remote engagements across the UK, Europe and the US. Most long-term engagements mix the two.
Who does Dave Bailey coach? +
Exclusively CEOs of venture-backed tech companies: post-product-market fit, Series A to D, across London, the UK, Europe and the US. 250+ CEOs over eight years, backed by firms from Sequoia Capital to Founders Fund.
How do I choose an executive coach in London? +
Three filters. Have they operated at your scale, not just coached it? Do they have a method you can inspect, or just a manner? And do their clients stay? The top executive coaches in the UK pass all three. Ask any coach for their average engagement length and what a quarter of working together actually looks like.
How much does executive coaching cost in London? +
Ranges vary widely across the London market. I work with a small number of CEOs on long-term engagements, and terms are shared privately with CEOs exploring fit. The first step is a short conversation.
How does coaching start? +
Tell me about your company using the form on this site. Every message gets read, and if it looks like a fit, I reply personally and we find a time to talk.
Ready to talk?
Not there yet? Start with the essays. One a week, read by 11,000+ CEOs.
