What is my Founder context?

My house coaching style is Context Coaching It is my belief that coaching without context and accountability does not work in a business setting. I wholeheartedly belief in the need for ‘pure coaching’ in certain instances however I use these skills selectively to create a more rounded experience for the founders I work with. So what’s my Founder Context ?

I have been a founder for most of my career, my last gainful employment was with Bacardi back in 2003 and since then I have been part of the founding team for over a dozen start-ups.

Some have exited, some have failed, most are still rolling. Some were bootstrapped, others used crowdfunding to get going and another got started with a $60million investment. I have raised money from friends & family, Crowdcube, Seedrs, HNW’s, VC’s, Angel Groups and Family Offices in Europe and in the US. I have launched businesses in the UK and US, and hired over 100 people at all levels, I have also had my fair share of harsh lessons and failures.

I have had the privilege of directly coaching 10’s of founders and indirectly 100’s of Clients, co-workers, and team members.

I have made the business of start-ups and what makes them succeed my world since 2003 and after 2 decades I am still in the game! 

I would go so far as to say it was a bit of a addiction, I absolutely love the process, whether it is me or someone elses. This fascination flipped outward in 2019 when I sold my marketing agency Elastic and I started to really take notice of what makes a great a founder, what are the component parts, the common threads, what are the markers of success and how can I help myself and others replicate my findings. 

This led me to become a founding partner of the first independent accelerator in drinks, and I helped nurture the first investments from induction to first gate follow-on funding.

However, I felt it is about time to give back, pass on some wisdom and put some theory behind the practical lesson I have learned over the past 20 years. So in 2022 I got some coaching qualifications (ANIMAS, ICF) and at the beginning of 2023 opened my coaching practice focusing on context coaching for founders and business leaders.