The 10 Best CEO Coaches for Startups (2026)
Looking for the best CEO coach for your startup? Here are 10 experienced coaches who work with venture-backed founders—from tactical operators to deep leadership guides.
At some point, every startup CEO hits the same wall: the skills that got you here won't get you there. You raised the round, hired the team, shipped the product, and now the job feels completely different. You're managing people problems, board dynamics, and strategic decisions that nobody trained you for.
That's why more venture-backed CEOs are working with coaches. The right coach helps you see blind spots, make faster decisions, and grow into the leader your company needs you to be.
But how do you choose? The best CEO coaches for startups aren't generic executive coaches who've only worked inside corporates. They understand the founder journey: the fundraising pressure, the speed of scaling, and the loneliness of the role.
Here are 10 of the most respected CEO coaches working with startup founders today.
1. Dave Bailey — CEO Coach for Venture-Backed Founders
Website: dave-bailey.com
Dave Bailey is a founder turned CEO coach who works with venture-backed CEOs across Europe and beyond, with a growing focus on founders building AI-native companies. He previously co-founded three VC-backed businesses, including Delivery Hero (which IPO'd in 2017), and has coached over 200 venture-backed CEOs since becoming a coach, many from Seed to Unicorn. Collectively, his clients represent over £5 billion in enterprise value.
Dave's approach combines structured frameworks with deep coaching. He's been building with AI himself, running an AI-powered organisation with 25 AI employees, which gives him a practical, firsthand perspective on leading in the AI era that few coaches can match. Unlike larger coaching firms, clients work directly with him rather than being passed to an associate. He also runs workshops and offsites for top-tier VCs like Insight Partners, Partech, and Point Nine, and publishes a weekly newsletter read by over 10,000 CEOs and founders.
Best for: Founders building AI-era companies who want a structured, results-driven approach with someone who's scaled venture-backed businesses and is actively building with AI himself.
2. Jerry Colonna — Co-Founder of Reboot
Website: reboot.io
Jerry Colonna is a pioneer in CEO coaching. A former venture capitalist, he co-founded Reboot with the rallying cry that work does not have to destroy us. His coaching blends Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial experience to help founders work through the emotional weight of leadership with honesty and self-awareness.
Jerry is also the author of Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up, and his team at Reboot offers coaching, 360-degree performance reviews, bootcamps, and peer groups for founders.
Best for: Founders looking to master the emotional and psychological side of leadership.
3. Matt Mochary — The Mochary Method
Website: mocharymethod.com
Matt Mochary is one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after CEO coaches. He has personally coached leaders like Sam Altman (OpenAI), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), and Naval Ravikant, and his team at Mochary Method has spent over ten thousand hours coaching hundreds of companies worth billions of dollars.
Matt formalised his coaching principles into the Mochary Method, a comprehensive framework for leadership, decision-making, and communication, and built a team of ex-operators to help implement them inside companies. His book The Great CEO Within has become a staple for startup CEOs.
Best for: Founders who want tactical, proven frameworks they can implement immediately.
4. Dan Martell — Founder of SaaS Academy
Website: danmartell.com
Dan Martell is a serial entrepreneur turned coach who founded SaaS Academy, now the largest coaching programme for B2B SaaS founders in the world, with over 4,300 alumni. His coaching focuses on the A.C.E.S Growth Model (Attract, Convert, Expand, Scale) and the principles from his bestselling book Buy Back Your Time: delegation, time management, and building systems that free up the founder.
SaaS Academy is now led by an experienced executive team, with Dan focusing on high-level coaching and content.
Best for: SaaS founders looking to grow their business and reclaim their time through proven playbooks.
5. Alisa Cohn — Startup Coach
Website: alisacohn.com
Alisa Cohn has been named the #1 Startup Coach in the World at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards and ranked #1 Global Guru for four consecutive years. She has over two decades of experience coaching founders from seed to IPO at companies like Etsy, Venmo, DraftKings, and Foursquare, as well as executives at Fortune 500 firms like Dell, Google, and Microsoft.
She's the author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up (winner of the 2022 Independent Press Award) and hosts a podcast of the same name.
Best for: Founders transitioning from product-focused leadership to full CEO responsibilities.
6. Joe Hudson — Art of Accomplishment
Website: artofaccomplishment.com
Joe Hudson works with startup CEOs and senior leaders at companies like Apple, OpenAI, and Google to develop emotional range, resilience, and clarity. His coaching draws from ancient contemplative traditions, modern neuroscience, and three decades of direct experiential work with high performers.
Beyond one-on-one coaching, Joe founded Art of Accomplishment, which offers courses (including an annual Master Class), a podcast, and practical tools for anyone committed to deep personal growth.
Best for: Founders interested in deep personal development and authentic leadership.
7. Dan Sullivan — Strategic Coach
Website: strategiccoach.com
Dan Sullivan founded Strategic Coach in 1989 and has spent over five decades working with growth-minded entrepreneurs. He created widely-used frameworks like "Who Not How," "The Gap and the Gain," and "10x Is Easier Than 2x," all of which have become bestselling books. To date, over 20,000 entrepreneurs have gone through his programme.
Strategic Coach runs from offices in Toronto, Chicago, and the UK, with both in-person and virtual sessions.
Best for: Founders of small and medium businesses looking to think more strategically about scaling their time and vision.
8. Steve Schlafman — Executive Coach for Founders
Website: steveschlafman.com
Steve Schlafman spent nearly two decades as a venture capitalist and operator, holding leadership roles at Primary Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, and RRE Ventures, before becoming a full-time executive coach. His approach blends executive, life, and career coaching with mindfulness, somatic practice, and frameworks from Conscious Leadership, Internal Family Systems, and the Enneagram.
Steve works with founders, executives, and investors who are ambitious but want to redefine their relationship with work.
Best for: Founders at key inflection points who want thoughtful, values-led guidance.
9. Jim Dethmer — Conscious Leadership Group
Website: conscious.is
Jim Dethmer is the co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership (an Amazon bestseller) and a founding partner of The Conscious Leadership Group, alongside Diana Chapman. He has personally worked with over 150 CEOs and their teams, and leads monthly Forums for select leaders in Chicago and New York.
His frameworks for reducing reactivity, building trust, and fostering radical responsibility are widely adopted in startup cultures.
Best for: Founders focused on building a strong culture and self-aware leadership team.
10. Marshall Goldsmith — World-Renowned Executive Coach
Website: marshallgoldsmith.com
Marshall Goldsmith is a member of the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, the only two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the world, and has been ranked the #1 Executive Coach globally. He has written or edited 47 books, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There and Triggers, which have sold over three million copies in 32 languages.
Marshall has worked with over 200 major CEOs, teaches executive education at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, and recently launched MarshallGoldsmith.ai, making his entire body of knowledge available for free.
Best for: Founders who've gone public (or plan to) and want world-class accountability.
How to Choose the Right CEO Coach for Your Startup
There's no single "best" CEO coach. It depends on where you are, what you're struggling with, and how you learn. Here are a few questions worth asking yourself before you choose:
What kind of support do you need? Some coaches specialise in tactical frameworks and operational systems (like Mochary or Martell). Others focus on emotional intelligence and personal growth (like Colonna or Hudson). And some blend both (like Bailey or Cohn).
Do you want to work with the coach directly? Larger firms sometimes assign associate coaches. If working directly with the person whose method you admire matters to you, ask about this upfront.
Does the coach understand the startup world? Corporate executive coaches and startup CEO coaches are different roles. Look for someone who's been a founder, invested in startups, or spent years coaching venture-backed CEOs specifically.
What stage is your company at? Some coaches are best suited for early-stage founders figuring out their role. Others work best with later-stage CEOs managing complex organisations or preparing for an exit.
Frequently Asked Questions About CEO Coaching
What does a CEO coach actually do? A CEO coach helps you become a better leader, faster. That might mean working through people problems on your team, improving how you make decisions, preparing for a board meeting, or processing the emotional weight that comes with the role. The best coaches hold up a mirror so you can see what everyone else already sees.
How much does CEO coaching cost? Rates vary widely. Individual CEO coaches typically charge between £1,000 and £5,000 per month, depending on their experience and the structure of their programme. Some coaches also offer group programmes at a lower price point.
When should a startup CEO hire a coach? Most founders wait too long. If you're managing a growing team, raising capital, or feel stuck in a pattern you can't break, those are strong signals. The earlier you invest in your own growth as a leader, the faster your company scales.
What's the difference between a CEO coach and an executive coach? All CEO coaches are executive coaches, but not all executive coaches understand the startup world. A CEO coach who's worked with venture-backed founders will understand the specific pressures you face (fundraising, scaling fast, managing a board) in a way that a generalist executive coach may not.
Final Thoughts
The CEO role changes faster than most founders expect. What worked at 10 people breaks at 50. What worked at 50 breaks at 200. A good coach helps you stay ahead of those transitions instead of being surprised by them.
If you're looking for a coach who's built venture-backed companies, coached hundreds of startup CEOs, and works with you personally (not through a coaching associate), Dave Bailey is a standout choice, especially if you're leading an AI-era company and want a coach who's building with AI himself, not just talking about it.
