Executive coaching for startups
I help founders grow the leadership team they already have
“They’re brilliant at their craft, but everything comes back to me”
I coach your leaders one-to-one, so they become the executives you trust to run the company with you.
Six years at Google. Two at Amazon, leading a 100-person organisation. CPO of a 40-person startup. ICF-accredited coach.
16
startup leadership teams
200+
leaders worked with directly
€3bn+
the value of the startups I’ve worked with
Startups and accelerators I’ve worked with
Who’s the coaching for?
Someone on my team
For you if someone you manage needs to grow into a bigger job, or is struggling in the one they have.
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Myself, as founder or CEO
For you if you started or run the company, and it’s outgrowing how you run it.
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Myself, as a CxO, VP or head of function
For you if you’ve stepped up into a bigger job, or your team isn’t where you need it.
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Neurodiversity: every brain works differently, so I adapt to how you think best. You don’t need a diagnosis, and you don’t need to tell me anything. It’s just how I work.
Need the whole leadership team in the room? See workshops →
Sound familiar?
They got the promotion. They’re still doing the old job.
They’re doing two jobs and heading for burnout. They act like a guest in the leadership meeting, and the job you promoted them for isn’t getting done.
My leadership team meets every week, and each of them still fights for their own area.
Product wants one thing, engineering wants another, and every hard call lands back on you.
I’m not sure about the senior hire.
They were great somewhere else. Here, it’s harder than either of you expected, and neither of you is saying so.
I started this to build. Now I spend my days in meetings.
The work you started the company for has moved to other people, and the job that’s left is new.
Every month this carries on costs your time, your team’s patience, and a little of their confidence.
What it looks like when it works
They’ve grown into the job. You’ve stopped checking their work, and they speak up as equals.
Your heads of function decide together, back each other’s calls, and sort out their disagreements without you.
The senior hire is doing what you hired them for.
You spend your days on the work only you can do, and you enjoy it again.
You have leaders you can rely on, and your time back for the big calls.
How it works
1
A Clarity Call.
20 minutes, free. We’ll figure out if I’m the right person to help, and if now is the right time.
2
A Strategy Session.
A free coaching session with whoever is being coached, because coaching only works when it’s wanted and there’s a good fit.
3
We decide together.
We agree the goals and a rhythm, usually every week or two over a few months, and start.
Every conversation is confidential.
“
Shared direction, real action.
Richard helped us get clear and move forward, both as a leadership team and as individuals. His strategy facilitation gave us a shared direction, and his coaching helped us turn that into real decisions and action. I'd recommend working with him to any CEO or exec team dealing with complexity and change.
Hessam Lavi
CEO & Co-Founder
Climatiq
What we work on
Executives usually start with questions like these:
How do I get on top of a bigger job, fast?
How do I get my team to take on more?
How do I lead people who used to be my peers?
How do I hand work over, and have it stay handed over?
How do I work with peers in other functions?
How do I manage up, when the big calls still wait for the founder?
Founders usually start with questions like these:
How do I get my team to take on more?
How do I hand work over, and have it stay handed over?
How do I decide faster, and stop second-guessing myself?
How do I prepare for the board, and say what I really think?
How do I keep this up without burning out?
Am I still the right CEO for this company?
What’s changed for others
From functional leader to CTO
A Series C VP Engineering stopped opting out of everything beyond engineering, got engineering and marketing building strategy together, and rose to CTO.
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From defending his team to partnering his peers
A Series C VP Product whose job was at risk stopped defending his team against the CEO, partnered his peers, and became one of the strongest leaders there.
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From carrying the decision alone to driving it company-wide
A Series A Director of Product Management narrowed a sprawling strategy to one clear focus, and drove the decision with the whole company instead of carrying it alone.
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From second-guessing to deciding with confidence
A Series A founder and CEO turned a strategy on paper into one focused bet, stopped second-guessing his own judgement, and had the hard conversation he’d circled for weeks.
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A mission for the company, and the exit he wanted
A seed-stage founder and CEO turned his personal exit plan into a mission his company could own, then handed day-to-day running to a general manager, as he’d planned.
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From tripping over each other to clear co-founder roles
Two co-founders of a UK consumer brand stopped tripping over each other. They agreed what each wanted from the business, and now rely much less on one sales channel.
Read more
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G’day, I’m Richard.
I’ve helped over 200 founders and senior leaders grow themselves and their businesses. I’ve worked at companies ranging from 20 people to some of the largest on earth, and have started three small businesses of my own. I know what it’s like to make tough decisions under pressure without having all the answers.
I’ll tell you what I see, including when the way you lead is part of what’s holding you back, and help you do something about it.
If I’m not the right person to help, I’ll introduce you to someone who could be.
Sometimes it’s more than one person: the whole leadership team needs to agree where you’re going, who owns what, or the goals for the quarter. Then we start with the Strategy and Execution Diagnostic, or a workshop from a few hours to two days.
Know someone this would help?
If you invest in founders, or help them hire, here’s a line you can send them:
Richard helps founders grow the leadership team they already have, so they get a team they trust to run the company with them. It’s confidential, and the first call is free.
Here’s his website: https://richardrussell.co/
If you work alongside the CEO, here’s a line you can send them:
I thought this might help us as we grow. Richard helps founders and the leaders around them lead, and work as one leadership team. The first call is free.
Here’s his website: https://richardrussell.co/
Next steps
Start with a free, 20-minute Clarity Call. Confidential, and no preparation needed.
“
Goal-setting that grew with us
The process had worked when we were smaller but, as we doubled in size, the process broke down. Richard was instrumental in helping us reset and get effective with OKRs; he helped us be more focused, more productive and better at taking the tough conversations about what actually gets prioritised.
Lidia Oshlyansky
Chief Product Officer
ManyPets
“
Input matched to the stage we were at
Richard is one of the most straight-forward, creative and inspiring coaches I have had during my journey as an entrepreneur… His ability to understand the nature of the stage of your business, and provide the necessary input to make an impact is second to none.
Galo A. Vargas
Founder & Managing Director
Inkspired
Leading change in a bigger organisation?
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