For a first-time CEO, leading a small team of co-founders at a pre-revenue start-up, life can be exciting on many days but terrifying on others. Working with George Klavens has helped keep me grounded while riding the emotional roller coaster that is part of the challenge I currently face.
Executive Coaching Experience
My team and I are seeking seed round funding from angel investors on the strength of our prototype product and testimonials from a line-up of prestigious, but non-paying, trial customers. If we secure the funding, then we can turn our prototype into a commercially viable product and generate revenue from the customer relationships we’ve already built. That’s the gamble we’re asking investors to take.
My conversations with George are particularly valuable. We talk about the challenge of leading and coaching my team members during a very stressful period of time. With George’s coaching, I go into these discussions focused on the team: their perceptions, reactions, assumptions, and attitudes; he reminds me to think about mine as well.
George has decades of experience coaching executives, and that shows in every session we have. He’s a professional who listens, absorbs what I say, and observes how I say it. He has a great deal of perspective on the challenges I face. There’s no storyline I can tell him that he hasn’t heard before, nevertheless he approaches it with respect and openness. He doesn’t make judgments or draw conclusions for me, as he helps me organize my own thoughts and feelings so that I can make my own decisions.
No matter how my current business venture turns out, the coaching process is enabling me to make full use of the experience so that I can carry the lessons learned forward with me.
— M.R., CEO, Start-up Technology Company