Adam is a startup founder coach who helps founders accelerate their business, find greater wellbeing, and become visionary leaders.
Founder Coaching for all aspects of the journey.
Being a startup founder is hard and often lonely. I know because I was one. That’s why I became a startup founder coach: to give founders and CEOs the support I wish I’d had—a trusted third-party from whom to seek advice or vent to; someone who’s been there and can see the whole picture; a connected confidant in the startup ecosystem.
Whether you’re looking for new ways of thinking or perspective on your business to get to the next stage; need help dealing with the stresses of being a founder; struggling with growing as a manager; preparing for your next raise, or looking for guidance on what to do next after closing your latest round, I’m here to listen, and help you make strong, experienced decisions to get you and your venture where you want to go.
I help founders get to the next level because I've been there.
I’ve been in venture backed startups for the last 15 years, including co-founding Omni—a venture backed consumer logistics startup in San Francisco—which raised over $35MM from top-tier VCs–including Highland Capital, Ripple, 8VC–before exiting to Coinbase in 2019.
I have a proven track record of building products people want, scaling organizations, raising venture capital, and helping others do the same.
I work with founders, CEOs, CTOs, creative leadership, VCs, and accelerators from San Francisco to South Korea.
Let’s work together.
Adam Coaches Venture Backed Founders and ceos funded by leading vcs, including:
Adam also coaches bootstrapped and debt-financed founders and business owners.
What CEOS & founders say about Founder Coach Adam Dexter
Adam’s a supportive, thoughtful, and experienced founder coach and was instrumental in helping me navigate through the YC batch. His own founder experience sets him apart from other coaches—he’s proactive in figuring out solutions starting with problems rooted in your business. If you’re a founder looking to upgrade your team, culture, and personal practices, I’d highly recommend working with Adam.
Before working with Adam, I had strong fears and perfectionism paralysis that held me back in my entrepreneurial journey. Working with Adam has been a breakthrough in my development as a founder and leader. Adam has unlocked clarity into the roots of my beliefs while providing me with the tools to move forward with conviction. I highly recommend Adam’s coaching practice.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Adam during the 0 to 1 phase of Good Fortune Puzzle Co. Before working with Adam, I had a strong fear of letting customers down. This resulted in perfectionism paralysis and has held me back many times in my entrepreneurial journey.
Working with Adam has been a breakthrough in my development as a founder and leader. He has unlocked clarity into the roots of my beliefs while also providing me with the tools to move forward with conviction. He’s challenged me in the best ways possible and has helped me look at the bigger picture when I got narrow in perspectives.
For anyone that has internal beliefs that are holding them back from achieving personal and professional aspirations, I highly recommend tapping into Adam’s coaching practice.
I’m looking forward to working alongside Adam as I and the business grows.
… “Working with Adam was a breakthrough in my development as a founder and leader.”
At a critical point for our company, startup founder coach Adam helped us put egos aside, align on behavioral commitments, and navigate a necessary leadership restructure. Adam has a strong ability to cut through noise, identify root issues, and keep discussions focused and productive. Adam facilitated grounded conversations that allowed the team to move forward healthy, aligned, and in the best interest of the business.
Adam Dexter was a great coach for our team, and I’d highly recommend him to any team navigating growth, conflict, or leadership transition. He’s friendly, approachable, and creates a space where you can be open and honest without conversations becoming tense. He has a strong ability to cut through noise, identify root issues, and keep discussions focused and productive.
At a critical point for our company, Adam helped us put egos aside, align on behavioral commitments, and navigate a necessary leadership restructure. He facilitated thoughtful, grounded conversations that allowed the team to move forward in a way that was healthy, aligned, and in the best interest of the business, something that would not have been possible without his guidance. Thank you Adam!!
… “I’d highly recommend Adam to any team navigating conflict, growth, or leadership transition.”
Startup founder coach Adam Dexter has been coaching me while I navigate early-stage fundraising and building my startup. Working with Adam has been nothing short of transformative. Adam’s outside perspective and deep experience in raising capital have brought clarity and direction to my journey. Every week, I leave our sessions feeling energized and equipped with actionable steps that bring me significantly closer to my goals.
Adam Dexter has been coaching me while I navigate early-stage fundraising and building my startup. Adam coaches me to be a better startup founder and leader while also helping me with my pitch deck and fundraising strategy. Working with him has been nothing short of transformative. His outside perspective and deep experience in raising capital have brought clarity and direction to my journey. Every week, I leave our sessions feeling energized and equipped with actionable steps that bring me significantly closer to my goals. Adam is not only a true professional, but his enthusiasm and supportive nature make each meeting a joy. I couldn’t be happier to have him as my coach.
… “Adam coached me to be a better startup founder and leader”
Adam’s coaching was instrumental during a very transformative time in my business. Adam’s advice was always honest, specific, and actionable, giving me a clear plan to move forward while also helping me overcome fears and mindset blocks that were holding me back. Adam encouraged me to advocate for myself and honored my time and worth.
Adam’s coaching was instrumental in helping me through a very transformative time in my business! During our time together, I unexpectedly faced many challenges within my business, and I was immensely grateful to have Adam by my side. Seriously, it would’ve been VERY tough without him. Whether refining my contracts, resolving disputes, or brainstorming a new version of my program, his advice was always honest, specific, and actionable, giving me a clear plan to move forward while also helping me overcome fears and mindset blocks that were holding me back. He encouraged me to advocate for myself and honor my time and worth, while also understanding when some situations are best let go. Thank you so much Adam, I really value all the insight you have brought to me and my business.
… “Adam’s coaching was instrumental and very transformative”
Adam is a great coach and person! I couldn’t recommend him any higher. If you are looking to get to the next level, you have to speak with Adam. I highly recommend him!
Adam provides an objective perspective while remaining empathetic to how hard it is to be a female entrepreneur…In entrepreneurship, the highs are really high and the lows are really low, and Adam’s advice and support has been invaluable to my mental and emotional state.
Working with Adam has helped me become a better startup founder and entrepreneur. He has kept my spirits up when stuff gets hard and lonely. Adam provides an objective perspective while remaining empathetic to how hard it is to be a female founder.
Startups need to move fast, and he gets back to me promptly even on the weekends. In entrepreneurship and startups, the highs are really high and the lows are really low, and Adam’s advice and support has been invaluable to my mental and emotional state during those low periods.
… “Adam provides an objective perspective while remaining empathetic”
The founder journey often feels like a giant maze and having Adam’s encouraging voice and experienced insights has been really valuable. Adam also provided great recommendations for additional founder resources and I really enjoyed working with him as my coach.
Adam is an exceptional and dynamic coach who was instrumental in helping my partner and me navigate the early days of launching our business…he’s constantly able to adapt to dealing with the main issue at hand in an expert manner regardless of domain: fundraising, marketing, recruiting, goal setting, and time management.
Adam is an exceptional and dynamic coach who was instrumental in helping my partner and me navigate the early days of launching our business.
He’s extremely fluid and skilled at zoning in on the core challenges companies are facing at any given moment, and then providing an ample mix of strategic insight, actionable plans, and professional wisdom to deal with them. Unlike past experiences with some other coaches, no two sessions with Adam are the same, and he’s constantly able to adapt to dealing with the main issue at hand in an expert manner regardless of domain: fundraising, marketing, recruiting, goal setting, time management, etc.
His direct, no-holds-barred approach to breaking down your business and the decisions you are making to run it is not for the faint-of-heart, but through facing that uneasiness with a sense of humility and willingness to learn, my partner and I always came out on the other side with a deeper knowledge of our company, and a greater sense of confidence to push forward and reach new stages of development. The results speak for themselves with Adam, and we’re grateful to have been introduced to him at such an early stage in the venture.
I highly recommend startup founder coach Adam Dexter to audit, advise, and help guide the next evolution of your business. Adam has served me as a founder coach, mentor, business advisor, and sounding board — rolling up his sleeves to meet me where my business was at the moment and to plan my ongoing roadmap. Adam helped me focus and evolve my business model, messaging, and product offerings.
As a founder of an emerging company that has been both establishing a new category/service and targeting several distinct buyers, I wanted to share how much my coach, Adam Dexter, has helped me focus and evolve my business model, messaging and product offerings over the past few years.
I highly recommend Adam to audit, advise and help guide the next evolution of your business or to surgically parachute in to make some critical adjustments that will immediately impact your KPI’s, ROI and peace of mind. He did it for Khameleon. Adam has served me as a founder coach, mentor, business advisor, sounding board and he has rolled up his sleeves to meet me where my business was at the moment and to plan my ongoing roadmap. Lastly, he’s a real mensch and delightful to collaborate with.
Adam listens well but is also quick to identify the areas that unlock progress. Adam also doesn’t feel the need to avoid difficult questions which is super valuable – especially if you’re a solo founder.
The thing I liked best was that Adam jumped right into solution mode with me…that’s exactly what I was looking for as a founder and he helped spark some ideas that lead to actionable improvements to my business.
Adam has a wealth of information around startups, business, and being a founder, and is extremely insightful. He has spoken and explored the journeys of so many entrepreneurs and founders. Therefore, he’s able to validate and ideate effectively across disciplines. The stuff you get from him is awesome. I look forward to coaching sessions with Adam time and time again.
Adam helped me take an idea and turn it into a tangible startup business. Being a founder is extremely tough and going at it alone makes it even harder to stay focused. Adam’s founder coaching sessions are instrumental for any founder looking for clarity. I highly recommend Adam as an external viewpoint for a founder to get to the next level.
Adam helped me take an idea that has been in my head for awhile now and turn it into a tangible startup business. Being a founder is extremely tough and going at it alone makes it even harder to stay focused. Adam’s founder coaching sessions are a great soundboard for any founder like me. I highly recommend Adam as an external viewpoint for a founder to get to the next level.
I would highly recommend Adam to other founders who may be too close to their problem. Adam was excellent at providing useful and actionable outsider feedback and direction about my startup.
I never thought I’d spend my early startup dollars on a coach and now feel like its some of the most valuable dollars I’ve spent to date. Adam does not take a templated approach to coaching. Depending on what I need at the time, he adapts and leverages his network and experience as a former founder in a number of ways to help me both personally and professionally.
I started working with Adam in the early days of my new career as a startup founder. I was skeptical of an executive coach – I associated them with enterprise executives – and it didn’t seem like the way I should prioritize my spending at the time.
Adam far exceeded my expectations. Adam came at me with thought-provoking feedback from day one, and once he understood me and my business idea on a deeper level, was able to provide insights that have deeply shaped my company’s strategy.
I never thought I’d spend my early startup dollars on a coach and now feel like founder coaching with Adam are some of the most valuable dollars I’ve spent to date.
Adam does not take a templated approach to founder coaching. Depending on what I need at the time, he adapts and leverages his experience as a former founder in a number of ways helping me both personally and professionally.
Naturally, one might shelf the idea of a founder coach or executive coach for years, or never adapt one. I can say from experience – it is one of the most important steps I took in starting my business, and will continue to take as I grow.
… “Adam’s Coaching are the Most Valuable Dollars I’ve Spent”
Adam is a 10 out of 10 business consultant and coach. He quickly picked apart the “castles made of sand” foundation I had been holding onto when it came to my company’s WHY and WHO. Adam also delivered hard to hear news in a nonjudgemental and direct manner which I found extremely refreshing.
Adam is a 10 out of 10 business consultant and coach. He quickly picked apart the “castles made of sand” foundation I had been holding onto when it came to my company’s WHY and WHO. Within a few moments of talking it was obviously apparent that Adam was an expert at coaching and analyzing a business. Adam also delivered hard to hear news in a nonjudgemental and direct manner which I found extremely refreshing.
Adam pressed exactly where we needed to be pressed as potential founders, and the points he made about our business were exactly right. Adam listened actively and gave excellent feedback. He’s got this founder coaching thing down!
Adam's Startup Founder Coaching Philosophy: “Mentorship Coaching”
I believe you need to understand yourself as much as you do your business, and that bridging the gap between personal growth and business strategy is critical to a healthy life and successful venture.
I’m experienced in working with clients across the spectrum between both extremes of soft and hard skills. Some of the topics I cover with clients include: helping overcome imposter syndrome and the challenges of transitioning into a new identity as an entrepreneur, founder or CEO; working on cofounder relationships; communication and delegation; building and leading great teams; and more tactical hard skills such as learning and implementing important decision making, thinking, and success metric models (such as OKRs); boiling down your venture idea to it’s most essential and compelling narrative, and crafting that narrative into an effective and concise pitch and deck; leading and communicating as an effective CEO or C-suite manager; providing critique and constructive feedback on your business model, product, brand and positioning, design, and GTM strategy; strategizing how to best interact with investors; and providing general support as an ongoing experienced sounding board and co-pilot.
Combining my 15+ years of experience in startups and as founder, C-level exec, head of product, creative leader; the last 7 years as a respected founder executive coach; my own inner work, therapy, and meditation practice; and through continuous study and practice of various coaching and therapeutic modalities, teaching and leadership frameworks (such as Integral Coaching, Conscious Leadership, NLP, and more), I’ve developed an approach I call Mentorship Coaching.
Mentorship Coaching is a hybrid model where I don’t just listen, or advise, or teach, but instead we work in a dynamic partnership. Depending on each individual client’s needs we typically flow between more highly structured sessions that may even include “homework,” role-playing, learning of specific frameworks, and readings to more unstructured time where we can soundboard and work through whatever challenges or questions are coming up for you that week or moment.
Each coaching relationship starts with getting to know you as a professional and individual. How are you feeling as a founder? What brought you to coaching? What motivates you? Why did you decide to undertake the founder journey? What kind of student and teacher are you? I also gather insights from a validated psychometric survey, and a guided self-inquiry process. From there, I use my extensive experience in startups and coaching to design a coaching program personalized to you; weaving together aspects of traditional coaching, a startup advisor perspective, and most critically independent third-party mentorship, based on your needs and goals.
It’s a dynamic relationship and experience that is always adapting to your needs and feedback and where you are not stuck in one particular framework or coaching modality. This keeps our sessions feeling fresh, personalized, insightful and something that grows with you as we progress.
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I’m an endlessly curious operator, constantly learning by doing. Outside of coaching, I remain an active entrepreneur, investor, creative, and advisor. Beyond starting my own successful (and not so successful) ventures, I’ve lead all brand, design, creative, and PR for a 300+ person Series C Hospitality startup and been the founding Head of Product at a fast-growing Series A tech company—building their entire product management (PM) process and growing the product and engineering team from 3 to 18. I am also a Techstars Mentor, advising and mentoring batches of techstars founders since 2023, and donate my time as a coach and mentor at Mission Bit.
I maintain a select roster of clients and currently have limited openings. To see if you’re a fit, Schedule a Call.
What Makes Adam The Startup Founder Coach Different from other coaches?
You. Most business coaches follow a traditional executive coaching program full of tactical direction and methodologies focused on teaching you specific skills, frameworks, and habits that help optimize your business practices. This is great, and while our work will feature plenty of systems, exercises, resources, and tools — we’ll also work on leveling up the biggest key to your venture’s success: you and your ability to relate, inspire, and lead.
You can practice high output management and lean start-up strategies with unyielding perseverance, but if you do this without also deepening your self-awareness and leadership identity, as well as constantly tuning your daily actions into alignment with your core goals and values, then you’ll likely fail to inspire and lead successfully, and end up going in circles.
My goal is to not just give you advice, but to help you install a “Mentorship Mindset” by weaving together tactical business coaching, generating greater self-awareness, and prioritizing personal development. My expertise lies in knowing when you need to be coached on your soft-skills such mindset and self-awareness — and when to be more tactical and say, “okay, you need to redefine your product process.”
About Founder Coach Adam Dexter
Adam Dexter is the founder coach with over 15 years of startup experience who created Mentorship Coaching and provides executive coaching to startup CEOs. Adam primarily coaches startup founders, co-founder groups, and CEOs. Adam is also a VC-backed founder, speaker, producer, creative leader, and product management expert. He’s passionate about talking to people concerning all things professional and personal growth, business strategy, product, brand, design, and creative execution.
Since the age of 13 Adam has been starting and running businesses. Immediately after graduating college, he was hired as the first producer and 7th employee at Summit Series—a startup that hosts leadership and innovation-focused events that have been described as “TED meets Burning Man” by WIRED and “the hipper Davos,” by Forbes. For four years, Adam designed and produced all of Summit’s events, helped connect founders in the community, and architected and product managed their community tech platform. He also designed and built out early facilities at Powder Mountain, following the company’s purchase of the Utah ski resort in 2012 (sold to Netflix founder Reed Hastings in 2023). In 2014 Adam went on to co-found the tech-enabled physical storage/rentals company Omni, in San Francisco that by Series B had raised over $35MM and exited to Coinbase in 2019. Omni’s investment was led by Highland Capital, Ripple, and included other investors such as 8VC, Flybridge, Precursor, Founders Fund, Sophia Bush, Scooter Braun, David Lee, and Drake. As co-founder, Chief Product Officer, and head of brand of Omni, Adam handled everything from branding, UI/UX, app design, and product management to physical operations, research & development, infrastructure, logistics, and real estate.
In addition to the selected client testimonials, you can read over 35 written recommendations of Adam on his LinkedIn.
Adam’s Founder Coaching Pricing
Adam’s Founder Coaching Pricing
I am passionate about working with startup founders from pre-seed through Series B, and beyond. Having been there myself, I understand that money can be tight in the early days and want to stay accessible to those who need it the most. Because of this, I offer a sliding scale rate based on financials. You can find more info about my practice and pricing in my coaching FAQs.
For client-specific rates, schedule a free Discovery Call.
Still have questions? Check out my Frequently Asked Questions page for more info or email me at hello@thestartupfoundercoach.com