Startup Founders Coaches

As a Founder you can outsource almost anything you struggle with - except your mindset. My approach to coaching stems from the belief that the relationship we have with ourselves reverberates across every other part of our lives. To succeed in your startup, therefore, requires conscientious cultivation of healthy, enabling self-partnership. My practice combines Alderian and Applied Positive Psychology with a focus on human flourishing. Some of the primary pain points I address are: negative self talk, limiting beliefs, burn out, lack of self trust, purposelessness, unhealthy communication patterns, uncertainty about next steps, stress management, decision making under duress, and failure to take consistent action to achieve goals. Prior to coaching, I spent 8+ years as a 3x founder in B2B climate fintech, consulting, and fiscal literacy, 14+ years as a workshop facilitator & educator, and 5 years as an international speaker. Since starting Mountain Tops Consulting, I have coached 18 professionals and facilitated 200+ hours of executive masterminds, 60 development workshops, and 5 retreats. I currently lead programming at the Entrepreneur House of San Diego, the mission of which is to maximize founders’ personal and professional growth.

I’ve been in your shoes—I know the ups and downs of building a startup from the ground up. I founded my own company that was accepted into Y Combinator, the world’s leading startup accelerator. Going through YC gave me firsthand experience with fundraising, refining a pitch, building a product that customers love, and navigating the fast-paced, high-pressure environment that every founder faces. From finding a real cofounder to navigating early investors, I want to help.

I bring a finance-first perspective to startup coaching as both a founder and an advisor. I’m a Wharton MBA and Georgetown finance/accounting alum who has built and scaled my own company through eight accelerator acceptances, giving me deep insight into what programs look for, how to stand out, and how to access both funding and in-kind resources. I also mentor at an accelerator, where I work directly with founders on everything from pitch strategy to business model refinement. My coaching combines analytical rigor with clear, compelling storytelling. I help founders strengthen their pitch decks, sharpen their narrative, review and optimize business models, and develop the speaking presence needed to pitch with confidence. I also support early hiring strategy, helping founders think through when and how to recruit their first key employees. My approach is structured, practical, and designed to help founders move quickly with clarity, traction, and investor-ready thinking.

I founded TalkMaze, a public speaking and education platform that grew to 20,000 members, 4 million video views, and over 5,000 participants across North America. I raised $150K in funding, delivered 4 TEDx talks, won the national Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, and placed as a national runner-up in a venture capital investment competition. Every one of those outcomes came down to storytelling and pitching. I help early-stage founders take complex or technical products and turn them into clear, compelling pitches. Whether you're preparing for a demo day, a VC meeting, a competition, or an accelerator application, I help you find the version of your story that makes people lean in. I've coached thousands of people through high-stakes moments where the story has to land. If you have a great product but struggle to communicate why it matters, that's exactly where I come in.

Welcome to my profile! With a rich background in AI, biopharma, and medtech, I bring a unique blend of expertise to help startup founders navigate the complexities of launching and scaling their ventures. As a former founder of a venture-backed medtech startup and an advisor/investor in early-stage companies, I understand the challenges and opportunities in the startup ecosystem. My experience at Boston Consulting Group and as a Principal Program Manager Lead in AI equips me with strategic insights to drive innovation and growth. Whether you're refining your business model or seeking investment, I'm here to guide you every step of the way. Let's connect and turn your vision into reality!

Feeling stuck in your 9-to-5? You have a great business idea, but you're overwhelmed by the confusion of where to start. You're terrified of quitting your job and risking your financial stability, so your dream stays a "someday" idea. I can help. I'm Patrick, and I don't just coach entrepreneurs—I build them. I've not only created multiple profitable businesses myself, but I've also scaled companies from 6 to 2,000 employees as an operations executive. I’ve learned the hard-won lessons so you don't have to. My "tough love" coaching isn't about vague theories. It's a clear, actionable plan to get you results while you are still employed. We will: Clarify Your Offer: We'll validate your idea and turn it into something people will actually pay for. Build a 'No-Burnout' Plan: We'll create a simple, step-by-step action plan that fits your 5-to-9, so you make progress without sacrificing your health or your job. Get Your First Paying Customer: I'll hold you accountable to launching and getting the revenue that proves your concept. Stop feeling stuck. Start building your future. My coaching gives you the clear plan and direct accountability you need to build a real business—one that gives you the freedom to finally quit your job.

No one cares about what you think the future will look like. No one will invest in your moonshot idea. Trust me, I have scars to prove it. Your goal as a startup founder is to uncover simple secrets of our world today and find the quickest way to determine if those secrets are true (ie: if people will pay you to reveal those secrets). Don't spend years building aimlessly. Don't waste money when you don't need to. I will guide you in developing your first product and getting your first round of funding. I am a 2x founder, VC Backed. dunly.ai: Gen AI & Fintech - B2B tryrelic.com: Augmented and Virtual Reality - B2C

I've sat on every side of the founder table — as a co-founder who raised from pre-seed to Series A, as a VC evaluating hundreds of pitches, as an angel investor with 10+ portfolio companies, and as a startup banker advising growth-stage companies on the financial architecture that actually matters. I coach founders on fundraising strategy, investor positioning, cap table decisions, and the board dynamics that no one prepares you for. If you're navigating a raise, managing a board that's getting more complex, or just trying to make cleaner decisions while everything is moving — I can help. My style is direct and tactical. I won't give you theory. I'll give you the frameworks I've used and the patterns I've seen across hundreds of founder conversations.

Entrepreneur & VC investor turned executive coach. Went through the founder journey myself, from incubating an idea at a Stanford class, to customer discovery and early prototyping + MVP development, getting early traction, raising angel checks, putting together a core team, and launching => after a couple pivots built to 10M USD revenue while operating in five countries. Was backed by elite investors like Founders Fund. While at Stanford, was a student of Steve Blank's, the creator of the "Lean Startup Approach", in his class "The Lean Launchpad". Certified coach under the Co-Active Training Institute, Upbuild, and the Aletheia Advanced Coaching Training program. Have personally guided over a hundred people in exploring venture capital and entrepreneurship, as well as in general career coaching. I would love to meet you and hear about your goals. Please feel free to reach out if interested in exploring further.

I’m a former VC and the CEO/founder of a venture-backed startup funded by Silicon Valley and Singapore-based investors. I’ve spent 20 years in finance, strategy, and investing where I've been evaluating hundreds of founders, reviewing pitch decks, shaping investment narratives, and leading diligence across early-stage and growth-stage companies. As a former Partner at Turret Capital and Director of Investment Strategy at Catcha Group (Southeast Asia’s leading venture builder), I’ve overseen a $1 billion portfolio and worked directly with founders on business models, GTM strategy, traction storytelling, and fundraising readiness. I’ve also raised capital for my own company, giving me firsthand insight into what investors actually look for in a pitch. My specialty is helping founders win high-stakes opportunities by crafting clear, compelling, investor-ready materials. I support early-stage teams with pitch deck creation and refinement, business plan development, investor narrative strategy, market sizing, competitive analysis, and overall fundraising preparation. Whether you're refining your pre-seed story or preparing for a Series A raise, I bring both investor and founder perspective to help you communicate your value with precision.