Startup Coaches, Events, and Resources

I help CEOs and operators as they prepare to raise capital by translating investor expectations into clear, practical fundraising guidance. I have 4+ years across Private Equity, Growth Equity, and VC, and most recently served as an investor on Summit Partners’ flagship $10B fund, focused on technology investments. I also spent a year at Griffin Gaming Partners, where I evaluated earlier-stage gaming companies and infrastructure businesses. I graduated from Harvard, where I taught the largest Venture Capital club on campus to 100+ undergraduates. I designed the curriculum myself and mentored students on investing fundamentals, company analysis, and how to think like a VC or growth equity investor. I bring that same investor perspective to helping founders sharpen their pitch, anticipate diligence questions, and communicate their business more effectively.

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.

Co-founded EdTech platform Sketchy in medical school. Built it into the study platform used by nearly every U.S. med student with 500K+ users. Led the company as CEO through $30M Series A. Currently on the board. Built DDx, Sketchy's AI-powered clinical simulation platform — LLM-driven patient encounters with real-time evaluation of diagnostic reasoning and safety. Now piloting at 30+ programs and integrated into curriculum at over 15+ institutions. Designed the product, eval system, guardrails, and the go-to-market from scratch.

Welcome to my profile! As the Co-Founder and former CEO of Moringa School, I led a team that trained over 4,000 students with an impressive 85% job placement rate, transforming higher education in Africa. My entrepreneurial journey has been recognized by Forbes, Fast Company, and the World Economic Forum, among others. I am passionate about empowering entrepreneurs and have coached 18 individuals to successfully launch and grow their ventures. Whether you're looking to refine your business strategy or navigate the challenges of scaling, I'm here to help you achieve your entrepreneurial goals. Let's connect and take your business to the next level!

Most founders don't fail because their idea was bad. They fail because no one around them knew how to build the machine behind it. That's the gap I close. Hey - I'm James. I help founders build operating models, sharpen GTM strategy, and execute like a firm - without the firm price tag. My background is BCG, Accenture, and Goldman Sachs but I coach from the founder side of the table, not the consulting deck. I'll help you: ▪️Build your operating model before you scale and lock in bad habits ▪️Structure your go-to-market, org design, or fundraising narrative with investor-grade rigor ▪️Pressure-test your strategy the way a board or investor would ▪️Turn your vision into a 30/60/90-day roadmap you can actually execute I've been a founder. I know what it feels like when everything is on fire and the deck is due Thursday. Let's build something that holds.