Startup Coaches, Events, and Resources

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.

Built a career in strategy, marketing, and growth. From management consulting to leading brand at IBM and eBay, I now bring that corporate rigor to my coaching clients. I help you with strategy and systems to win right-fit clients at healthy margins. I share what I've learned and coach you so you can say exactly what buyers needs to hear to sign a five, six and seven-figure+ contract. And we avoid the big business ‘nice to haves’ a growing business can (and must) do without. Because in a sea of sameness, your moat is what you stand for, who you serve best, and what only you deliver. Sharpening one client's positioning increased their deal size 40% and cut their sales cycle 35%.

I've been mentoring and coaching founders on communicating the value of their venture since 2019. Leveraging storytelling principles, we develop a pitch that showcases their idea and locks in the minds of prospective investors and clients. Once the story is written, I'll help you deliver it with polish and poise.

Welcome to my profile! With my combined operator and VC experience, and also coaching many founders, I am passionate about helping entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of starting and scaling their ventures. Let's work together to navigate your entrepreneurial challenges! Reach out to explore how I can support your journey.

I teach entrepreneurship at Stanford across for-credit courses and immersive programs for adults and high school students spanning 6 continents. My students have gone on to raise funding, gain admissions to top accelerators, launch products, and build ventures that scale. I bring that same rigor, framework, and insider access to my 1:1 coaching. As the founder of Stanford's Education Entrepreneurship Hub (edupreneurship.stanford.edu), I've built one of the most active founder ecosystems at Stanford - connecting for-profit and nonprofit education entrepreneurs with the mentors, resources, and community they need to move from idea to impact. I also invested as an angel , which means I've reviewed hundreds of pitches and know exactly what makes investors say yes - and no. I've lived the founder journey myself. I bootstrapped a future-of-work SaaS product that scaled to users in over 80 countries, entirely with no-code tools and no outside funding. No dev team. No technical co-founder. Just relentless customer discovery, sharp positioning, and the right tools at the right time. Now I'm building my second venture the same way, so everything I teach, I'm actively doing. What makes my coaching different: I give you the frameworks Stanford founders learn, applied to your specific stage, market, and constraints - not a generic playbook. Most of my clients are first-time founders who've never had access to this level of coaching. That's exactly who I'm here for. I also bring a perspective most startup coaches don't: I understand what's possible for non-technical founders right now. AI has changed the game. You can build, test, and scale things today that would have required a dev team two years ago. I'll show you how. Who I work with: 💡 Idea-stage founders trying to figure out if their idea has legs before they quit their job or spend their savings: customer discovery, problem validation, and the hard questions you should be asking before you build anything 🚀 Early-stage founders (pre-seed to seed) building toward their first customers and first check: MVP scoping, go-to-market strategy, pitch narrative, and fundraising mechanics 🤖 Founders building AI-native products: how to position in a crowded AI market, where your moat actually comes from, and what investors are looking for beyond "we use LLMs" 🏗️ Non-technical founders who want to build faster without hiring: the exact no-code and AI stack I use to move from idea to working product without a single line of code Recent wins: Founders accepted into Y Combinator, NEO, and Techstars accelerator programs, pre-seed rounds closed with sharper narratives, product pivots that unlocked new markets, non-technical founders shipping MVPs in weeks across various industries: AI SaaS, Consumer, EdTech, HealthTech, and more

Welcome to my profile! I'm Nick, a passionate entrepreneur and co-founder of Relay Health, an addiction recovery tech startup that gained traction with support from Y Combinator and other investors. Since my time in the Y Combinator Summer 2022 batch, I've helped 5+ teams break into YC, all from non-traditional backgrounds. First at Relay and now at Leland, I've been the growth hacker, driving revenue from $0-$XK-$XXK-$XXXK, and I now leverage that experience to mentor aspiring entrepreneurs. Whether you're looking to break into YC, go from 0-1, or navigate the startup ecosystem, I'm here to help you succeed. Let's connect and turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality!

My passion lies in empowering others to bring their entrepreneurial visions to life. As the Co-Founder & Director of Marketing at Windfall Bio, a nature-based biotech company, I've navigated the exciting, and sometimes challenging, journey of building a company from the ground up. I lead our brand strategy, marketing campaigns, and storytelling, constantly working to articulate our value proposition and impact to customers, partners, and investors. This experience has given me firsthand insights into what it takes to launch and grow a successful business, from developing a compelling brand to securing funding and building a strong team. Beyond my work at Windfall, I've always been drawn to the world of entrepreneurship. While in college, I launched my own sustainable clothing brand, managing everything from design and production to global sales, all from my dorm room. And even before that, I ran a successful DJ and events business during high school. These experiences, while diverse, taught me invaluable lessons about resourcefulness, problem-solving, and the importance of connecting with your target audience. My academic background at Stanford University, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Science, Technology, and Society in 2022, further solidified my understanding of the intersection between innovation, business, and social impact. I believe that entrepreneurship is a powerful force for positive change, and I'm excited to share my experiences and knowledge to help aspiring entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of starting and scaling a business. I'm passionate about fostering innovation and empowering others to turn their ideas into reality.

I’m a Stanford GSB MBA, McKinsey & Co, and Northwestern alum who’s excited to join you in the trenches of building and scaling startups! As a co-founder of Bluebird Kids Health, I’ve helped grow a 100+ person team and raise $32.5M in venture funding in under 2 years. I know firsthand the highs, lows, and unexpected hurdles of the entrepreneurial journey, and I love being a springboard for others figuring it out - whether that’s breaking into startups, navigating compensation negotiations, fundraising as a founder, building a strategic framework, or just figuring out your next career step. I bring both strategic insight and real-world experience, and I’ve successfully coached entrepreneurs and operators to successfully take on the challenges of launching and growing. I’ve been in your shoes — and I’d be excited to help you chart what comes next!

You have come to the right place! With over 23 years of experience as an entrepreneur, business owner, and college professor, I specialize in guiding startup founders through the intricate journey of buying, scaling, and successfully exiting their businesses. As the Co-Founder of Buy-Scale-Sell and Founder of Crown Consulting, I've empowered countless business owners to think boldly and achieve their dreams through tailored coaching and workshops. My track record includes leading successful exits for companies like Griffco Graphic Solutions and Queen of Wraps, where I implemented innovative marketing strategies and strategic partnerships to drive growth. If you're ready to unlock your business's potential and create a legacy, let's connect and make it happen!

I work with startup founders the same way I approach real-world decision making. No hype, no theory, and no pretending there is a one-size-fits-all playbook. I focus on helping you make clear, practical decisions based on your actual situation, not what sounds good online. My background is built around working with real people, solving real problems, and cutting through bad assumptions that hold businesses back. Whether it is structuring your next move, thinking through risk, improving decision-making, or getting unstuck, I bring a disciplined, straightforward approach that helps you move forward with clarity and confidence instead of guesswork. I am also the author of Who’s Got Your Six?, which focuses on accountability, trust, and making better decisions when it matters most. That same mindset carries into how I work with founders. I am not here to impress you with jargon. I am here to challenge weak assumptions, help you think clearly about risk and opportunity, and build a plan you can actually execute. Whether you are early stage, trying to stabilize, or looking to make smarter strategic moves, I bring a disciplined, straightforward approach that helps you move forward with clarity, confidence, and a much higher level of awareness than most people operate with.