In the US their title is: “Whisperer to the Founder”, in Europe it’s: “Founder’s Coach”. There are many VCs in the US that require, as part of their investment, that the founders will invest in their own development and work with a professional to support them through a personal growth process.
This is a professional, safe space, that is free of judgment and criticism. The founders develop their ability for self-inquiry: reflecting on their behaviours, mindsets, decisions and emotions. As a result, they build resilience, and develop new skills and strategies to better navigate in their complex and emotional reality.
In this process the founders gain an understanding of their personal growth goals that will enable the startup growth. They increase self-awareness to their blind spots, biases and defense mechanism that impact the scale up of the startup and inhibit growth at the critical inflection points.
In the last two weeks two successful founders and CEOs of Israeli start-ups genuinely shared their needs and desire to work with an expert throughout their leadership- Scale up journey. With great candour they provided legitimacy to this area and presented the direct connection between personal growth to business success.
Liad Agmon, Co-founder and CEO of Dynamic Yield (acquired by McDonald’s):
“אתה צריך כמנכ” ל לקחת את כל מה שעובר לך בראש – החרדות והלחצים, ואז לשדר משהו אחר כלפי חוץ ביום-יום. אם הייתי משדר את מה שאני באמת מרגיש החוצה, הייתה קטסטרופה. אבל אחד התפקידים של מנכ”ל זה להרים את המוראל בחברה, גם אם זה אומר שאתה כמנכ”ל חי במניה-דיפרסיה, וזה גובה מחיר נפשי ופיזי”. אז מה עושים? הולכים לפסיכולוג” . .. “יש קטעים פאקינג קשים שבא לך למות, לסגור את הסארטאפ ולברוח אבל יש קונספציה שלא מדברים על זה ”
https://www.calcalist.co.il/…/arti…/0,7340,L-3759139,00.html
Assaf Peled, Co-founder and CEO of Minute Media:
“Over the last couple of years, I’ve been largely focused on personal development, both my own and that of my employees, and the effects that has on company culture.
Moving forward, I want to continue that psychological growth and cultivate an open, welcoming and transparent working environment regardless of business unit or geographical location”.
“I wish someone had explained how critical it is to spend a substantial amount of time getting to know future co-founders both personally and professionally before starting a business with them. In my opinion, the co-founder relationship is more like a marriage than simply a business partnership”
https://qumracapital.com/minute-medi