FOUNDER COACHING & FRACTIONAL SUPPORT
Honest counsel.
Lived experience.
1:1 coaching and fractional hands-on support for ambitious founders.
"I had the vision, the investors, and the conviction. What I didn't have was someone who was happy to sit with me in the mess. When you're building something really ambitious, you need somebody who's been there to help you work through your challenges."
Most coaches have never been a founder.
I've worked in and around startups for over fifteen years. I've started companies, exited one, helped build others, founded accelerators, written first cheques into unicorns, and sat in the operator seat at two deeptech businesses.
I've raised investment, seen funding rounds collapse, and encountered my fair share of true believers and deep skeptics while building something new.
I'm not a coach in the traditional sense. I don't have a framework with a brand name to sell you. What I have is lived experience, directness, a track record and a genuine interest in helping you succeed.
I typically work with early-stage founders, bootstrapped or funded, from pre-launch through Series A, who are building something that matters and need someone in their corner to help them figure it all out. I work well with solo founders who need honest counsel and practical advice. I've played that supporting role in real companies, so I know how to be useful without getting in the way.
"Paul not only coaches but deeply understands the founder mindset. He's able to listen deeply and bring structure to complex or nascent ideas. He's as comfortable going deep into our commercial model as he is discussing our technology stack. I am immensely grateful to him for his selfless, give-first approach."
ABOUT FOUNDERS & COMMUNITY
Founders & Community is a practice built around one idea: ambitious founders do their best work when they have honest counsel in their corner and a real community around them.
I'm Paul, the founder. I've co-founded two VC-backed AI startups, one of which was acquired by Cognism in 2020. I was the COO and first C-Level hire at Ori Industries from seed through Series A, and a Field Ops Lead and departmental Chief of Staff at a US deeptech scaleup.
I've been a mentor and advisor since 2010, and coaching bootstrapped and VC-backed founders for over five years.
I was awarded the OBE in 2020 New Year Honours for a decade of supporting startup technology founders and communities.
Office Hours
Weekly office hours. Open to founders everywhere.
Book a 30-minute slot for help and advice, no strings-attached.
Get in touch
For enquires about coaching or programme delivery, speaking, or just to say hello. We'll get back to you within a day or two, sooner if it's urgent.