CEO/Founder
Case study
Situation
Alex had just received her company’s Series A fundraising from Andreessen Horowitz—an exciting phase that came with new pressures from the board, investors, and business. She was grappling with an increasing amount of overwhelm and anxiety.
Alex began looking for additional support and guidance and found me through a VC Slack channel where former clients and talent partners recommended me to other founders.
Challenge
As our work began, Alex shared the intense pressure she was feeling from all the competing voices and recommendations she was receiving. She needed to manage expectations in all directions and do it in a way that inspired confidence, but was also authentic.
As part of the growth plan, Alex needed to hire a leadership team which meant moving away from doing and measuring success on execution. To lead, she needed to create the vision, scale herself, and find success in hiring and empowering others.
Alex sensed there was a better way to operate—a way to show up that felt right for the business and right for herself. She knew she was dedicating her life to her business and wanted to find a way to do it sustainably. This was our challenge.
Resolution
To make the transition to leading instead of doing, Alex and I discovered where she was being pulled into the weeds of the day-to-day operations and took intentional steps to elevate her thinking and shift the time horizon from day-to-day to the plan for next month and next quarter. This transition created space to reflect and be more strategic and proactive. It also improved her ability to set and manage expectations with her board, investors, and team.
Impact
Alex went from feeling like she didn’t have anyone to confide in to having a confidential space to explore and grow. Together we were able to navigate the constant influx of new challenges and opportunities, plus balance the tension between the demands of her company and personal life.
Through our work, Alex had a trusted strategic thought partner. A great sense of relief came from sorting through the flood of information together and creating a clear plan of action aligned with her values and goals of the company.
Alex leveraged me as an accountability partner to help her drive commitments forward. Through strategic action steps, the degree of overwhelm and anxiety improved and she was able to operate from a more grounded intentional space.
Length of engagement
Alex and I had an initial 3-month engagement which then converted to a month-to-month coaching plan. We worked together for a total of 14 months.
"Amanda's experience, pattern recognition skills, and holistic approach enabled me to connect the dots and sharpen my focus to drive my company forward in ways I had yet to imagine. I recommend Amanda to anyone looking to achieve more."
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– Xiaoyin Qu, Founder & CEO, Run The World
