Do I Need An Advisor or a Coach?

 
A software engineer at an early stage company showing a login page in-progress to the CEO.

product & growth advising

The right fit for advising
Early stage startups – from developing your first product and pricing plan to scaling your business and team post product-market fit – is where I’ve spent my entire career. I can help you develop frameworks for getting insights from potential customers, create successful hiring plans, get unstuck on issues between cofounders, place high quality bets, develop strategic product and growth roadmaps, learn how to raise VC, and manage investors.

Typically these engagements are the most successful when the CEO partners with me directly. Building and growing a great product isn’t possible by pulling on a single lever or honing the performance of a single function, like marketing or sales. A high-performance company is an orchestra that’s playing a single piece – with each function amplifying and supporting the others.


As an ongoing relationship
Depending on your needs and schedule, we’ll find an agreeable cadence for live meetings and asynchronous check-ins. These vary from every other week to every six weeks. This is available as an ongoing relationship with a monthly retainer.

As a one-off workshop
In collaboration with leadership, I’ll design and facilitate product, growth, or leadership-focused workshops for your company. These workshops can be as short as a 2-hour deep-dive on customer development or as intense as a 1-day roadmap planning masterclass.

Merci Grace speaking at SaaStr about scaling product leadership

LEADERSHIP & EXECUTIVE coaching

Who leadership coaching benefits
I work with startup leaders, founders, and product managers who want to reach their next level of career and personal performance. Leadership coaching is especially helpful for startup leaders who’ve just taken on a new role, founders who have formed their first board or are hiring their first executive team, and product managers who want to get promoted and become more effective.

As a former founder, investor, and startup exec, I know how lonely high-performance leadership can be. It’s hard to find confidants who don’t have skin the game or want something from you. That’s exactly what coaching provides.


What coaching is
Coaching is a results-driven practice to support your growth during a pivotal moment in your career. Whether you need help resolving conflict on your team, getting your next promotion, or figuring out what you want from your career, dedicated time with an executive coach provides the structure for you to explore your options, come up with novel solutions, and reveal insights about your challenges.

How it works
After exploring mutual fit in a call, we’ll meet in-person or online for a set number of sessions. Coaching is not therapy – it’s a framework for discovering solutions and increasing your performance.