I originally chose to get coaching based on a review/recommendation from my Co-Founder. My initial expectations were to be able to get some advice and best practices on how to better work through some of the problems and hurdles I was facing within the business specifically. Even after just the first session, I realized how misconstrued my expectations were. The coaching wasn’t about frameworks and best practices, it was about being open and honest and REAL with yourself – understanding what your strengths and weaknesses are – not being timid to speak about feelings – and coming to a realization about where some personal misconceptions might be stemming from. After only a few sessions, I noticed significant changes in my thinking patterns and own comfortability in letting my true self shine through in situations I might normally try to put on a face. What I liked best about coaching was the safe space that was offered to me. No judgement, just total acceptance and understanding. Not just a space to simply vent, but a space where active listening and genuine care was felt. That active listening always preceded thought provoking prompts that sought to dig deeper in an attempt to pull out buried feelings/thoughts/intentions that seemed to always lie beneath a surface level statement. Before I started coaching, I thought that I was the only one capable of helping myself through tough emotional, physical, work-related, and relationship issues. After working with Mike, I was able to realize just how wrong I was. I began to realize that leaning on others for help and support was not the sign of weakness that I had confused myself to think it was. The coaching I had has resulted in noticeable positive results in my life – much more confidence and self-worth, willingness to be open and honest with people in work and personal situations, loss of anxiety, more determination in work project follow-through, and something else that’s a little hard to explain.. but just a general feeling of better connection to the people around me (co-workers, girlfriend, friends, brand new people I meet, and family). No dollar amount is too little for the amount of value I was able to get out of my sessions with Mike. I can 100% with confidence say that Mike changed my life.

My CEO thought it would be a good idea for me to have a few coaching sessions — not because my performance was declining or anything to that effect, but he thought it would be extremely beneficial. I had my doubts, considering this person was picked for me and not by me. I didn’t know what to expect or even what this coaching thing was all about. In all honesty, I thought it would be a waste of time. After my first session with Mike, I realized that this was going to be time well spent and all my skepticism, apprehension, and assumptions were tossed out the window. I had a comfort level that allowed me to open up and discuss a wide variety of topics — both professionally and personally. I look forward to each session and can’t thank Mike enough for all of the positive changes that I’ve made in my life based on the conversations we’ve had. What I like most about my sessions are how we don’t just gloss over topics. Everything we speak about we speak about in depth and Mike asks questions. He listens to everything you have to say and provides meaningful, thoughtful feedback. Prior to my sessions I had a lot going on mentally. My thoughts were clouded by doubt and anxiety. After just a short time working with Mike, I’ve been able to apply the things I’ve learned and life has started to look a lot different. As a result of coaching, I’ve been more sure of my abilities, personal relationships have improved, and my days have been much less anxious. Coaching helped me to understand how certain ways of thinking, while at times beneficial, came with a cost. You have everything to gain. Having a coach doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you.” Jason Payne, COO Fanium, Head of Product, Ryan Creative Group

Before Mike and I started our coaching practice, I was carrying my work stress with me everywhere – into my other relationships, into my non-working hours, and into conversations at work that were completely unrelated to the causes of the stress. The most interesting part for me, however, was that our exploration together didn’t start at the work problem at all. Mike helped me look much more deeply at my background and my learned patterns, and name and identify the instances in which those things weren’t serving me well in the present. Upon reflection, it’s obvious that I couldn’t separate the person I am at work from the person I am outside of work, but I certainly went in thinking that we were going to tackle very specific “work-related” issues and instead we’ve worked on my whole person. After a few months of coaching I can certainly say that I am much better able to recognize situations that would have been very stressful to me in the past and create breathing room for myself. The work is never done, so the practice is constant and continual for me, but I am so grateful for Mike’s help along the way.”

“Mike is not your average executive coach. He brings a focus on mindfulness that I find to be really helpful in assessing and managing the daily issues I face as a CEO. He has given me some great tools for recognizing when I get in my own way or have a filter that affects my judgement. Our sessions have become an essential part of my weekly routine.”

“We hired Mike to kick off the first week of our Sports Tech Techstars Accelerator program. We didn’t know exactly what to expect. But we’re thrilled by the impact, as were our founders. The biggest impact in my opinion was a clear sense of purpose with our founders.  The majority of their time is spent on all the ways in which they are building their companies and scaling the business – I feel at times they lose that sense of WHY they are doing what they’re doing.  Mike does such a fantastic job of pulling out the authenticity factor from each founder, to get past the “story we are telling ourselves” and to understand what really drives us, what really motivates us. We were really hoping that our group of founders could have a platform to learn about themselves and each other in order to build a sense of community and support among one another prior to beginning this incredible journey through the Accelerator.  Having them talk about things other than financial modeling and unit economics and to focus on things like non-violent communication techniques and using mental models to create self-awareness was really important for us.”

“It’s hard to sum up the value of the experience that Mike provided for our founders. From meditation, to breath-work, to the cold water dives to start the morning, to blindfolded dancing, to improv, all the activities were so unique.  But I think where our founders really had breakthroughs (and where Mike really shines as a facilitator) is in the workshops where founders are wrestling with mental models that help them better understand themselves and uncover their blind spots. In particular the session on “separating facts from story” I think stuck with a lot of our founders. We really saw firsthand where people were able to be their authentic selves because of the stories they were unknowingly living inside of. So many founders had breakthroughs uncovering their true selves by separating from the fictional narratives they may have been keeping them stuck. I think one of Mike’s biggest strengths is his belief in what he is doing and the intensity in which he does it.  He has this rare ability to combine the aggression of a sales leader with the gentle emotional intelligence of a counselor – it’s actually pretty incredible to watch.  Mike doesn’t need a lot of hand-holding, just some basic info to get started with the group and is able to cater each session and workshop to the persona and mood of the group which I find really impressive.  He also pivoted from doing an in-person retreat to a virtual retreat without really skipping a bit which I cannot even imagine how difficult that was. Lastly, I think the big lingering impact, that carries well beyond the retreats is driving a clearer vision for the company because founders are learning more about themselves and building a better culture within their teams.  I also think it’s helped them with hiring as well because they are looking for different attributes in employees now, not just the basic qualifications but diving deeper into personality traits. All in all, I would say you’d be crazy not to use Mike! I referred Mike to a bunch of folks and I do it just because I know how much value he provides in such a short period of time with these retreats.  We’ve done two of these with Mike now through the Techstars Sports Accelerator and our founders still talk about that experience as one of their highlights of the program.  We even have several of our founders elect to work individually with Mike in leadership and executive coaching well beyond when the retreat is over.  If you value authenticity and getting people truly outside of their comfort zones in order to grow, Mike is a perfect choice to facilitate your retreat.”