Testimonials

The reason why Gena is so great is because most coaches, they’ve only experienced running one company. They have some experience running businesses but it’s limited to one perspective. They also haven’t done a lot of deep psychological work. They have no understanding of what it’s like to be inside your specific head. Then on the other end you have maybe a therapist who’s had some training, but honestly, most therapists are nowhere near as smart as most founders. They’re just not equipped to solve the problems that you’ve got.

Gena is the rare person, the only one I know that has both, because she has spent time with hundreds of founders of all different shapes and sizes of businesses. And she deeply understands both philosophy, like how you arrive at worldviews and theoretical perspectives, and psychology, like how you feel in certain situations. And that combo is super deadly and it’s what makes her so effective.

Tom Hollands
Growth Marketing Partner at a16z, prev. CEO & cofounder, AMT

The 3 sessions I’ve had with Gena have been the 3 most important hours of my life.

The first session changed the way I approached every conversation. I had a deep-seeded anxiety that made me look at conversations as a test or performance. Gena gave me tangible tools to notice that and mitigate it. It’s made me a better listener, a better entrepreneur, and a better friend.

In the second, I learned how my failures in pitching my business came from a lack of confidence in my expertise. Once that was in the light, I was able to recognize that I did know my stuff and that change propagated to how I communicated and carried myself. I closed my first investor cheque the very next day for $50K.

The third [about 2 years later] helped me see how little enjoyment in my life came outside of work and how that was costing me everywhere, including, ironically, in my work and productivity. After it was over, for about an hour I felt like I was standing in front of a jet engine with a cold wind blowing the skin off my face (in a good way 😅).

The goal of becoming the best version of myself is at the core of everything I do. 3 hours with Gena helped accelerate that journey for me by years. Where else you gettin’ ROI like that?

Keshev Kulkarni
Co-founder & CEO, Cheffer Technologies

I wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Gena Gorlin as an executive coach to the YC [and broader founder] community.

Gena has been pivotal in guiding us through some of the most critical learnings and decisions at [my company]. As an executive coach, she exudes positivity and genuinely supports the mission of the founders. She champions the virtues of building something meaningful and brings to the table a wide range of both technical and clinical experience.

Gena helped me evolve into a “growth machine,” assisting me in acquiring new skills rapidly, becoming a subject matter expert, and effectively delegating tasks.

Much of my journey as an entrepreneur, I believe, has been shaped by two main elements: the market propelling me and my business forward, and the internal conflicts within our team that held us back. Gena has been instrumental in helping me resolve these internal issues, enabling us to focus our energies on tackling external market challenges.

Prior to working with Gena, I felt like almost 90% of my energy was spent on internal problems. However, with her guidance, this has now reduced to less than 10%.

Nate Tucker
building in AI; prev. CEO & founder, StartPlaying (profitable YC- and a16z-backed startup) · natetucker.com (YC founders can access full review here on Bookface)

I learnt how to completely reorient my mind and steer it towards more productive outcomes. Gena sees the pitfalls in my thinking and knows how to gently point them out. She’s like a personal trainer for my brain, helping me grow into the founder I want to be. She was able to accurately pinpoint the main issues in my current thinking and give me the advice on what precisely I need to change to live a better life. I have a high bar for people whose advice I respect and Gena is one of them.

Lukasz Bartoszcze
Founder/CEO, Wisent

I was privileged to be a part of Dr. Gorlin’s 8 week pilot seminar on the Builder’s Mindset... I believe that Builder’s Mindset has a place in startup canon, alongside concepts like lean startup, 0-1, product market fit and doing things that don’t scale.

David Liu, PhD
Founder & CEO, mya.homes (2x Founder, ex-Google, ex-McKinsey)

Having the opportunity to work with Gena was among the best of the many opportunities that @join_ef afforded me over the last year.

Camin McCluskey
co-founder & CTO of Stackfix (and previously Telescope, backed by EF and Sequoia) · camin.dev

I had my co-founder session with Gena thanks to @join_ef. She unraveled topics between the cofounders at an early stage that are very important for the journey till date.

Aswin Ramachandran
co-founder and CTO of Theo · akrv.xyz

I have worked with Gena on one on one sessions and group sessions for 2 years. I have faced and overcome my most difficult challenges in my life during these times, all at the same time. I separated from a marriage that was not working, I left my job and started my own practice, I subsequently stood up to my ex-employer who threatened me with litigation. Most of all, I realized how much I love being a dad... It’s difficult to emphasize how big these achievements were for me.

Physician and entrepreneur
Northeast USA

At the time of our introduction, my reckless life choices had finally destroyed my prior achievements and personal relationships. The unstable equilibrium I had sustained for decades would no longer work with an expanding family, a failing marriage and the mounting demands of my job as a hedge fund portfolio manager. The most visible damage was at work, given the necessity to manage other professionals and deliver consistent results. I engaged you to shore up my failing investment performance, yet your intervention purposely extended to the core of my self-destruction...

You had a daunting task. Yet, by your methodical and systematic work, you shepherded me through the pain-staking transformation of my life’s fundamental premises...

You have enabled me to responsibly pursue happiness on my terms, and as a result experience personal love and professional success. Thank you for teaching me how to earn my life back.

Macro portfolio manager and independent investor
Atlanta, GA

If I could summarize my perception of working with Gena in one word, that word would be purpose. Gena brought a sense of purpose to every single session. After every session, I had clear and concise takeaways or exercises. And each session was another step along the way toward my ultimate goal...

Gena self describes herself as your biggest fan to celebrate your accomplishments, but that she will also challenge you in ways that are unique, serious, and powerful. I can think of no more accurate way of describing her approach.

Business owner and tech entrepreneur
Greater Chicago