Close your seed round and scale revenue without the expensive headcount.
I help early AI and SaaS companies find product-market fit, raise their seed round, and manage engineering and GTM teams. Get fractional COO/CTO execution without the $300k salary or founder burnout.
Founders I've teamed up with:
Todd Sullivan
CEO @ Flightfox
YC Alumni
Carlos Terol
Founder @ Good Ripple
MJ Amartaivan
COO @ Erxes
Lauren Sullivan
Staff PM @ EasyPost
YC Alumni
Owen Drury
Founder @ ODQS
Sahle Hashelit
Founder @ Tellos
YC Alumni
Austin Tindle
CEO @ Sorcerer
YC AlumniWhat I offer
Fractional leadership & coaching
Ideal For:
Founders at any stage who are looking for direct guidance, accountability, and in-depth support.
It's a fit when:
You want to get a proven roadmap to growth TAILORED to your goals, with expert feedback and personalized coaching.
No BS Startup Guide
Ideal For:
Self-starters who want to advance at their own pace with a battle-tested playbook.
It's a fit when:
You want to access 10+ years of real-world startup insights and skip trial-and-error with actionable resources.
Trusted by executives and teams at
Client Wins
“With Farzad, we've been changing the way we market, strategize, and problem-solve for long-lasting solutions.”
Cambria Taylor
Real Estate Investor
“We’ve already started … seeing big wins and are on track for our best year ever. I highly recommend working with Farzad.”
Todd Sullivan
CEO @ Flightfox
“Farzad's got tons of valuable resources and knows how to get you on the right path to make your startup successful.”
Carlos Terol
Founder @ Good Ripple
“Farzad helps map out the challenges and get to clarity on a path forward... He has also helped bring our team closer together.”
Joe Rollinson
Founder @ Cartsave.io
“Finding Farzad was one of the greatest things... I’ve never worked with a mentor that can walk through your struggles with such clarity.”
Owen Drury
Founder @ ODQS
“Farzad's understanding of your current position and a way of explaining possible paths using mind maps is extremely helpful.”
Jakub Kulisa
Founder @ Parcel AI
Mentored 500+ founders
171 detailed testimonials
Verified and reviewed by some of the world's top founders. Read 4.98/5 across 171 reviews on GrowthMentor.
How it works.
No complex systems. No 100-page decks. Just a straight line from stuck to scaling. Three steps. Starts free.
Strategy Call
We get on a free 30-minute call and pinpoint what's holding your startup back. No pitch, no fluff. Just clarity you can use that day.
Find the Gap
We map the distance between where you are and where you need to be, then turn it into a prioritized plan you can actually run.
Execute the Plan
You get the battle-tested playbook and run it. I'm in your corner every week, holding the line until it works.
Phase 1: The Repeatable Revenue Blueprint (GTM and Founder Audit)
For
Founders with a great product but struggling to get early traction or break past a revenue plateau.
We'll find the exact friction killing your sales and give you a step-by-step execution roadmap to turn your product into repeatable revenue. Stop guessing and stop burning cash.
What's inside
- Pinpoint exactly why your product isn't selling
- Find the hidden leaks draining your marketing budget
- Transform your pitch and deck to close your seed round
- Get a step-by-step 30-day repeatable revenue playbook
Phase 2: Fractional COO/CTO
For
Founders who don't want to hire a full-time executive to execute the audit roadmap.
We'll fix the bottlenecks, build repeatable revenue, and keep you sane through the pressure.
What's inside
- I'll personally hire the team, manage them, and run the sprints so your team actually ships
- Build a repeatable sales engine that converts automatically
- 1-on-1 coaching to protect your sanity and sharpen decisions
- Get C-suite execution without the $300k salary or heavy dilution
Recently updated
Most recent edits across the site, in date order.
The Raise Intensive
30 days of 1:1 work for pre-seed and seed founders raising $500k to $5M. We build the investor list, rewrite the deck, write the outreach, and run pitch reps. Money back if you don't have 10 investor meetings booked by day 30.
The Primal Trap.
Why your "Ape Brain" is sabotaging your startup leadership. Discover the biological reasons behind catastrophic decisions and how to fix them.
Discover the No BS Startup Guide.
The playbook to validate, launch, and scale your business without burning time or money on stuff that doesn’t work.
to 10+ years of insights.
I guarantee success, or your money back.
Two plain guarantees, and coaching starts with a free call. The risk sits with me before you spend a dollar.
100% Success Guarantee
If you’re not seeing the results you expected, I’ll continue working with you at no extra cost until you do.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Within the first 30 days I’ll refund every penny. No awkward chats, no fine print.
From 3x founder to operating partner.
I’ve been where you are.
Farzad is a 3x founder, operator, and executive coach working at the intersection of leadership psychology, AI systems, and real-world company building.
After building teams at Nylas through a $120M Series C and launching four AI products generating over $1M in revenue, he now focuses on the uncomfortable truth: companies fail because of human behavior.
FAQ: I get asked these a lot
What does a startup coach actually do, and how is it different from a consultant? +
What does a Fractional CTO or Fractional COO do for my startup? +
When should I hire a Fractional CTO instead of a full-time CTO? +
How much does startup coaching cost, and is it worth it? +
Which program is for me? +
I've spent $50k on an agency and have 0 users. Can you help? +
My team is burning out and I'm micromanaging everything. How do we fix it? +
How much time will this take? +
I'm raising a round. Can you help? +
What if I'm not ready for coaching? +
Psst... Grab these FREE guides
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No BS Mini Course to validate your idea
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