Challenges Faced by Startup Founders
You are a startup Founder or CEO navigating the Seed to Series B stage. Everything you do, you’re probably doing it for the first time, striving to meet the demands of all your stakeholders, learning on the fly as you confront challenges such as these ones:
Finding Trusted Support
How do you find trusted, non-judgmental support to share fears and doubts, and receive unbiased advice?
Balancing Growth and Wellness
How do you balance breakneck growth with personal wellness and energy management?
Managing Complex People Issues
How do you navigate complex people issues from managing your board to resolving co-founder conflicts?
Building a High Performing Team
How do you ensure you have the right people in the right roles and keep them motivated?
Staying True to Values
How do you stay true to your Purpose, Culture and Values as you scale your company?
Communicating with Confidence
How do you deliver compelling stories that captivate investors and attract top talent with confidence?
Join CIRCL
How does it work?
Onboarding Sessions
Build deep connections for radically honest discussions and develop the skills needed to leverage collective intelligence for effective problem-solving.
Monthly Goal-Oriented Group Sessions
2 hour, virtual sessions to address specific challenges brought up by participants and apply and sharpen the skills learnt during onboarding using a formal structure and coaching methodology.
Bootcamp Series
1 to 2-hour, virtual monthly skills workshops providing tools and practical activities to deepen your leadership abilities and shape your leadership style.
Find out more about our Bootcamps.
Tools and content library
Get access to tools, frameworks, and curated content such as articles, books, videos to share with your team and help you turn theory into action.
Get your complimentary CIRCL Feedback Guide here.
Private Online Founder Community
Password protected online private community accessible 24/7 online for support, knowledge and resource sharing and interaction.
Each CIRCL Provides:
Safe Space for Sharing
Open up about your challenges and receive unbiased, non-judgemental feedback in a psychologically safe environment.
Transformation and Accountability
Develop new habits and skills as you collaborate with a supportive group of high-caliber peers.
Holistic Growth
Apply newfound perspectives and tools beyond your role as a founder / CEO and watch yourself grow as a partner, friend, sibling or parent.
Peak Performance
Learn how to sustain your overall energy and wellness to be able to deliver against the high demands of your job.
A Community
Become part of a network of like-minded people.
Practical Tools and Frameworks
Turn leadership theory into actionable strategies that drive real results and build a sustainable and unique company culture.
Find out moreCrisis Support
Get support during critical times when work or life throws you a curveball.
Recognition and Credibility
Achieve CIRCL certification and stand out to investors, partners, clients, and potential hires.
Expert Moderation
Benefit from the guidance of certified, professional coaches with deep experience in startups and leadership.
Program details
Meet the team
Valerie Derome
Co-Founder & CPO
Bio
Valerie is an Executive Advisor and Coach who has helped numerous early-stage companies build high-performing organizations, develop authentic leaders, and strengthen company culture and talent practices. She has over 30 years of experience across corporate giants including Apple, Medtronic, and hyper-growth unicorns, empowering leaders to align people strategies with business goals.
Valerie is Franco-American, a proud mother of 3, and holds a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from ENSTA, Paris.
More information
Patrick Mork
Co-Founder & CEO
Bio
Patrick Mork is an experienced Founder, Coach and Mentor who has worked with over 40 founders across the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. His clients have included founders of Onavo (sold to Meta), Lime and executives at Google, Meta and Yahoo! Previously, Mork was a 2x founder and 3x CMO, building marketing teams at venture-backed startups and at Google where his team created Google play. He’s an award-winning marketer, leadership keynote speaker and the best-selling author of Step Back and LEAP.
Mork holds an MBA from INSEAD.
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Mayya Layt
Co-Founder & COO
Bio
Mayya is a seasoned leader and operator with over 15 years of experience driving transformation and growth in fast-paced tech companies, including Uber. She has specialized in building robust operating models and seen firsthand how coaching can unlock solutions to complex challenges. Driven by the positive impact, Mayya is dedicated to extending these benefits more broadly.
She holds an MBA from INSEAD.
More information
Testimonials
Toby Sun
Co-Founder and former CEO at LIME
“Patrick has an amazing experience around brand, storytelling, marketing etc. We had the opportunity to work together at the early stage of Lime and Patrick helped develop the initial brand story and also was a trustworthy advisor on our value and culture. He is also a great mentor for many entrepreneurs or marketers and I am sure you can learn a great deal from him if you are looking for one.”
Andrew Lee
Ex Google, ex Sequoia, Ex Salesforce
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Patrick during our time together at Google as well as being a client of his. When I became a CMO, Patrick was one of the first calls I made. His best in class brand marketing coupled with passion for craft and an above and beyond approach to his clients provides an immense amount of value to both the team and organization. Patrick is one of the few folks that makes everyone around him better.”
Kushagra Shrivastava
Co-founder and CEO at Key.ai, Ex Google
“It was incredible to have Patrick come in and coach the small business org in marketing. He came up with relatable examples and helped the team understand the importance of leveraging tried and tested marketing frameworks. He went on to help envision a future market state and how to win. Very valuable as we try to build new product lines and grow.”
Jeremy Frohlich
COO, LRDG,
Montreal
“Valerie has been one of the brightest spots of my career – helping me both personally and professionally. She wears many hats, providing mentorship, executive leadership consulting, project management and training, as well as facilitating corporate strategy alignment sessions both virtually and in person. Her combination of business experience and emotional intelligence has been an incredible resource supporting us through our digital transformation and company restructuring.”
Join CIRCL Today
Become part of an exceptional group of purpose-driven founders and transform your leadership journey.
Apply now