# Founder and CEO coaching for the AI‑era. Canonical: https://polyviam.com/coaching/founders-and-ceos/ Description: Founder coach and CEO coach Jayson Robinson runs hands-on coaching for founders and CEOs at established B2B companies (mid-market and up) building AI-native operations. Decisions, not decks. London-based, global engagements. Hands-on coaching for founders and CEOs. Every stuck point has an AI diagnosis lens applied first. Audience Founders and CEOs with $10M+ revenue or 100+ employees Format 1:1 coaching · 3+ month engagement · 2/4 times per month Location Remote globally · in-person available in London, UK Coach Jayson Robinson · ex-Toptal, BairesDev, Deloitte Digital Clients GridscaleBairesDevCloudtaskBetterEngineer & more ## Who this CEO coaching is built for. Three patterns we see in the CEOs we coach. If one of them sounds like your week, the work will fit. Pattern 01 ### Ambition without attention. You know AI matters. The week never gives you the hours to read deeply, test seriously, or sit with the strategic question long enough to land a defensible position — the day job keeps winning. The engagement is the structured thinking time you haven't been able to carve out, with someone who has already done the reading. Pattern 02 ### Sprawl without strategy. Your team is already using ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and a dozen tools you haven't formally approved. There's no policy, no shared practice, and no way to tell where it's actually moving the needle versus where it's noise. The work is to convert ad-hoc adoption into a coherent operating practice. Pattern 03 ### Pilots without progress. You've shipped a Copilot rollout, an AI feature, an internal tool. None of them moved company-level outcomes. Each one sat on top of an operating model that didn't change. The work is to diagnose why, then co-design AI-centred bets that reshape workflows, headcount, and cadence. ## What a coaching engagement actually involves. Coaching is the working format; the operating-model question sits behind every conversation. Sessions are built around the calls already on your desk, not a generic curriculum. ### Cadence 60 or 90 minute sessions, every one or two weeks. Sessions are working sessions: we tackle the decision in front of you and the AI-native angle on it. Async between sessions on Slack, Loom, or email. ### Where AI fits in Every CEO coaching engagement at Polyviam carries the same lens. We work out where AI actually creates value in your business and in your personal operating model. The point is to make you able to spot those places yourself. ### What we cover, typically * How work is planned and how decisions get made. * Where in the team AI installs first. * Hiring and restructure calls for an AI-native operating model. * Personal operating model: how you actually use AI. * The conversation you've been avoiding (there's always one). ### Format options Standard format is 1:1\. Co-founder pairs occasionally run as a small group at slightly different cadence. Whole-team coaching is a separate offer — see [team coaching](/coaching/teams/). ## Most CEO coaching fails in the same few ways. When C-level coaching fails, it fails in a small set of recognisable patterns. These are the five Polyviam is structurally built to avoid. * i. _AI-era judgment, not AI as a topic._ AI isn't one topic among many, it's the first diagnostic question applied to everything, before anything else gets discussed. Two years ago that was just positioning; today it's structural. Most of what frameworks-and-questions coaching does, a Claude or ChatGPT conversation now does faster. What survives is pattern-matched operator judgment on decisions an LLM can't carry for you. * ii. _Established companies only._ We only coach CEOs and founders that have hit scale where the business is complex. Complex systems require more careful deliberation and experience of navigating them. * iii. _Operator-coach, not professional coach._ Jayson ran growth at BairesDev and Toptal, both US unicorns, has taught over 500 product managers, marketers, and founders, and runs his own businesses. The work is operator-to-operator, not a certified coach reading from a framework. * iv. _We don't ship the AI into your business._ Polyviam doesn't build agents, ship internal tools, or sell ongoing AI managed services. Capability lives with your team. That guardrail is what makes the AI-native claim honest. * v. _We tell you when you're wrong._ Many coaches ask thoughtful questions but simply mirror your conclusions back. We don't. Expect to be told when we think you're wrong. That's what makes the work worth more than the conversation you'd have with yourself, and is something a chat with AI is suboptimal for. ## Coaching outcomes are the calls you make differently. * 01 — AI Thesis You can clearly articulate where AI can have an impact on the economics of _your_ business, and where it can't. Most CEOs can't. * 02 — Operating Model You've changed how at least one core function (usually marketing or product) operates day to day, by redesigning the workflow around AI rather than bolting AI onto an existing one. * 03 — Personal OS You've reshaped your own workflows around AI. Handing off what AI can do best and speeding up what still needs you in-the-loop, to give you back more hours for the things innately human. ## Some of the founders and CEOs we've worked with. 1. i. Pathos Communications > “We're obsessed with growth. It's all we talk about. And one of the people who've really helped us adapt to the next phase of growth is Jayson. You feel that he is playing the long-game with you from the start.” ![Omar Hamdi](/img/testimonials/omar-hamdi.webp) Omar Hamdi CEO & Founder @ Pathos Communications | Listed 2025 2. ii. BairesDev 3. iii. Gridscale > “As part of a successful startup, I moved into my first C-level position relatively quickly. > > Jayson was easily able to understand our business and break down my challenges in ways which helped me to solve them much more quickly and creatively than could have doing it alone. Jayson was a large contributor to most strategic topics I went through during our time together, both as a coach and accountability partner.” ![Marc Harriss](/img/testimonials/marc-harriss.webp) Marc Harriss CPO @ Gridscale, Acquired 2023 4. iv. Cloudtask 5. v. Continuo Foundation > “The conversations this week have been transformational. I can’t tell you what a difference you have made to the Connect project, and to Continuo as a whole.” ![Tina Vadanaux](/img/testimonials/tina-vadanaux.webp) Tina Vadanaux Founder @ Continuo Foundation 6. vi. BetterEngineer ## Common questions about founder and CEO coaching. ### What is the difference between a founder coach and a CEO coach? A founder coach typically works with the people who started the company — equity-rich, often pre-product-market-fit or scaling through it. A CEO coach works with the seat, regardless of whether the person founded the company or was hired into the role. The work overlaps heavily once a founder is operating at CEO altitude, which is when Polyviam usually starts. We don't coach founders before there is a working operating model to coach against. ### Do you only coach US or UK CEOs? No. Most of the work is remote, so geography is flexible. We coach founders and CEOs across the UK, US, and Europe most often, with some clients in Canada and Australia. Jayson is based in London. Occasional in-person sessions in London are possible. ### How much does CEO coaching cost at Polyviam? Engagement pricing is on request and is sized to the scope. Coaching sessions are either 60 or 90 minutes, either weekly or fortnightly. Ongoing monthly contract. ### How long is a typical CEO coaching engagement? This varies massively. Some of our clients have been with us for 3+ years and have an ongoing need. For others, the objective is more discrete and we may have cracked it in 3-6 months. The contracts are monthly ongoing unless otherwise agreed, leaving flexibility. ### What is the difference between coaching and consulting at Polyviam? Coaching is the leader doing the work, with us alongside. Consulting is us doing the work and handing it over. Coaching is what you choose when you want to build the muscle. Consulting is what you choose when you need a defined-scope output to point at. Some engagements blend both. An initial call tells us which fits. ### Why "AI-native" specifically? Isn't that just standard coaching with AI bolted on? No. AI is a disruptor to businesses in many ways: economics, org structure and process, headcount, among others. Coaching without AI as the core lens isn't fit-for-purpose in 2026. ### Do you work with early-stage startup founders? No. Polyviam works at mid-market scale and upwards, typically $10M+ in revenue or 100+ employees. Early-stage founders are well-served by Y Combinator partners, On Deck mentors, and a long list of dedicated founder coaches. The questions early-stage founders ask are different enough that the work shouldn't be the same. ## About your coach. ![Jayson Robinson, founder coach and CEO coach at Polyviam](/img/jayson-portrait.jpg) [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaysonkrobinson/) _Jayson Robinson_ is the founder of Polyviam and runs all coaching engagements personally. Over the last decade he has led growth and marketing strategy for B2B companies including BairesDev and Toptal — both US unicorns — alongside building his own businesses. He has designed and executed marketing strategies that have collectively driven over $120M in incremental annual revenue for clients. Alongside operator work, he coaches and teaches. He has taught or coached over 500 product managers, marketers, execs, and founders from organisations like Spotify, Accenture, LEGO Group, and the UK Home Office (plus hundreds of lesser-known organisations). Based in London, working with operators across the UK, US, and Europe. More on the [about page](/about/). ## Coaching for other leadership seats. [ For marketing leaders Marketing coaching for CMOs and heads of marketing ](/coaching/marketing/)[ For product leaders Product management coaching for CPOs and Directors ](/coaching/product-management/)[ For teams Team coaching for AI-fluent PMs and marketers ](/coaching/teams/) ## Start with a 30-minute intro. We'll discuss your goals and your level of fluency and maturity. By the end we'll know the type of engagement you need.