Coaching for founders and executives building something that lasts, with someone steady in your corner.
Trusted by founders, executives, leaders, and experts at:
Whether you're building a company or leading inside one, the hard part is the same: staying clear, leading with confidence, and not losing yourself while you carry it. For most founders and executives, it shows up as one of these four.
The urgent crowds out what matters, and everything runs through you. We help you cut through the noise and find your real priorities.
You've outgrown how you used to lead, but the old habits still surface. We help you find your voice and lead with conviction.
The co-founder, the boss, the team that needs more than you were taught to give. We help you have the hard conversations.
You're running on reserves, and the pace that got you here is starting to cost you. We help you set one you can sustain.
Whichever of these is you, the hardest part is carrying it
alone.
We're a space to see what you're missing, make the hard calls, and
lead like yourself.
This is deeper work. If you're after a quick fix, this isn't it.
We've sat beside founders and executives through the hardest parts of scaling, enough to know what holds up and what breaks. Our coaching pairs that perspective with techniques grounded in neuroscience, psychology, and credentialed practice.
Years of professional experience
Founders and leaders served
Hours of coaching founders and leaders
Client satisfaction rating
Dar Patel is an ICF-PCC certified executive coach with a BA in Psychology and an MBA. Before coaching full-time, she spent 15 years inside Fortune 500 companies like Wells Fargo and HP, consulting at Deloitte, and most recently a Series C startup. She has worked with founders and executives across early-stage startups, growth-stage companies, and enterprise teams.
Little Pursuits is built on a single belief: the small, consistent work, done over time, is what builds the companies and careers people remember.
A 30-minute conversation about what you're carrying and where you're stuck. We decide if the work is a fit, together.
We name what to focus on: the goals, the gaps, the patterns worth working on. The engagement is built around you.
We meet regularly and work the real decisions in front of you, with async support between sessions.
At regular points we step back to see what has changed, what is working, and where to go next.
The companies and careers that last are built in small, repeated decisions, made well and made consistently.
That's the work we do together.
A facilitated peer group of six founders, led by an ICF-PCC certified executive coach.
Application-only. Pricing shared with accepted applicants.
Personal, ongoing coaching for founders and executives navigating the hardest stretches of scaling.
Coaching for executives and emerging leaders, sponsored by their company.
Most founders we work with arrive in the same loops. You'll probably recognize a few.
Buried in the urgent
Clear on what actually matters.
Stuck on a decision for weeks
Making the call and moving.
Building it alone
Building with a network behind you.
Second-guessing every call
Leading with conviction.
Avoiding the hard conversation
Handling it head-on.
If a few of these sound like now, that's exactly what we work on.
“The habits I built with Dar translated directly into focus, balance, and productivity as I grew my startup.”
I transitioned from Big Tech to founding a startup and knew I needed guidance navigating early development. I'll keep leaning on coaching as my team grows, to develop leadership, communication, and more.
Darragh Meaney
Founder & CEO, On Me
“If you've ever felt adrift in the big questions of founding a startup, Dar's coaching is not to be missed.”
My co-founder and I have already made huge strides in our leadership processes, team dynamics, and overall team stability. Every session results in actionable items and accountability.
Mona Jawad
Co-founder & CEO, ASL Aspire
“I used to build alone and deliberate forever. Now I put myself out there and I make the call.”
The hardest things were the people decisions: parting ways with a co-founder, and the conversations I'd been avoiding. Talking them through helped me decide and move, and stop seeing myself as the non-technical founder who couldn't build.
Kingsley Nwankwu
Founder & CEO, Stealth B2C startup
“I enrolled a handful of my managers in Dar's coaching program, and I am so glad that I did.”
By the end, my team had become more attentive, could better juggle shifting priorities, and improved their communication and problem-solving. We extended the program for several of our team leads.
Celia Ma
CEO, Paint the Town
“Dar asks questions I wouldn't think to ask myself, and helps me think through dilemmas in a logical, methodical way.”
Coaching with Dar has been incredibly helpful in identifying what I want out of my career and my life. Our sessions have helped me see the bigger picture of most situations.
Samantha Coria
CMO, Lifelong
“It's a forum where you can talk about the psychosocial side of being a founder, somewhere you can let your guard down.”
I came in enthusiastic, but tentative and overwhelmed. Talking things through with the group helped me get unstuck on a decision I'd been circling, and become far more willing to ask for help.
Colleen Crangle
Founder & CEO, Tiggim, Inc.
Conversations with founders, leaders, and experts.
Weekly articles on leadership, decision-making, and the inner work of scaling.
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What investors quietly read for in a pitch, and how to set up that read before the round starts.
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1:1 coaching is typically a 6-month engagement with weekly or bi-weekly 45-minute sessions and async support between. Founder Circle runs as a 12-month cohort with bi-weekly 90-minute sessions. Sponsored coaching is scoped with the sponsoring company.
1:1 pricing is shared on the discovery call once we've confirmed fit. Founder Circle is application-only and pricing is shared with accepted applicants. Sponsored coaching is scoped per engagement.
The discovery call is built for that. We'll talk through what you're working on, where you're stuck, and whether the work I do is the right shape for it.
Yes. Sponsored leader coaching is available for executives at any stage of company.
ICF-PCC certified coach, MBA, a BA in Psychology, and 15+ years across Fortune 500 companies like Wells Fargo and HP, consulting at Deloitte, and most recently a Series C startup, before going full-time as a coach.
