You’re building something that matters.

Become the person it requires.

Who I work with

My work is high-touch and selective.

I work exclusively with AI founders and people building with transformative technologies — leaders who are as ambitious as they are thoughtful about the broader implications of what they're creating.

Who AI founders, technical leaders, and people building with transformative technologies — those building something meaningful.
Format Ongoing one-to-one work, video or in person. San Francisco · remote.
Engagement By application only. A small number of clients at a time.

When the demands increase, you have to grow with them.

This requires making the right strategic choices at every stage. I work with founders to confront these challenges. It means knowing how to scale yourself as a leader, build a high-performance team, and show up at your strongest during fundraising. Some are external: fundraising, scaling, strategy. Others are philosophical: what kind of leader, what kind of company, and why does it matter? And beneath all of it are: your fears, your assumptions, and the stories you tell yourself about what's possible.

APPLY NOW

What Led Me Here

I didn't set out to become an executive coach. At twenty-one, I led a 500-member club at my university and ran straight into the part of leadership no one had taught me: the human element. The politics, the fear, the resistance to change that wasn't really about the change at all. I wanted to understand why.

That question pulled me through psychology, philosophy, teaching, and eventually to San Francisco, where I started working with founders building things that did not yet exist. The deeper I went, the clearer it became that the real work of leadership is not strategy or execution. It is the story a leader is telling themselves about what is happening, and who they have to be inside it.

That is the work I do now.

Read the longer version →

You may

Recognize yourself here.

01 / Strategy

Be in the middle of a fundraising round and need to make key strategic decisions.

02 / Presence

Struggle with self-doubt while still needing to project confidence publicly.

03 / Excellence

Be committed to growing and pursuing excellence in every area of your life.

04 / Pressure

Carry more pressure than most people around you can understand.

05 / Team

Want to build a high-performance team but need help to make it happen.

06 / Meaning

Look for work that feels meaningful and a life that feels sustainable.

How we work

My Approach

I work primarily through one-to-one conversations, by video or in person. Each session is a space to think clearly about the issues that demand your attention right now.

01Key strategic choices
02Fundraising preparation
03Building a high-performance team
04Executive presence
05Prioritization
06Internal conflict
07Self-doubt
08Burnout

What you come with isn’t always the whole story.

My role is to listen carefully for and reveal the underlying dynamics beyond what’s obvious at surface level. By understanding these patterns, you will make better decisions, handle pressure with greater steadiness, and lead with precision.

Start Here

What My Clients Are Saying

  • “Banu’s guidance and insight have been instrumental in my journey toward becoming a more confident and effective person. I sometimes say that ‘Banu has changed my life,’ and I mean it. I’ve updated out of old ways of thinking and unhelpful patterns. This has profoundly impacted not only the way I show up at work, but also the rest of my life.”


    –Anastasia Gamick, Building Focused Research Organizations

  • “When Banu talks, I listen. I interviewed quite a few executive coaches and it didn’t take long into our first call to ascertain that Banu had something truly unique. She uses this understanding and deep passion for the “why’s” and “how’s” of our brains to dive deep and shift perspectives through teaching, not telling. These teachings and the care and piercing intellect with which she delivers them continues to deeply shift the way in which I conduct myself as a CEO. I wish all students had teachers as intelligent, knowledgable, caring and passionate as Banu!"

    —Aza Steel, CEO/ Co-Founder at GoGuardian

A Leader's Journey is full of external, internal, and philosophical challenges.

It's a daring undertaking with many opportunities and pitfalls. The journey sometimes involves doubts, feeling lost, and "eating glass" while having to exude confidence and clarity to the outside world.

I see your pain and your desire to do great things. 

I’ve helped hundreds of executives unlock their leadership superpowers to be the effective, inspiring, and strong leaders they want to be while taking care of their personhood in the process. 

I can help you, too. Let’s talk.

Banu

An invitation

If this is the moment to grow something that matters —

I'd be glad to hear from you.

Apply to work together →
— Banu