5 years of founder coaching with Mick Todd.
I was 27 years old, had just raised our Series A, and was stepping into a new level of leadership. I wanted to run a great board, build a strong team, and take Sarwa to the next level.
I was looking for an exec coach with global experience, someone who understood the founder journey while also being completely unbiased, challenging me without the “group think” that can come from colleagues, friends, and family (it's only normal to surround ourselves with like-minded people).
That’s when I started working with Mick Todd.
Mick is a global coach focused on building high performance.
From day one, he was parachuted into a high-stakes conflict I had with an investor, helping me resolve it in the best way possible. He introduced me to Gallup’s Top 5 Strengths framework, which transformed how I work. From there, we built strong habits, the right mindset, and a structured approach to scale Sarwa at every stage. Every session brings energy, clarity, focus, connection, and accountability.
Some of the impact he’s had on me:
1. Strengths-Based Leadership – Helped me uncover my top 5 Gallup strengths and lead with them.
2. Tough Decisions & High-Stakes Execution – Reshaped the boardroom, tackled difficult conversations, and structured a $15.5M Series B led by Mubadala.
3. Value-Based Thinking – Shifted from a cost-based model to value-based pricing—turning pricing discussions into "$1M conversations."
4. Eliminating Friction – Constantly refining what needs to be dropped to focus on what actually moves the needle.
5. Remote as a Strength – Reframed Sarwa’s remote-first model from an “outlier” to a competitive edge that allows us to operate around the clock and hire the best global talent.
6. Strong Habits – Light touch, big impact. It’s not always big things, small changes like no meetings before 12 PM made a huge difference.
More than anything, Mick changed the way I think.
He brings a ton of knowledge from the global community he’s built and provides thought leadership for any challenge. His hyper-personalized approach gave me more confidence as a leader, especially in decision-making.
One example of a framework that stuck with me: 40/70 Rule – 40% of info isn’t enough to decide. More than 70% is overthinking. Mick is very precise with language. He’s allergic to words like "I guess."
Coaching at this level isn’t cheap, thousands per session. But the ROI? Millions in unlocked value.
It’s no surprise that Mick has been recognized globally, winning top executive coaching awards year after year. Thank you Mick.
Too much therapy, not enough coaching? Curious if other founders have tried coaching. What was your experience?
