TESTIMONIALS
Join a community of entrepreneurs committed to achieving their full potential and leaving a lasting impact on the world.
Decode – Coaching for Start-up Founders & CEOs
ALY ORADY
Founder & CEO
Tonal
RADHA AGRAWAL
Co-Founder & CEO
Daybreaker
JAMIE COX
Co-Founder
FluidStack & TreeCard
PERRIN QUARSHIE
Founder & CEO
RealBlocks (acquired by BlockchainK2)
AYE MOAH
Co-Founder & CEO
Baydin (Boomerang)
RON HIRSON
CPO
DocuSign
JOREY RAMER
Co-Founder & CEO
Super
MAX VENTILLA
Co-Founder & CEO
AltSchool
JAKE ROSENBERG
Co-Founder & CTO
Lendup
MAX OLSON
Founding CEO & CTO
Vessev (formerly SeaChange)
ERIC THURBER
Co-Founder
Three Bridge Wealth Advisors
BILL GELPI
Co-Founder & CEO
Rocket Games (Acquired by Penn National Gaming)
BEN COOK
Co-Founder & CEO
Passif Semiconductors (Acquired by Apple)
BRENDAN MARSHALL
Co-Founder & CEO
Flow (acquired by Apex Group)

ALY ORADY
Founder & CEO
Tonal
“Decode is jet fuel for leaders. Working with Dane has helped me grow rapidly and stay ahead of the growth of the company.”

CHRIS MANSI
Co-Founder & CEO
Viz.ai
“Dane helped me dig below the surface-level challenges to identify root causes and use those insights to grow. He draws on his experience as a startup Founder and executive to help me and the team build the capabilities, mindsets and skills needed to succeed at each stage of our growth."

RADHA AGRAWAL
Founder & CEO
Daybreaker
“With Dane I felt like I was not only getting leadership coaching to help scale my business but also ways I could human better, to look under the hood to improve as a parent, friend and community member. I’m really grateful for the time and level of thought and care with which Dane approached every conversation.”

JAMIE COX
Co-Founder
FluidStack & TreeCard
"Decode coaching is a really great way to level yourself up and manage the stress of running a business. Dane's great because he's got the combination of listening and being proactive. He helps me work through problems socratically, asking questions until I find the answer myself. He also knows when to step in to give practical hands-on advice based on his own lived experience as a CEO and founder. I've overcome a lot of personal limitations and decisions I've made for my company as a result have saved or generated hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars and wouldn't have happened without coaching with Dane.”

NETA MEIDAV
Co-Founder & CEO
Vault Platform
“Working with Dane is a truly pivotal experience. His support & advice were so important to me during the most nerve-racking period for every founder: fundraising. From prioritization to re-finding purpose and meaning, Dane contributed so much to my journey and I can't recommend his coaching services enough!"

MAX OLSON
Founding CEO & CTO
Vessev (formerly SeaChange)
"Our mission at SeaChange of addressing climate change by bringing economically-superior all electric 'flying' boats into the world is big and bold. And doing big and bold things is f-ing hard! Dane's support from strategy to stress management, talent to tactics, communication to raising capital and everything in between spanned the full spectrum of my role and life...and was invaluable to me and the business."

MICHELLE ZHU
Co-Founder & CEO
Huue.bio
"Dane has been one of the strongest sources of support for both Tammy (my co-founder) and I through our company building journey thus far. He is able to strike that perfect balance between promoting my own self discovery and providing active mentorship and encouragement - that feels qualified by his own entrepreneurial experiences - when I need it. My co-founder and I have also enjoyed participating in co-coaching sessions with Dane, which have helped us make space for the important deeper conversations that can get otherwise forgotten in the day to day operations. These conversations have strengthened our relationship and established the right foundation for us to build a lasting company together."

PERRIN QUARSHIE
Founder & CEO
RealBlocks (acquired by BlockchainK2)
“CEO Coaching with Dane Holewinski has consistently exceeded my highest expectations. I approached this coaching relationship seeking advice on effectively scaling my organization as it was experiencing rapid growth following my Series A Funding Round. Dane's holistic framework was exceptionally effective in uncovering the ways in which personal aspects of my life influence the way in which I show up professionally as a leader, and it was quite effective in helping me to develop actionable strategies for optimizing both of these aspects of my life as CEO. I cannot overstate the value that I have received from Dane's coaching program, and I enthusiastically recommend it to any CEO!"

RON HIRSON
CPO
Docusign
"Every great athlete has coaches and trainers, yet as entrepreneurs and executives we quite often feel like we have to go it alone. With Dane and Decode I was guided with a framework to leverage my strengths, discover my growth areas and programmatically build to become the best version of myself, professionally and personally. Most importantly, the people around me, at work and at home, saw the next levels of achievement, happiness and well-being."

AYE MOAH
Co-Founder & CEO
Baydin (Boomerang)
"My experience working with Dane has been transformational. He strikes the perfect balance of holding me accountable to my development goals while making sure I am well supported on the journey. The most impactful aspect of coaching with Dane is that he really sees my blind spots. Having somebody call me out on my bullshit is really important because as a Founder I don’t get the critical feedback from the team that I need to maximize my growth as a CEO.”

JOREY RAMER
Co-Founder & CEO
Super
"I screened many potential CEO coaches before deciding to work with Dane. What stood out for me then and has definitely proven out over time is Dane’s gift for identifying and addressing the underlying drivers of behaviors. Dane exceeded my expectations with a repeatable process that helps bring about positive change in those behaviors and directly overcomes the obstacles to personal and professional growth. Our work together has helped me build a more powerful team, improve how groups collaborate, and ultimately achieve our desired goals. I’m quite grateful to work with him."

SWAPNIL SHINDE
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
Zeni
"Working with Dane has been transformative, both personally and professionally. His deep spiritual foundation immediately resonated with me, and his zen-like approach to coaching fosters a natural sense of calm and clarity. Dane combines structure, methodical thinking, and openness, always ready to explore whatever is most pressing at the moment. He has been instrumental in helping me navigate personal challenges that were impacting my work, offering powerful insights into building a healthier, more resilient mind. If you’re a founder looking for a coach who leads with clarity, compassion, and deep wisdom, I wholeheartedly recommend Dane."

ZOLTAN OLAH
CEO
Chromatic
"Dane has helped me discover the best way to operate from my zone of genius. Combining a quantitative approach with a foundational understanding of human nature, Dane has unlocked insights that would have been difficult to tap without his help. In turn, this has elevated me into being a more effective leader with a greater sense of purpose.”

Max Ventilla
Co-Founder & CEO
Altschool
“Decode is a proven and personalized way you can be a better version of yourself.”

Nathalie Walton
Co-Founder and CEO
Expectful (acquired by Babylist)
“Dane has been a tremendous help in shifting my mindset to excel as a CEO. Our work together has enabled me to be a stronger, more empathetic, and impactful leader. I would recommend Dane to any founder looking to accelerate their growth."

Jonathan Matus
Co-Founder & CEO
Fairmatic & Zendrive (acquired by Intuit)
“Dane has helped me shift mindsets from ‘building great products’ to ‘building a great company’ by uncovering and unlocking patterns that were keeping me from reaching my full potential as a leader and person. Our work together allowed me to find the space to be more strategic, build a powerful exec team, delegate and build the foundation for a world-class company all while being less stressed, healthier and happier.”

Jake Rosenburg
Co-Founder & CTO
Lendup
“Coaching with Dane helped me recognize the impact my weaknesses were having on my company. Through our work together, I addressed these areas and have received incredible feedback from my team about changes in my leadership style. This has helped unlock company growth."

Bill Gelpi
Co-Founder & CEO
Rocket Games (acquired by Penn National)
“Coaching with Dane & Decode changed the trajectory of my life and helped me find clarity, confidence and purpose. Dane's deep understanding of the patterns of the mind coupled with his masterful listening helped me illuminate the root causes of my thoughts and actions. His practical tools and guidance empowered me to take these insights and translate them into permanent, profound and positive change."

Ben Cook
Co-Founder & CEO
Passif Semiconductors (acquired by Apple)
“Dane helped me pull myself out of despair and anxiety and reconnect with the things that bring me joy. With his guidance, I developed daily habits that led to tremendous personal growth and helped me find clarity about how to move forward."

Sandeep Ramchandi
CEO
Radix Registry
“Working with Dane has been a truly transformative experience for me. In just six months he aligned me towards my primary life goals, and helped me put together an action plan that accelerated my path towards self actualization. A standout feature of Dane's is that he comes from a place of genuine purpose. During every interaction I felt I was in a space with someone who has vested interests in my progress. He is also a great listener and a Jedi Master when it comes to mindfulness."

ADAM FLYNN
After-Exit / Founder
After-Exit / Founding Team of Wish
"Dane helped me navigate the unique challenges of a post-exit life transition. He challenged me to more deeply understand who I am, helping me embrace everyday joy and opening the door to the life I really want. Working with Dane has been a life-defining experience."

ERICH PEARSON
Co-Founder & CEO
SPARC
“Working with Dane and Decode has been an enlightening experience. When my COO and I started working with Dane, our relationship was in a challenging phase. Working together with Dane, we were supported in having productive hard conversations, align on a common vision and build the communication skills necessary to operate as partners. Dane has helped me grow as a leader, prioritize the important, and live a happier and healthier life along the way”

Sean Kelley
Co-Founder & COO
SPARC
“I approached Dane in the spring of 2020 about ways to improve my working relationship with my business partner. Dane pushed me to turn inward to explore and understand root causes within me that I subconsciously allowed to impact things. Dane helped me discover that my ability to change the situation was dependent on accepting accountability for my contribution and fundamentally changing my approach - I had been trying to change my business partner, which was only making things worse. Once I was able to come to terms with owning my part of the equation, I was able to see the situation from an outsider's perspective. This brought about an immense sense of peace and acceptance which in turn helped allow my business partner to see and hear my perspective.”

Eric Thurber
Co-Founder
Three Bridge Wealth Advisors
"Coaching with Dane & Decode has been transformational. It has enabled me to find a level of purpose, happiness and clarity that I never had before. Every aspect of my life that is important to me professionally and personally has improved dramatically because of the work we have done together."

Brendan Marshall
Co-Founder & CEO
Flow (acquired by Apex Group)
“Decode is empowering. Working with Dane helped me uncover what drives me as a leader and dive deep to update my operating system and hone the skills to be more effective in building a company.”

Mor Sidi
Chief Human Resources Officer
ActiveFence
“The value of coaching with Decode is immeasurable. It is a step by step process and, with the guidance and support of Dane, you will grow as a person and a leader.”

Sumner Paine
SVP of Product & Design
Tonal
“Credit to Dane’s coaching for helping me become a better leader. He unpacks and challenges my default thinking, enabling me to see the most difficult situations as opportunities for personal growth. Beyond merely talking about actions, he holds me accountable for practicing the skills I’ve needed to develop as my role evolved. Through reflection and insights we turn practices into habits, and from there we take on the next challenge!"

Todd Jason
Founder & CEO
Man For Man
“If you are looking for a coach who understands the needs of modern entrepreneurs and is hell bent on unleashing your highest capacities by looking at the ‘true stuff’ that makes you tick, I highly recommend Dane. He is highly intuitive, understanding, compassionate, flexible and smart.”

Kady Pooler
Founder
Overtime Coaching
“Engaging in coaching with Decode is one of the best things you can do for yourself. The greater sense of self awareness gained by working with Decode makes everything better.”

Pankaj Risbood
Co-Founder & CTO
Zendrive (acquired by Intuit)
"Dane helped me identify concrete development goals and has been a great partner in tracking progress and holding me accountable to outcomes. With his help I am able to delegate better, focus on the most important things and feel on top of things.”

MARC WEINSTEIN
Partner
Mechanism Capital
"Dane is a fantastic coach who knows exactly how to draw inspiration out of his clients. Through masterful empathic communication and programming, he helped me change both my internal and external worlds. He did so not by offering prescriptions, but instead by acting as a bright mirror reflecting me back to myself more clearly. The work that we did together was deeply personal and improved not only my work life but also my social life and romantic relationship. Since we started working together, I have made many important life decisions that were previously paralyzing me and have a more positive outlook on my past and future. I really enjoyed our time together and would recommend working with Dane to anyone."

MARCUS SEGAL
FOUNDER & CEO
ForeVR Games
"I decided pretty early on to invest time and money in my personal and professional development (coaching, therapy, books, seminars, etc.). Of all of those modalities, I view the decision to work with Dane Holewinski @Decode as the single most impactful decision I have made. Beginning your work with Dane should be one of your top priorities. I say this with absolute conviction and no exaggeration. The time to start living the life you imagine for yourself is now."