In retrospect, I’ve been coaching entrepreneurs since middle school.

I spent my childhood nights, weekends, and summers working at my family’s small-yet-innovative manufacturing tech business. Together, we wrestled with the real-world struggles of entrepreneurs: hiring and firing, product-market fit, angry customers, recession cycles, infringement lawsuits (we had 30 patents).  In retrospect, my father and mother were my first coaching clients. 

I completed my BA at Harvard University, where I studied Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, followed by five years of consulting at Monitor Deloitte.  I had become a successful senior leader, advising Fortune 500 CXOs, billionaires, founders, and prime ministers on their biggest strategic challenges. I was jet-setting across the US, SE Asia, Southern Africa, and Middle East.  But I had lost my sense of purpose.

My niche is helping changemakers transform themselves to transform the world.

My soul searching led me to Stanford.  I earned an MBA at the Graduate School of Business and an MA+PhD studying Organizational Sociology (yes, you can call me Dr. Moshe ;).  My dissertation examined the science of “humanizing” cultures in scaling startups, built on trust and cohesion.  My teaching extends from this call.  For over a decade, I’ve facilitated the iconic class Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”), a 10-week learning laboratory to foster emotional intelligence and self awareness.  I  designed two classes on human connection at Stanford’s d.school, and I teach authentic leadership with CoRise.

Throughout my career, I have been magnetized to extraordinary leaders innovating to bring out the best in people, and/or do better for the earth.   I joined Bridgewater Associates (a Deliberately Developmental Organization founded by Ray Dalio) as a Senior Manager to lead transformational Learning & Development and DEI.  I engaged climate deniers while penning the Prime Minister of Singapore’s first climate policy.  I joined Bhutan’s first foreign direct investment, then a nascent ag-tech startup, founded on triple-bottom-line principles (profits, people, planet).  Most recently, I joined a web3 founding team on the frontiers of the future of work.  Along the way, I’ve advised or have been part of numerous startups at the intersection of tech and social good.

I also understand the struggles…

…. professionally.

I get how hard entrepreneurship is.  And it’s all the harder when also trying to stay true to purpose and do something differently.   My dream-team startup collapsed when the market crash.   I successfully turned around my family’s business during COVID as Interim President, but it came at the price of  layoffs and shutting down a major division.  I’ve been laid off, a huge blow to my ego and sense of safety.  This is where the sacred meets the material, navigating the challenges that life throws at us with grace.

… and personally.

I grew up as a closeted queer, Arab-American Jew in middle America.   At 28, my life looked like an impeccable success story on the outside, but my inner world was absolutely out of alignment.  Taking Interpersonal Dynamics as a Stanford MBA student unlocked my personal power, self-awareness, and embodied queerness. There was no going back. I worked through the inner and outer experience of being an “outsider,” and I’ve invested significantly in supporting non-dominant groups in my work and personal life. A Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging lens permeates all the work I do. About half of my clients are LGBTIA+, People of Color, and/or neurodivergent. All are committed to building more inclusive, empowered workplaces.

Thankfully, I found the power of personal growth and spiritual practice. 

Since Interpersonal Dynamics “cracked me open,” I’ve studied multiple modalities for cultivating consciousness, accessing sacred wisdom, and cultivating stronger relationships. They’re now woven throughout my coaching. Adyashanti, Byron Katie, SN Goenka, Hareesh Wallace, Janet Stone, and Denise Guerringue are my most influential teachers.

My life has been punctuated by years of pilgrimage and study in India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Hawai’i.  I have a lifelong connection to ancient forests and have backpacked 100s of days cumulatively in the wilderness. My inner journey is nurtured each day through mindfulness practice, and I typically attend a meditation retreat or Vision Quest annually.

I coach today because it’s a powerful expression of my purpose and gifts. It gives me life every day.