By Matteo Cassese. I’ve coached founders and executives since 2019, after fifteen years of running my own businesses, including burning one down twice.
What does a business coach do? Here is the honest answer. I look at you and ask what’s in the way. It’s not consulting: no one’s handing you a playbook. Most of what gets sold as business coaching is a playbook or a framework. That’s not this.
You’ve tried the frameworks. They didn’t fix this. That’s where I come in. I’m a little more than a mindset coach. I’m much more than a business coach. I’m a shadow partner, I’m a sparring partner to extraordinary people who want to do extraordinary things.
The One-Line Answer
It’s a one-on-one partnership between a founder and a coach who has been in that same fire. I look at you and ask what’s in the way. The work is simple: reconnect with who you are, and the decisions start making themselves.
What Actually Happens in a Session
We can start with even just one hour together. A space for you to show up with whatever is weighing on you. Your chaos is the curriculum.
I am attentive. My presence is needed. But it’s a delicate presence. I am here to clarify, go deeper, ask a question occasionally. I am not driving the conversation, I am not in control, I don’t need to lead.
We’re not here to fix you. It’s a safe space where you can finally stop performing and start listening to what you actually know.
It’s not a technical problem. It’s a problem of meaning.
“I know who I am, therefore I know what to do.” That’s my favorite feedback from clients. Not “I studied the market so I know what to do.” Not “the team voted so I know what to do.” Deep, unshakeable confidence in your own self and in your own path. This is what finding your own truth gets you.
Coach vs Consultant vs Mentor vs Therapist
Here’s the difference, stripped to one line each:
- A consultant looks at your business and tells you what to fix.
- A mentor tells you what worked for them.
- A therapist works on your past.
- A coach works on what’s in the way now.
Four different jobs. Only one looks at what’s actually stopping you.
What a Business Coach Won’t Do
It’s not consulting: no one’s handing you a playbook.
I help brilliant overthinkers build their business (and life) on their own terms, without the frameworks that got them stuck in the first place.
If you apply an external framework to an existential problem, the framework presents itself as a painkiller. What it is in reality is a sleeping pill because it turns off our intuition.
If the problem is an emotional state, the solution can’t be another course or framework, because most problems only manifest as mechanical but have an emotional origin. The problem appears on the outside, on a dashboard, but originates on the inside, a fixed mindset.
You have a philosophical problem. A problem of meaning. And until you find that meaning, things will stay stuck.
Who It’s Actually For, and Who It Isn’t
Being smart and working hard got you this far. Now you’re stuck.
On the outside, everything’s working. But you are burning out. You’re working the longest hours but the ceiling won’t break. The efforts won’t scale. You are thinking harder than ever, but it just gets you stuck in analysis paralysis. You don’t know what to decide. You don’t know in which direction to move.
Entrepreneur coaching is for entrepreneurs who have built something real but feel stuck. You’re smart. You’ve tried the frameworks. They didn’t fix this.
You won’t figure it out by doing more research or analyzing more options. You won’t figure it out by reading guru’s books or best practices. This is not an engineering problem for you to solve.
Ask yourself:
- Have you already tried the framework, the course, and the mastermind?
- Has more research ever unstuck you?
- A technical problem, or a problem of meaning?
- A ready-made plan, or your own answer?
What It Looks Like When It Works
Jen ran a B2B marketing agency. She was working hard but her business wasn’t growing.
He was the only one who could spot the root cause and say: “Let’s follow this thread and unlock it.”
Within a month: her biggest client to date. Within a year: she was starting her dream project and working in M&A.
It’s like healing a broken leg you’ve been limping on your whole life. Now I can actually run.
Common Questions About Business Coaching
What does a business coach do day to day?
We can start with even just one hour together. I listen for what’s underneath the words: the pattern you can’t see because you’re inside it. Then we find a name for it, together. Most clients say that first session already shifts something.
How is coaching different from consulting?
A consultant looks at your business and tells you what to fix. I look at you and ask what’s in the way. The business problem is almost always a reflection of something deeper: a conflict the founder hasn’t resolved, a story they’re telling themselves that isn’t true anymore. Fix that, and the decisions start flowing.
How long does it take?
It depends on the work. Some come for a single session and get what they need. Others do a two-session deep dive, or monthly coaching with weekly 90-minute sessions. No minimum, no lock-in.
How much does it cost?
It starts at 490 EUR for a first session, full refund if it wasn’t up to your expectations. The full pricing is on the coaching page. All prices exclude VAT.
Does it work remotely?
Both. I’m based in Berlin and I love working in person. There’s something about sharing a space that cuts through the noise faster. But most of my clients are remote. Founders in Germany, Italy, the US, Portugal, the Netherlands, and ten other countries. A screen doesn’t change what happens between us.
How do I know if I need one?
It’s not for people looking for a ready made plan. I don’t do playbooks. If you need someone to tell you what to do, we’re not a fit. If you’re ready to stop performing and start listening to what you actually know, this is for you.
What to do next
Start with the free 3-minute leverage assessment. If this sounds familiar, read Founder Burnout. If you want to talk it through, book one hour to start your transformation. Fully and immediately refundable if you don’t get any value from it.
What you should do next
Discover what’s holding you back from the inside out. Understand where you naturally have leverage and where it eludes you.
Take the free founder mindset course.
If you want to talk it through with me, my coaching for founders starts with a first session at EUR 490, fully refundable.
About Matteo Cassese
Business coach, keynote speaker, and mythmaker, Matteo helps leaders thrive in chaos and conflict. Twenty years across tech, film and consulting, seven of them at Warner Bros., founding-team at Netflix Italy, and advisory work for Sony, LinkedIn and Heineken. Berlin based. His unique perspective as a queer nerd passionate about mythology and technology creates a safe space for leaders to be vulnerable and reach their full potential. Read more about Matteo.
