COACHING
Coaching for ambitious operators.
Founders, product leaders, early execs at fast-paced, intense companies. People who want to work hard, be successful, and still have a big beautiful life around it.
Book a free intro session
WHAT WE WORK ON
Sustainable ambition
Building a career that doesn't break you. Learning to attune to your natural rhythms and inner seasons. Rest is a skill.
Identity beyond the role
Not letting your job title dictate your self-worth. Building a plural, resilient identity that doesn't collapse when the company does.
Free agency
Designing the relationship with work itself. Mercenary, missionary, or free agent? Choosing the terms instead of blindly following others.
A healthy relationship with intensity
Drawing real lines around always-on work. Distinguishing your responsibility as a leader from manufactured urgency.
Embodied living
Your body is intelligent and it knows what you need. Learning to notice what it's telling you.
Designing your days
A good day repeated consistently becomes a good life. Shifting to live in process, while letting go of being entirely goal-driven.
The work also extends into money, meaningful work, portfolio careers, attention, authenticity, and spiritual practice without performance.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT HERE
I'm in the seat, not out of it.
Most coaches who work with founders and leaders are ex-operators looking back. I'm currently Head of Product at Roe AI, an early-stage AI startup. The work I'm coaching is the work I'm doing in real time.
Frameworks from lived experience.
Sustainable ambition. Process over goals. Elements of Work. Free Agency. These are frameworks I've worked through in my own writing. The coaching pulls from the same source.
Embodied and integrated.
Skiing, surfing, backpacking, yoga, meditation, and Hakomi. I've learned to bring the body into the work. Not just the head.
WHAT WE'LL DO
There are no quick fixes. We create the conditions for you to see yourself clearly, face what feels hardest, and take steps toward a life and work that feel fully yours.
Uncover who you really are.
Slow down enough to notice what you long for. Together we uncover your deepest desires, the parts of yourself you may have ignored or denied, and the possibility of allowing yourself to want what you truly want.
Work with fear directly.
Fear shows up as self-judgment, conflict avoidance, the voice that says you're not ready. Instead of pushing it away, we bring it into the room. Fear becomes a signal pointing toward what matters most.
Discern and take the leap.
When you're facing a transition or significant change, we work both sides of the decision. Clarify what you want. Build the courage to leap when the time is right.
Find sustainable rhythms.
When burnout has dimmed your light, we create space to breathe, slow the cycle of urgency, and rediscover balance.
Reclaim aliveness.
Childlike curiosity. Play. A sense of wonder. We bring back what makes you feel most human and let that energy ripple into your work and life.
HOW I SHOW UP
Your mirror, your sparring partner, sometimes your bullshit-caller.
I don't separate personal and professional growth. They're deeply connected.
My job isn't to hand you answers. It's to help you uncover what you truly want, then support you in taking action that matches your commitments. I balance support with challenge. When I challenge you, it's always with your best interest at heart.
“Matt is an incredibly effective coach. Each session ends up being a deeply meaningful and powerful milestone on my journey.”
— Ruthie N.
HOW WE'LL WORK TOGETHER
Two 60-minute sessions a month, virtual or in person if you're local in the Bay Area.
A three-month minimum to start. Most of what's worth working on takes time to shift.
Detailed notes after each session capturing what we explored, the patterns I noticed, and any practices to try between sessions.
Unlimited support between sessions by email, text, or voice note. I read everything and respond as needed.
I cap my practice at four clients at a time, so each partnership gets full attention and presence.
TRAINING
Hakomi Level One Comprehensive Training, started January 2025. Hakomi is a somatic therapy modality embracing slow and embodied inner work.
Apprenticed under Steve Schlafman at Downshift in 2024, learning about Conscious Leadership Group, Presence-Based Coaching, and Transitions through osmosis.
2.5 years of independent coaching practice from 2023 through mid-2025, working with founders, executives, and operators in transition.
Ongoing personal coaching and continuing somatic study, because the inner work is never done and I won't ask of clients what I'm not doing myself.
“Matt challenged me to look within to uncover my true values during a time when I was plagued with anxiety.”
— Raahul A.
“Matt has been a thought partner whose sessions have kept me grounded, challenged, and reflective.”
— Saalik L.
WHAT THIS IS REALLY ABOUT
Most coaches pick a lane. Career performance or life transformation. I work both at once, because for most people they're impossible to separate and actually the same problem.
The work helps you be more effective at your job and more alive outside of it. Not productivity at the cost of everything else. Not balance at the cost of ambition. Both, at the same time.
I don't focus on productivity, framework, or getting too abstract. I coach the whole person, starting with where you're at, and we flow from there.
If something here resonates, let's talk.
A free 60-minute intro session to see if working together feels right. Don't stress, it's just a conversation!
Book a free intro session
© Matt Yao 2026
Palo Alto · ongoing