Co-Founder Sparring for Aligned Leadership Under Pressure
For founders navigating relational tension, misalignment, or pressure under growth — this is a private, high-impact space to rebuild trust, navigate hard conversations, and align your vision from the inside out.
Co-Founder Sparring & Mediation
Your Biggest Risk Isn't Just Runway. It's Relational Breakdown.
A shockingly high percentage of early-stage startups fail due to co-founder conflict.
The pace, pressure, and emotional toll of building a company can turn your greatest asset into your biggest liability.
But it doesn’t have to end that way.
Strong co-founder relationships are a strategic advantage.
They lead to better decisions, faster recovery in crises, and scalable trust under pressure.
This is where you have the conversations that actually matter —
before the tension builds, before burnout sets in, before silence becomes the norm.
What I offer
Sparring & Mediation for Co-Founders Navigating Growth, Tension & Change
A confidential space for co-founder teams ready to move through tension, misalignment, or change — and build a stronger foundation for what’s next.
What’s Included:
60 or 90-minute sparring or mediation sessions (bi-weekly/monthly) — tailored to your team’s needs
A brave space for honest, necessary conversations — no ego, no BS, just what needs to be said
Somatic & systemic guidance — to rewire reactive patterns and deepen co-leadership capacity
Optional 1:1 sessions for personal emotional processing & clarity
Support with high-stakes decisions, misalignment, team tension, and relational repair
Whether you're proactively strengthening your partnership or navigating hard truths — this is where real leadership begins.
You and your co-founder(s) are navigating high stakes and hard decisions — but there’s rarely time to reflect or reset.
One (or both) of you feels emotionally maxed out or disconnected.
Communication is strained, especially under pressure.
You're stuck in loops of resentment, blame, or avoidance.
You've hit a growth ceiling and friction is blocking momentum.
You still care — but something is off, and you don’t know how to move forward.
You simply want to understand each other better and build a lasting, trust-based relationship.
Is This You?
“Bianca has been an invaluable support, especially during some challenging times. She can put herself in one’s shoes which helped us to open up but is at the same time very sharp and clear. With her founder experience and insights, she helped me find more inner clarity and make more grounded decisions. Working with her is not only professional but also personally enriching.”
— Thomas Primus, CEO of FoodNotify
What You Actually Want
A Space to speak freely – and be heard.
Clarity on what’s actually going on beneath the surface.
A way forward that honors both your visions and strengths.
A co-founder partnership that feels like a resource, not a liability.
The co-founder relationship is one of the most emotionally complex, high-stakes relationships you'll ever navigate.
It deserves its own dedicated container – one built for truth, repair, and sustainable trust.
“The best time to work on your co-founder relationship is before you need to.
The second best time is now.”
— Bianca Gfrei, VC-backed CEO & Founder Coach
What You Can Expect
Whether you’re navigating a major transition, feeling stuck in your current role, or burning out under endless demands, this is your space to pause, assess, and realign.
Communication that works under pressure
Shared understanding of each other’s patterns and coping styles
A partnership that sustains
rapid growth
Decision-making that feels collaborative, not competitive
Leadership alignment
your entire team can feel
Rebuilt trust and genuine respect
What Co-Founder Teams Say
"My co-founder and I have completely different ways of dealing with stress, pressure, and the constant uncertainty. We avoided the hard conversations for months, not really making time for it but also thinking we were protecting the partnership by not addressing things.
Bianca's coaching is giving us a safe way to finally express what needs to be said and we learned that we came out so much stronger through this."
Christine and Nawal, Series A Startup
"We started working with Bianca during our second funding round, when we realized my co-founder and I had fundamentally different approaches and visions for where to head. We were under massive pressure with money running out and couldn't seem to get aligned.
Bianca guided us powerfully to get more clarity. It helps us how she creates a space where difficult things can be said without immediate reactions or outbursts…that alone was transformative for us."
Co-Founders, Growth-Stage B2B SaaS
"We got referred to work with Bianca when we were in a big crisis where one co-founder left at a critical point. The coaching didn't just help us survive the transition, it gave us a lot of new insights and better understanding for each other.
We learned how to integrate our different strengths and work better together as the new management team now."
Co-Founders, Early Stage FinTech Company
From a Serial Founder for Founders
Hi, I'm Bianca.
I’m a 2x VC-backed CEO turned somatic therapist and executive coach. I spent nearly a decade inside high-pressure founder roles – scaling healthtech startups, raising millions in VC funding, leading international teams, and living the startup rollercoaster firsthand.
Today, I guide co-founders through the work no one prepares you for: the emotional, relational, and nervous system realities of building companies together. I’ve been in your seat.
I don’t coach from theory. I coach from lived experience.
Ready to Turn Your Partnership
Into Your Advantage?
Stop letting co-founder dynamics limit your potential. Your company deserves founders who are genuinely aligned and capable of navigating high-growth together.
You don't have to break, burn out, or blow up your partnership to find your way back to alignment.
Let's make that your reality.
FAQs
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Generally, yes as this guidance is designed for full partnership presence and shared accountability.. There are situations where individual processing sessions in between can make sense and is necessary but the core work happens together. (If you're looking for individual founder coaching, learn more here.
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Perfect. That's exactly what this space is designed for – to meet tension directly, not bypass it. You'll be supported to move through conflict with both honesty and care, in a way that makes your partnership stronger.
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Let’s discuss during your free discovery call. Pricing depends on your stage, needs, and frequency of sessions. Payment plans available.
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Most co-founder teams see significant shifts within 3-4 sessions, with deeper transformation happening over 3-6 months. The timeline depends on your specific dynamics, needs and how much repair vs. optimization support is needed.