EUVC E655 | Dave Bailey, FounderCoach.com: From Founder to Coach - Competence, Curiosity & Scaling European Tech
Nov 21, 2025
Dave Bailey is a serial founder and the creator of FounderCoach.com, coaching around 250 CEOs in Europe. He discusses his unconventional journey from co-founding Delivery Hero to becoming a sought-after coach. Key topics include the importance of competence over confidence, the five pillars of his coaching methodology, and how founder psyche can influence performance. He explores turning board meetings into strategic tools and emphasizes using visual models to enhance clarity and execution. Bailey's insights into the relationship between trauma and founder drive add depth to his coaching approach.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
From Founder To Coach
- Dave Bailey started as a founder in 2007 and co-founded Delivery Hero which IPO'd in 2017.
- He then briefly joined VC, found meetings frustrating, and transitioned into coaching after training and early client demand.
Results As The Core Metric
- Dave places results at the center of coaching and uses early challenges to test who actually delivers.
- He frames the relationship as his responsibility to help the founder get results, and uses results to screen clients.
Choose Action-Oriented Founders
- Work with action-oriented, positive, vulnerable founders who proactively commit to tasks.
- Seek founders who communicate well and have a growth mindset to ensure coaching converts into execution.