E655 | Dave Bailey, FounderCoach.com: From Founder to Coach - Competence, Curiosity & Scaling European Tech
Description
Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast — and today, a special Venture Beyond edition.
Joining Mike Reiner of 432 Legacy and Andreas is Dave Bailey — one of Europe’s most in-demand founder coaches, the brain behind FounderCoach.com, and a voice shaping how CEOs grow into their role.
Dave’s journey has been anything but linear: from co-founding startups like Delivery Hero, to a stint in venture capital, to now coaching Europe’s most ambitious CEOs. Along the way, he’s built a results-driven coaching methodology that balances competence, curiosity, and conviction.
If you’re a founder, VC, or operator wrestling with scaling leadership, navigating founder psychology, or turning board meetings into actual strategic levers — this episode is for you.
Here’s what’s covered:
01:10 | From Delivery Hero to VC to founder coach: Dave’s unorthodox path
05:00 | Why competence always comes before confidence
09:15 | The five pillars of Dave’s coaching methodology
13:40 | Founder Mode: planning and executing with quarterly rhythm
18:25 | Why visual clarity often beats verbal reflection
22:10 | The hidden link between trauma, ego, and founder drive
27:45 | Product launches as a culture-shaping mechanism
32:30 | How to transform board meetings into true strategic accelerators
38:50 | The founder’s mindset: obsessive curiosity + conviction
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