Scaling Portfolio Companies Starts with Scaling Leaders!
Sam Palazzolo
Why Coaching Matters in Private Equity & Venture Capital
Capital alone doesn’t drive growth. Portfolio companies stall when leadership teams lack clarity, discipline, or accountability. And PE/VC partners themselves often face the same challenges — balancing investment decisions, firm growth, and board responsibilities.
That’s where coaching comes in. I work with both portfolio executives and investment leaders to build the clarity, confidence, and accountability required to scale.
The Triangular Accountability Model
Borrowing from Marshall Goldsmith’s coaching framework who I worked with, I use a Triangular Accountability Structure:
- Investor (PE/VC sponsor) sets strategic expectations.
- Portfolio Leadership executes against those expectations.
- Coach (me) ensures alignment, clarity, and KPI-driven accountability between both sides.
This structure prevents drift, creates transparency, and accelerates value creation.
For Portfolio Leaders
Executive coaching helps CEOs and their teams:
- Translate investor expectations into actionable operating plans.
- Implement KPI-driven cadences that build discipline and focus.
- Strengthen leadership capacity during scaling, capital events, or M&A.
- Build resilience and confidence in high-stakes board and market environments.
For PE/VC Firm Leaders
Coaching for investors themselves focuses on:
- Enhancing leadership presence and influence across LPs, boards, and portfolios.
- Improving decision-making under uncertainty.
- Creating personal operating systems for time, focus, and execution.
- Building resilience and effectiveness in a high-pressure, high-stakes environment.
What to Expect
- Discovery & Alignment: Joint session with sponsor + leader to define coaching objectives.
- 1:1 Coaching Cadence: Regular sessions (monthly/quarterly) to build clarity, skills, and accountability.
- Triangular Reviews: Sponsor + leader + coach sessions to reinforce alignment and measure progress.
Why Me?
With 20+ years of experience — at Deloitte, inside the Fortune 500, and scaling startups to exit — I’ve led transformations from $1M → $1B+. Today, as Managing Director at Tip of the Spear Ventures, I embed directly in companies and coach leaders across portfolios.
- Fractional CSO & Advisor to PE-backed firms.
- Developer of the 5-Pillar Growth Methodology.
- Trusted by executives and investors to align strategy, execution, and outcomes.
Next Step
If you’re a portfolio leader looking for clarity, or a PE/VC sponsor wanting stronger alignment across your investments, let’s connect.