Leadership & Startup Coach in Amsterdam

You built this thing. Now let’s build the leader behind it.

Running your own thing is different than anyone told you. But you can break through the personal blocks that keep you playing small and unleash the leader you want to be.

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10+

Years coaching

500+

Founders & Leaders coached

5/5 Google reviews

Here’s what nobody tells you about running your own thing:

Running your own thing is different than anyone told you. The decisions are heavier. The wins are quieter. And when the business struggles, it feels like you’re the one failing.

You know the truth. You’re stretched thin and the loneliness hits harder than anyone around you understands.

You feel like you’re improvising all the time, and it’s exhausting
You’re running on empty while everyone around you thinks you’re winning.
Other founders’ wins used to inspire you. Lately they just make you wonder why you’re falling behind.
You’re stressed, snapping at the people you love, or people-pleasing your way through every interaction. And you know this isn’t who you want to be.

Watch how my startup coaching process works

Why me, you ask? Because I’ve actually done what you’re trying to do.

I’ve been there. As a founder, as a team lead at Philips, and as someone who had to learn the hard way that you can’t push through everything alone. Let me show you what changes when you stop trying to figure it all out by yourself.

I’ve built startups, sold one, and watched another fail.

All of that experience lives in how I coach. Combined with professional certifications (PCC, CPCC), training in co-active coaching, somatic work, and neuroscience, I bring both the strategy and the personal depth that most coaches offer separately.

ICF PCC Professional Certified Coach credential – Miguel Baumann

University of St. Gallen – leadership coaching client

CPCC Certified Professional Co-Active Coach – Miguel Baumann

Meet your Leadership Coach

Hands typing on a tablet keyboard next to a drink. Startup Leadership Coach working.

Results that my clients achieve

Navigate conflict without losing yourself

Difficult conversations don’t have to destroy you. Together we’ll work through the patterns and beliefs that make conflict feel threatening, so you can address hard things from a place of clarity, not fear.

Clear the internal blocks holding you back

The biggest thing standing between you and the next level isn’t time or strategy, it’s the stuff you haven’t looked at yet. The self-doubt. The imposter syndrome. The people pleasing or the the old patterns running the show. As your coach, I help you see it, work through it, and move forward for good.

Lead without burning out (your team)

Whether you’re bringing on your first hire or leading a growing team, you’ll learn how to communicate with clarity, give feedback that actually lands, and bring people along instead of dragging them.

Unshakeable confidence & presence

You’ll stop shrinking in rooms where you belong. My coaching helps you rebuild the confidence to speak your truth, own your expertise, and show up as a leader people take seriously.

Real relationships: with your team, your board, and yourself

Your team, your investors, your co-founders all need you to show up fully. Not the polished version, the real one. I’ll help you build the kind of relationships where trust runs deep and delegation actually works.

Get your life back

You didn’t start your business to spend every day in back-to-back meetings. I help founders and leaders move from doing everything to leading with intention, so you have space for the work that matters, and for the life outside of it.

Coaching for Founders & Leaders in Amsterdam or Online

Deep down, you know something has to change.

Leadership coaching

Leadership Coaching. Drop the performance, and be the person people actually want to follow.

Career coaching

Know what you really want and create a clear path forward for you and your skyhigh ambitions.

Confidence coaching

Confidence Coaching — Stop hiding behind your work. Step forward as the leader you already are.

See what other founders are saying about my Startup Coaching Services

Stefanie Hetjens

CEO Everywow & Ed-tech Entrepreneur (Zürich)

LinkedIn ›

“Miguel really helped me a lot. We had regular sessions for over a year of regular indepth and transforming conversations. I can fully recommend to work together with him. He comes quickly to the point, has vast knowledge and experiences, and simply a very skilled coach. Thank you, Miguel!”

Read all testimonials

Brands that have benefited from my startup coach programs

Brands that trust Miguel Baumann, Leadership & Startup Coach

Brands that trust Miguel Baumann, Leadership & Startup Coach 3

Startup Coaching FAQ’s

What does an executive coach do?

An executive coach helps you step back from the chaos and get honest about what’s really going on, in your business and in yourself. I combine structured coaching frameworks with deeper personal work, so you don’t just set goals, you actually reach them.

Most of my clients come in wanting to move fast. That instinct is exactly what got them here. But real growth starts when we slow down enough to understand what’s driving the urgency, and what’s getting in the way.

Why should a CEO have an executive coach?

When you’re the one making the big calls, there’s no one above you to gut-check your thinking. No one who’ll tell you the truth without an agenda.

That’s what a coach does. I’m your impartial sparring partner — someone who asks the hard questions and helps you think clearly when the pressure is highest. Not to give you answers, but to help you find the ones you actually trust.

How does executive coaching help executives?

Executives don’t need coaching, they want coaching. Coaching is always something that comes on top of great career skills. Coaching with me allows executives to have tough conversations from a place of compassion instead of confrontation. We will analyze situations from multiple angles and open up possibilities instead of only binary options. These are the things that separate the good from the great.

What makes a great leader and executive that an executive coach can polish?

Modern leaders excel when they embody authenticity in character and communication. They embrace honesty about their own strengths and weaknesses and they don’t try to keep up an illusion of perfection. Instead, these leaders actively listen to feedback and praise the best ideas from others. And the best executives refuse to tolerate egos that hinder progress.

What are the different leadership styles?

The classic list includes authoritative, democratic, coaching, visionary, servant, and transformational leadership. In practice, no one fits cleanly into one.

Most founders borrow from several, and usually default to whichever style their survival patterns pulled them into, not the one that actually serves their team. My coaching helps you notice which style is running the show, and build the flexibility to lead differently when the moment calls for it.

What leadership skills matter most for founders?

Everyone talks about communication, delegation, and decision-making. Those matter. But they’re symptoms, not causes.

The deeper skills are self-awareness (knowing what you’re doing and why), emotional regulation (not flying off the handle under pressure), and the ability to hold discomfort long enough to make good calls. The founders who lead well aren’t the ones with the most frameworks. They’re the ones who’ve done the inner work.

What is transformational leadership?

Transformational leadership is when you inspire people to commit to a bigger purpose rather than just comply with tasks. It’s less about directives and more about presence, trust, and vision.

Most founders I work with want to be transformational leaders. They just haven’t built the internal stability to actually do it. That’s where coaching comes in.

What’s the difference between leadership and management?

Management is about getting things done through systems, processes, and accountability. Leadership is about why anyone follows you in the first place.

Most founders are accidentally managing when they mean to be leading, because management is easier to measure. Coaching with me helps you build both muscles, and know when to use each.

How do you build adaptive performance in a team?

Adaptive performance is your team’s ability to adjust to new challenges, new people, new strategies, without falling apart. It starts with psychological safety and clarity of purpose.

But here’s what most leadership content misses. Your team’s adaptability caps at yours. If you can’t handle change internally, your team won’t either. We work on both ends.

executive coach speaking in front of a group

Startup Coaching Blogs

Read all posts

The founder grind isn’t burnout. It’s closer to depression.
Published On: 5 May 2026By Miguel
You hit the target you set 18 months ago. Revenue is up. The round closed. And last Thursday you sat in your car in the office parking lot for 40 minutes, engine off, and couldn't make yourself walk in. That isn't laziness. That isn't even burnout, not really. Burnout …
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Founder self-doubt is not imposter syndrome but rooted deeper in you.
Published On: 21 April 2026By Miguel
Here's a quiet confession most founders make about four calls into working with me. "I'm not sure I actually know what I'm doing." Not as a joke. Not as false modesty. As a low, humming fear that they've fooled everyone, including themselves, and any day now someone is going …
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No-brainer Leadership Resources
Published On: 2 September 2025By Miguel
Many of my clients approach me and ask: Where should I start with this "leadership thing"? There is a lot out there, ChatGPT has probably some answers as well. But here is a short overview of the most helpful links and articles to get you started (links listed so …
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