Remembering who you were before the world told you who to be.

I have had the privilege of knowing and working with David since 2019. Over the years, he has served not only as a coach I’ve personally turned to but also as someone I’ve recommended to others seeking a skilled and insightful guide with deep business acumen.

David’s true superpower lies in his exceptional curiosity. He has an uncanny ability to delve deeply into situations, uncovering insights that others have yet to realize. His perspective is both profound and transformative. He doesn’t just identify the core of an issue, he reflects it back in a way that brings remarkable clarity and understanding.

Working with David feels like a series of “aha” moments, each one building on the last. Resulting in lasting personal and professional transformation. He is a masterful coach whose expertise and approach make him an invaluable asset to any individual or team fortunate enough to work with him.

As VP of Engineering, I initially sought coaching with David to grow my leadership and team management skills. From the moment we met, our discussions transcended the typical boundaries of technical and managerial topics. While I had some initial skepticism, I found myself connecting with David in a very deep way.

Reflecting on my time with David, the first thing that strikes me is the depth of our conversations. More importantly, the insights gained during our sessions continue to be even more relevant to me now than they were at the time. Although our coaching concluded several years ago, the lessons I learned still resonate and evolve within me. David possesses a unique talent for fostering deep self-awareness in his clients, enabling them to discover enduring truths that become ingrained in their essence. His skill in intertwining discussions on leadership with metaphysical and philosophical themes pushed me to explore beyond the obvious, linking my professional objectives to a deeper existential purpose and alignment.

David did more than just improve my abilities as a leader; he transformed me into a more reflective, well-grounded person. Today, I find myself approaching uncertainty with assurance and creativity. For anyone looking for a coach who can ignite lasting, transformational growth, David is without equal.

David is unlike any other coach I’ve encountered — that was clear from the very first exploratory call. While considering several executive coaches, his authenticity, genuine curiosity, and deep interest in truly understanding me stood out. It wasn’t just a routine conversation; it was the beginning of a transformative journey.

Now, after several years of working with David, I can confidently say he has been a cornerstone of my professional and personal growth. His rare ability to seamlessly integrate executive expertise with profound insights into philosophy and life skills sets him apart. David doesn’t just help you achieve goals — he equips you to realize your full potential and navigate challenges with clarity and confidence.

For anyone looking to expand their mindset, elevate their performance, and thrive in both work and life, I cannot recommend David highly enough. He is a true catalyst for meaningful and lasting change.

David is one of our most effective coaches and group facilitators for our senior leaders and teams at LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a purpose-driven company, and David’s style and focus resonate deeply. With his own experience as an executive himself, he is able to establish credibility very quickly. David speaks the language of a data-driven executive, but has the compassion and insight of a master coach, consistently evoking transformation across a spectrum of leaders, topics, and goals.

I began working with David shortly after our seed round. Almost immediately recognizing the value of the relationship I introduced him to my co-founder and COO of the company. Both of us formed a significant coaching relationship with him. After a year of working with him we closed our A round led by Accel ventures. He has been instrumental both to my personal growth as CEO, as well as to the development of our overall company culture. His concepts of expansive thinking, next-tier accountability, and reflective listening have become a core part of our company’s vernacular and way of working. Both my partner and I call on David for his insight into business, his ability to remind us of what we may already know even if, in his words, it may not have yet truly occurred to us, and his wisdom as a leader.

David is an exceptional coach who regularly pushed me outside of my comfort zone. While I sometimes hated that in the moment, it led to deeper reflection, increased self-discovery, and real change. Some coaches focus solely on helping leaders hit business objectives or goals. David takes a holistic approach because he takes a stand for who his clients want to be in the world. The result was powerful and has helped me not just win at work but in all aspects of my life.

Since the inception of our fund, every time we invest in an early stage company, we introduce the CEO to David Straus for direct coaching and the response has been overwhelmingly positive — in fact this is probably the one offering we bring to Founders that gets the highest most consistent feedback. Some of those CEOs have worked with David across their entire management team after having a first taste, and/or asked David to organize full company events to help them become stronger, more purpose driven leaders. As shareholders we have witnessed the transformation unfold among the teams that David has worked with and we see how the engagement has helped our reach their success.

I’ve been working with David since early 2023 right after our seed round. He has been instrumental in my personal and professional growth. The type of growth that is sustained and will last a lifetime. The type of growth that sets you up continually for more growth. That’s David’s super power as I see it. He sets you up to discover aspects of yourself in your professional and personal life that are waiting to blossom. Without him I wouldn’t have been able to grow fast enough as a COO tripling our team every three months. (We successfully closed our A round led by Accel ventures in early 2024) It’s been transformative and I’m excited for many more years of coaching and friendship!

David and his team were superb facilitators; their contributions resulted in the off-site being reviewed by my team as the best I have convened. The material was thought-provoking, insightful, and engaging while also truly pragmatic and actionable for all involved; my team was inspired and wanted more, but also felt they had results to work with immediately. Even more remarkable, in a traditional setting, they brought new thinking and new energy, sparking true excitement in every one of my team members.

David is not only a captivating speaker but a gifted teacher. His fresh perspective and insightful approach on authentic alignment and leadership in a Fortune 100 context left me feeling inspired, motivated, and wanting to hear more. I walked away thinking that he was speaking my language and even wishing that he could be my personal Guru!

I greatly enjoyed David Straus’s engaging and well researched talk on “Heart-Centered Leadership.” He connected the dots for the audience on the power of purpose in being an effective leader. He introduced core principles of leadership in novel, fresh ways and entertained with rarely told stories of early technological breakthroughs and the vision that realized them.

Many coaches help people climb mountains. David does more. He has helped me turn mountains into a simple trail. Part of his secret sauce is showing you how to redefine your own perspective in a more clear and meaningful way, with reassurance that what you want can indeed be accomplished and that the journey can be enjoyable.

David has a masterful way of telling a story while conveying real insight into the journey successful leaders take in order to accomplish their desired goals. His talks are engaging in a way that is deep and meaningful. He draws out your inner strengths and passions.

My day-to-day focus is on forming partnerships in support of LinkedIn’s mission of connecting the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. Listening to David walk me through the essence and philosophy of ‘First Principle,’ ‘Business Agility,’ and ‘Rediscovering Purpose’ was mind-opening, and shifted my professional perspective in a deep and meaningful way.

David is an extraordinary coach and public speaker, though I think of him more as a “detangler.” He has an ability to listen intently, absorb the context of the conversation, then ask incisive questions which provoke new thoughts and feelings. Those who participate in one of his events or a one on one coaching session can discover answers hidden outside of their own awarenesses.

David has an ability to speak from an intelligence and gritty experience of having created successful organizations, alongside an ability to truly listen from a glorious sense of ‘I don’t know.’ The two are not only unusual side-by-side but highly valuable, and an important element in a recent giant step for my work in the world.