Mark MacLeod Testimonials

Mark has a deep theoretical and practical understanding of everything that matters when building a high growth tech company. He is a brilliant advisor and his involvement often has a huge positive impact on the companies he works with.

Most startups fail. The chances of creating the next Shopify are low. Mark MacLeod has been on every side of the table: An operator, VC, investment banker and CEO coach. You want Mark in your corner. Our mission at Shopify is to help people achieve independence by making it easier to start, run, and grow a business. This is what Mark does for VC-backed CEOs.

Rob Khazzam, Co-Founder and CEO of Float Mark helps me zoom out, be more strategic, take time for more reflection, and helps me appreciate the wins along the way. Best thing? That Mark has been there himself before. He's built businesses, he's sold them, he's been under pressure, he understands the bigger picture in a way that very few coaches can.

My name is Chris Bache, co-founder and CEO of Hatch. I'll speak from my personal experience. Being the CEO of a company is isolating. Many times, you are left to make decisions that are difficult or contrarian, because you see things others don't. These strategic decisions can and do cause conflict (not always bad, but conflict all the same) - and Mark helped me realize this is a feature of a good founder, not a bug. He encouraged me to lean in on those instincts. Mark was a sounding board, that gave me confidence in my decisions - and always helped me put things into perspective. The founder journey is a hard one, don't do it alone. Get you a Mark if you can!

Working with Mark has been transformative for me as a leader and for my business. His ability to quickly identify key challenges and provide actionable strategies has helped us navigate critical growth phases. Mark has an incredible ability to combine strategic insights with empathetic guidance. He doesn’t just offer advice; he empowers you to think bigger and execute better.

Who are you / name, title and company? My name is Joshua Pantony, and I am the CEO of Boosted.ai, a company that leverages machine learning to enhance investment decisions for financial institutions. How has working with Mark helped you? Working with Mark has been helpful for both my personal development as a leader and the growth of Boosted.ai. He has helped me think strategically about how to position the company and negotiate with key stakeholders. Mark’s guidance encourages me to introspect on my leadership style and provides valuable advice on team composition. What is the best thing about working with Mark? The best part of working with Mark is the combination of practical, actionable insights with deep introspection. He strikes the perfect balance between personal leadership development and tactical advice, particularly around investor relations. Mark’s tailored approach has helped me navigate complex challenges while keeping an eye on the bigger picture.

Besides having an incredible first name, Mark has become a trusted advisor to me over the years we've been working together. Admittedly, I was skeptical about the value any coach would add. After all, I just need to persevere through entrepreneurship's ups and downs, right? Wrong. Ultimately, in order to reach your true potential, you need to constantly reinvent your approach. The same issue you faced two years ago (as a relatively smaller business) will demand a different approach if it comes up again now. As you work through these approaches, you need someone outside of your board and management team to round out rough edges in approach. Mark helps me do this + more. He has been a driver of consistency for me, helped reinforce the things I know I need to focus on more, and is steeped with experience that is highly relevant to any fast growth company.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Mark for over half a decade and consider him a trusted advisor. Mark has a rare combination of passion, tenacity and professionalism that tends to elevate everyone around him. We’ve collaborated on a number of things over the years, from working on deals together to supporting entrepreneurs and leaders in the Canadian ecosystem. More recently as a coach, Mark helped me connect a deep sense of purpose in what I do with ways to find balance and energy, at a key moment in time when our firm was growing extremely fast.

Mark was the person that got me to see what I was capable of when I did not know the ability to make change was in my own hands. He has been tremendous in my growth through the years. An ear, a voice and guide through the journey of building a startup but more importantly building myself. One of my favorite moments was realizing the impact the word "should" was making on my life. Thank you for this moment. 🙏🏽 Aman