About

Vanya partners with CEOs and executives in the Startup ecosystem, focusing on post-series A companies. She supports the CEO with executive 1:1 coaching and the business by bringing best practices and expertise in scaling internal operations, building infrastructure, and people processes to lay the foundation to grow. She supports the company in sustaining culture and helping teams stay connected and engaged. She facilitates strategic planning off-sites to help executive teams align and execute their vision and designs and delivers manager trainings. She served as the director of people and culture at a high-growth AI company, based in the Bay Area, to help build out their people function, which she's still supporting in a coaching capacity. Vanya is an executive coach at On Deck and is involved with the city of London's LEP entrepreneurship program, PlugNPlay, Founders Institute, Newchip, and various VC firms, supporting growth-stage companies in their cohorts. Besides entrepreneurs, she has worked with leaders at Citibank, Estée Lauder, Youtube, IBM. Vanya received her coach training through the “Institute For Professional Excellence In Coaching” (IPEC), recognized as one of the world’s top training programs for professional coaches. Prior to her coach certification, she graduated from Sofia University where she studied History of philosophy and psychology. She offers a variety of coaching tools and assessments, such as the Energy Leadership Index, DISC, True colors, 360s, etc. Her style is very operational, she works with templates and tools she gathered, and some developed herself over the years with the startups she's worked with. Not starting from scratch could save a lot of time when it comes to processes, best practices, and company rituals. She brings a mindful approach when needed, which she draws from her philosophy background, the Paramahansa Yogananda fellowship she belongs to, and the experience from living and studying at Buddhist temples in Asia and Europe. She is also a Breathwork facilitator, which allows for a deep exploration of the inner world, enabling leaders to meaningfully influence their outer world.