Startup Manager Training

A tactical training program for
new and first-time managers.

Learn a no-BS, people-first, and research-supported way of managing and leading.

  • New Managers: Did you recently transition from individual contributor to managing people? Feeling lost?

  • Experienced Managers: Have you managed for a few months…but never received formal training? Still feeling uncertain and confused?

  • People Ops: Are you promoting employees into management positions but don’t have internal resources to train them?

Invest in essential management and leadership skills training.

I’ve trained and coached teams and managers from

Managers have the hardest job.

And the change is a big leap.

Startup managers deal with changing priorities, product pivots, higher expectations, minimal systems, and no formal development paths.

Management is hard. People go to school to learn technical skills to exceed as high-functioning individual contributors-but people don’t go to school to learn about feedback, hard conversations, performance reviews, developing others, managing up, advocating for themselves—and more.

Also, startups have minimal to zero time to provide the right training to cover the leap from IC to manager. This program changes all that.

Learn tactical, no-BS, evidence-proven,
real-life management and leadership skills.

According to Gallup research, managers are the MOST important variable in employee engagement.

When employees leave a company, there’s a high probability they are leaving their manager—not the job.

Don’t make the mistake of not investing in your management.

Who this program is for

New & First Time Managers

You excelled as an individual contributor but need help as a manager. Strong individual contributors don’t always easily transition to management.

Founders & Entrepreneurs

Founders know a lot about fundraising and growth, but managing others may be a mystery. Meet your growth goals by leveling up your management.

Experienced Managers

You’ve been managing for a while but were thrown into the deep end with little support. You want to take your management skills from B to A+.

  • “I loved how Alice helped me explore my deeply seated whys and tied my actions and behaviours to my values. This type of coaching further helped me coach my mentees and members of my team better. I overall feel more prepared to lead.”

    — Ramit Arora, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft

  • “Alice is the most compassionate leader I know. She cares about her team to a degree I’ve not seen.”

    -Quinn Newell, Demand Generation, Procurify

  • “Alice was great and I loved her fun approach to team building and management strength training. She highlighted all of our personal strengths, showed us how to utilize them effectively, and helped us identify blind spots to be aware of and work through. It was also fun having these sessions in a group setting with peers in the same position as me.”

    -Charlie Beam, Senior Animator, Pudgy Penguins

  • "This training program is rich in content, with several helpful takeaways for new managers. Alice is brilliant as a coach. She not only made the sessions interactive, but also took the time to do a detailed review on the homework sheets. I would highly recommend training with her."

    Surya Koppisetti, Research Scientist, Reality Defender

  • "At Pudgy Penguins, we were growing quickly and found ourselves with many first time managers in mission critical roles. We reached out to Alice about setting up some training workshops to level up our managers and our experience couldn't have been better. The feedback from the team was positive across the board and we have already begun to see ROI in time management and conflict resolution. Her workshops are fun and engaging, and the content is very tuned in to what startups need. I highly recommend working with her!"

    -Jason Piersialla, Senior Operations Manager

  • “I know she’ll bring immense value to companies, just like you did for us. The outcomes of your workshop influence our decisions in hiring, staffing, and resource development to this day!"

    — Maya Sol, Partner, Prototype Thinking Labs

  • “The coaching sessions have helped me gain clarity on tricky work situations and have helped me to devise a path forward. There have been several times where we work through a specific hypothetical conversation and I leave the session feeling much more prepared.”

    — Emily Gale, Director of Materials Science, Prolific Machines

  • “Alice is a strong facilitator who creates a very safe space. The Strengths training was a valuable exercise both as a team, and for personal growth as a manager.”

    — Jinny Wu, Director of Marketing and Communications, Innovate BC

  • “Alice brings an energy and knowledge about the CliftonStrengths which I found so impressive! I learned a lot from Alice being a new manager, but experienced managers could still learn loads.”

    — Sam Goulden, Former Front End Team Lead, Unbounce

  • “I learned about how I apply my maximizer strength when leading people, and choose to work with their strengths.. Alice provided valuable, time effective coaching and I'd absolutely recommend her services to other companies.”

    — Aaron Koenig, Former Director of Platform Services, Unbounce

*Training is customized for each cohort based on their unique challenges*

*Training is customized for each cohort based on their unique challenges*

The Manager Development Program

✅ PART 1

MANAGEMENT FOUNDATIONS: MASTERING HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

  • Understand the unique role of a manager in the startup world.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Deeper self-awareness around your natural management strengths.
    ✔️ Your management blind spots.
    ✔️ Growth action plan to track your progress.

  • Trust is a buzzword that managers, leaders, and companies throw around. We will unpack it so it is no longer ambiguous.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ The mindset shifts required to be a successful startup manager.
    ✔️ Tactics to build trust in a remote environment.
    ✔️ Constructing an operating manual
    ✔️ How to individualize your management approach.

  • Poor communication creates more work. Communication becomes increasingly more important as level up in your career.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ What remote managers do differently, including communication shortcuts and hacks.
    ✔️ The difference between B- listening and A+ listening.
    ✔️ You’ll practice. A lot!

  • Learn how to give performance-changing feedback and appreciation.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Proven frameworks for giving and receiving feedback.

    ✔️ Templates, tools, cheatsheets, and more.

    ✔️ You’ll practice. A lot!

  • Build the confidence to have difficult conversations to dial down conflict.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Proven frameworks and secrets to managing conflict at work.
    ✔️ How to reframe conflict.
    ✔️ How to manage clashes.
    ✔️ Templates, tools, and cheatsheets.
    ✔️ You’ll practice. A lot!

  • Master 1:1s, how to performance manage, coach, and develop your people.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Lead performance reviews and development conversations.

    ✔️ Recognize how to conduct powerful 1:1s as a mentor-coach.

    ✔️ Address challenges and ask questions with low performers.

    ✔️ Interpret PIPs and how they should be used.

✅ PART 2

MANAGEMENT FOUNDATIONS: THE TECHNICAL TOOLKIT

  • People cannot read minds! Set clear expectations, delegate effectively, and build a high-performing team. Time management included!

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Set clear project expectations with different frameworks.
    ✔️ Manage workloads (self and team) confidently.
    ✔️ Avoid expectation hangovers.
    ✔️ How to delegate with confidence and build a culture of accountability.

  • Set yourself up for success. Learn how to recruit and hire the best team.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Examine how to assess tradeoffs associated with hiring decisions.
    ✔️ Explore a hiring and job interview framework that will ensure you hire the right fit.
    ✔️ Recognize what to look for in technical interviews for startups.
    ✔️ Explain reference check hacks that nobody tells you about!

  • Effective decision-making can be the difference between success and failure in any leader. Learn the most popular frameworks used at startups.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ How to build a strategic plan.
    ✔️ Describe different strategic decision-making mental models to drive results.
    ✔️ Assess tradeoffs associated with decisions and develop strategies for effective risk mitigation.
    ✔️ Describe how to predict challenges before they arise.

✅ PART 3

MANAGEMENT FOUNDATIONS: NAVIGATING UNSPOKEN CHALLENGES

  • Success as a manager is not just about managing down!

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Skills for positive relationships with your superiors and your peers.
    ✔️ The best way to communicate up and across.
    ✔️ How to sell your ideas to others.
    ✔️ What to do when interests and opinions aren’t aligned.

  • How to advocate for yourself, and your team, and how you can grow into the next phase as a leader.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Clarity around your current role and your future goals.
    ✔️ How to advocate for yourself.
    ✔️ How to advocate for your team.

  • Navigate change, uncertainty, and challenges inherent to the startup environment.

    What you’ll learn:

    ✔️ Change management frameworks; lead through constant change.
    ✔️ Tools and strategies to set yourself up for success.
    ✔️ Support your team members in becoming more comfortable with uncertainty and change.

Ask for a detailed curriculum
or a custom cohort.

* Upcoming Cohorts *

* Upcoming Cohorts *

  • Startup Founders

    Full.

    A small group for founders who need to manage people.

  • From Academia to Biotech Startup

    Full.

    Small groups for those come from academia and now work at biotechs.

  • Startup Managers and Leaders.

    Full.

    Small group of startup managers currently managing a team. Spots available for Winter 2024/2025.

About Your Trainer

Alice-Ko-Certified-Strengths-Coach.jpeg

Who am I?

For the past 18 years, I’ve worked for innovative organizations, tech startups/scaleups, agencies, non-profits, the Big 4, and corporate conglomerates. I’ve worked on every type of team imaginable - and experienced the good and the bad.

I’ve been an IC and people manager at multiple startups so I feel your pain. Working at a startup has a different set of challenges and you don’t always get the support you need.

How I started

I built this program for myself when I sought ways to make my management easier and my team more productive.

I even became a certified coach to improve my management skills!

That’s how I accidentally discovered my passion and skill for coaching, facilitating, and training.

So, I launched a CliftonStrengths consultancy.

Then, companies asked me to train their startup teams and startup managers.

And just like that, this program was formed.

Why I love doing this

This is the program I wish I had when I started managing.

There’s nothing I love more than supporting people through one of the most challenging transitions in their professional lives.

That’s why I run small, curated group cohorts that are customized to the participants.

Everybody gets the attention they need to succeed. No team is ever the same, so no cohort is ever the same.

All content and programming is always customized for the group.

Together, we mimic the environment of a team forming trust and working through challenges together.

We learn how to create safe spaces where people share real challenges, give real feedback, and learn together.

Participants gain a new mindset with frameworks and tools to excel as people managers in the complex, always-changing, and unstructured startup world.

My credentials

✓ Worked with 100+ teams
✓ Worked with over 1000 StrengthsFinder profiles
✓ 3x Marketing Director at fintech startups
✓ Certified in Gallup’s CliftonStrengths
✓ Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with ICF
✓ CPA, CA from KPMG (active CPA)
✓ Graduate of Landmark Forum
✓ Graduate of Non-Violent Communications course
✓ Graduate of The Corker Co.’s Facilitator Training
✓ Graduate of Conscious Leadership’s Introduction
✓ Graduate of Radical Candor’s Feedback Course
✓ Mental Health First Aid Certificate

FAQs

  • Our sessions are live, small-group cohorts with no more than 8 participants each to ensure maximum learning and growth.

    Unlike some courses, which are glorified webinars, this is active learning - focused on each individual.

    For this reason, we don’t offer an on-demand version yet.

    We prioritize privacy (sessions not recorded) for open discussions and personal growth.

    We offer 5 options:

    Intro
    - Foundational concepts in 6 modules
    - Weekly (6 Weeks) OR Intensive (2x Weekly for 3 Weeks)
    - 6 live, interactive sessions with condensed topics from first 8 modules

    Growth
    - Everything in Intro
    - Unlock deeper application with group and 1:1 coaching
    - Weekly (6 Weeks) OR Intensive (2x Weekly for 3 Weeks)

    Transform
    - Unlock deeper application with group coaching, 1:1 coaching, and AMA Guest Speaker sessions
    - Regular (12 Weeks) or Accelerated (2x Weekly over 6 weeks)
    - Live, interaction sessions on all modules (1 to 12) with 1 bonus module


    Private
    - Private training and coaching for 1 individual
    - Tailored program designed around 1 individual’s schedule and goals

    Bespoke
    - Customized modules for a company’s existing systems
    - Hyper personalized to your company’s unique culture, norms, and values

  • Yes! Formal organizations often have structured processes and systems in place for their managers. We don’t want to replace your company’s formal processes, especially if you are being evaluated on them. However, a lot of managers still get a ton of value from our models, frameworks, and real talk. We believe you will still receive value from attending. Past participants have told us that our training programs helped them build skills to elevate their personal lives to! Let’s chat and make sure we are the right fit for you!

  • This program is a great fit for growth-minded individuals who want to learn and apply their learnings immediately into the workplace.

    Our participants have been:

    • New managers (recently transitioned in the last year)

    • Experienced managers who never received training

    • Founders

    • HR and People Operations Teams

    • Aspiring managers (High achievers who want to excel and be promoted to a management position soon, so they take it upon themselves to learn the skills now.

  • This program is NOT for you if:

    You’re looking for exploratory coaching sessions. This program is specifically built to train and give you the management skills to excel in your role, not coach. If you’re interested in coaching, check out our coaching packages here.

    You’re close-minded and not committed to creating a safe, inclusive psychological space with the rest of the students.

    • Computer with webcam and a microphone.

    • Zoom account.

    • Broadband internet connection (25Mbps+ recommended).

    • Google account (used for exercises and resources).

  • Participants must attend all 12 sessions (or prove viewing of recording if they are unable to attend), complete all assignments, complete a self-assessment, and attend a minimum of 1:1 private coaching.

    • Certificate of completion after attendance of all modules and 1:1 coaching sessions

    • Ongoing support

    • Comprehensive resources, including workbooks, templates, and cheatsheets - that are updated

    • Private coaching 1:1 sessions

    • Group coaching and guest speaker sessions

  • Our experience ranges from $1,311 to $3,333 USD depending on which tier you are interested in. Please contact us for a pricing sheet.

    Bespoke programs are customized based on the level of customization required.

    All residents in BC are charged GST.

  • First, we focus on an individualized strengths-based approach. A one size fits all approach doesn’t work for everyone. Individuals are not robots and they shouldn’t be trained to be one. Think of the best leaders. Are they all the same? Likely not. The best leaders know their unique strengths, know which strengths to use, and have worked on their blind spots.

    This experience recognizes that you are all unique individuals with different challenges and goals. We encourage you to play to your strengths rather than mirror what somebody else is doing. We provide best practices, tools, tips, and hacks but at the end of the day, change comes from what works best for you.

    Second, we are highly focused on the startup and first-time manager experience.

    Third, this is not a glorified webinar series. Unlike other manager
    training programs which may be pre-recorded videos or one speaker speaking to a group of hundreds, we are customized to you and your challenges.

    We focus on you and your experiences. That is why we keep these cohorts small. We are not a sales farm trying to get 50 or 100 people into a cohort like some other courses. We want to talk through YOUR actual challenges.

    Last but not least, we’ve been told our experience is fun, psychologically safe, empathetic, engaging, practical, and highly interactive. Contact us to read the case studies.

  • Yes. We frequently build and implement private training programs for companies that have a group of recently promoted managers.

    If you are scaling fast and need training support, reach out to partner with us.

    We are known for customizing our programs to fit with an organization's language, culture, and processes.



  • Startup managers operate in unique environments and most traditional training programs were built for the corporate environment, rather than the startup environment.

    Startup managers are often asked to build planes and fly them while managing others and taking orders - all for the first time.

    For instance:

    • Startups operate with limited runway, change, and uncertainty. This means startup managers must learn how to work with limited resources, smaller teams, and operate under a lot of uncertainty.

    • Startups are often unstructured, have limited resources, and have limited systems, playbooks, or processes. This means startup managers must learn how to set up structures and systems for themselves, often from ground zero.

    • Startups funded by venture capital firms face extra pressure to meet growth metrics-stress that falls to the manager. This means startup managers must learn how to operate in high-pressure environments.

  • Yes! Managers from non-profits often join our cohorts. Non-profits and startups are more alike than you realize. They both:

    1. Rely on external funding and are usually always in "fundraising" mode

    2. Lack resources to hire everybody they need

    3. Lack the proper systems, tools, and processes. They need to be scrappy!

  • Alice leads all the formal sessions and brings in guest mentors and speakers who are expert operators in the startup space. Learn more about Alice below!

    All guest mentors and speakers have full-time jobs so trust that they have relevant on-the-ground experience to mentor new startup managers.

    A few topic sessions that our guest mentors lead:

    • AMA for Engineering Managers

    • Delivering Feedback on Creative Assets

    • Advanced Accountability

    • Project Manager Operations

    • Strategy and Decision Making

    • Enneagram for Managers

Join the next cohort or get a customized program! Let’s chat.