How I Invest with David Weisburd
E168: How I Coach The Top 0.1% CEO's in Silicon Valley w/Alexis John d'Amecourt
30 May 2025
Alexis John d'Amecourt is the coach behind some of the most iconic CEOs in tech today—including the founders of Substack, Eigenlayer, and Booksy. In this episode of How I Invest, I sat down with Alexis to explore what really makes great CEOs tick—and what causes them to fall apart. We talked about how founders can build trust, navigate emotional turbulence, lead organizations as they scale, and get unstuck when things feel overwhelming. Alexis also opened up about his own story—from being raised by his grandmother in D.C. after a turbulent childhood to becoming a three-time founder turned executive coach. This conversation is packed with tactical frameworks, powerful analogies, and a ton of heart.
Full Episode
There's this misconception out there that CEOs show some anger sometimes. You know, they got to rattle some chains. And I see it a lot of times with younger CEOs who believe that that's the persona they should have. And I'm saying is a lot of times, especially with those tech, I point out to them that when you get angry with someone, you usually have to go back and apologize immediately.
I've worked with over 80 CEOs and I watch how the most successful do it there. And I've never seen any of them go ballistic on people and scream at people to get them to move. I work with such good people, CEOs who are just really good people. Four of my first five clients I ever had, I still work with them. And so I'm watching them grow orgs from 11 people to 50 to 100 to 150.
One of them has 3,500 employees. Still the same guy. It's good to see you.
Today, I'm excited to welcome Alexis Demecourt, head of coaching at Motri Method and trusted advisor to some of Silicon Valley's most dynamic CEOs and founders. Alexis has spent over two decades as a three-time founder, C-suite leader, and now as a coach behind leaders at companies like Substack, AgentLayer, Booksy, and more.
In this episode, Alexis shares a rare inside look at how he helps top executives get unstuck from their biggest problems. We'll dive into his frameworks for navigating high stakes decisions, his approach to blending personal and professional growth, and what he's learned from coaching the leaders shaping today's tech landscape. Alexis, welcome to the How I Invest podcast.
Alexis, you coach some of the top CEOs and executives on the planet. Brag a little bit about your clientele and some of their accomplishments.
First and foremost, let me brag about them this way. They generally care about their colleagues. They're good human beings. They are really absolutely smart. They're absolutely focused. But I'd say the one thing is they've really figured out how to balance that focus on product for customers with also being good people and also balancing having a family.
At Substack, I coach Chris Best, who's the CEO. Substack is now in the zeitgeist. It's everywhere. And he's still just excited about his kids and their performance at school, which he shares. I'll highlight a third. Sharam Kanan from EigenLayer. I've been working with him from the very first day of their startup.
And the best photo I have of him is not the one with all of his engineers that are everyone. It's him holding his daughter who has the mouse ears on because he got to take her to Disneyland. And those are good people. And it's nice to work with those good people.
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