For Founders who know they suffer from ‘Founder Bottleneck’ in order to grow their business, for visionary entrepreneurs and for directors who want more than just advice. For Founders and CEOs of Post-PMF (Product-Market Fit) ventures only.
Experienced leaders, entrepreneurs and investors who stand beside you, not above you. Who have grown scale-ups from 2M to 20M or more. We have been in the trenches like you (and often still are). We help you grow faster and smarter – without the egos and corporate hassle.
A McKinsey & Company study shows that 78% of scale-ups fail, even when reaching product-market fit and having a strong ARR growth.
Let’s make sure you do not end up among them.
The founder’s journey is demanding: critical decisions, scaling complexities, cashflow challenges, hiring needs and relentless pressure can lead to stalled growth or strategic dead ends. Especially when you reach the scale-up stage. We understand the weight of this responsibility. Shadow Leaders stands with you, providing the clarity and strategic foresight to transform these challenges into confidently made decisions, leading to sustainable progress.
We are a network of top advisors, former CEOs, investors and entrepreneurs with proven success. We work in the shadows so that you can shine in the spotlight. Whether you work with investors or without, we give you an experience-based perspective and stand on your side.
So you can offload part of the work, focus on what really matters and get more clarity.
Access a private collective of 40+ top expert for honest, strategic, and practical answers for a couple of hours per month. We provide the strategic guidance and senior board expertise needed to confidently navigate critical investor and client meetings.
Unlock your company’s next phase of growth. We provide tailor-made advice and hands-on implementation for founders who demand direct impact from a fractional leader they can afford.
We engaged Shadow Leaders to help us reach more investors for our business proposition to acquire more funding for our real estate projects. One of the key challenges was to improve our GTM strategy and sales execution. Including a LinkedIn campaign and preparing for AI-driven follow-up. Stefan works quickly, is transparent about goals, approach, and results, and delivers innovative AI solutions that you can implement immediately. The biggest advantage: he stays on top of things constantly. Thanks to the streamlined meeting structure, nothing gets left behind, and you stay focused on action. This has demonstrably added value for our company. Recommended for anyone who wants to launch a new project or have their marketing thoroughly and intelligently examined.
I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Shadow Leaders through my startup, Linkcard.app. Stefan’s deep knowledge and extensive experience in SaaS growth marketing make his recommendations, advice, and insights both impactful and intuitive. It’s as if Stefan has written the playbook on growing a SaaS business. I highly recommend him to founders looking to drive growth using best practices grounded in a solid foundation of expertise.
Working with Shadow Leaders and with Stefan in particular has been a game-changer. Sharp, insightful, and brutally honest-he cuts through the noise like no one else. His advisory style blends strategic depth with real-world grit, always pushing you to think bigger while staying grounded. In Iberia or beyond, he’s the mentor startups and scaleups dream of. Highly recommend trusting him with your vision.
Shadow Leaders helped our company grow from a strong player in India into a global player entering the US market and several European countries. Without the expertise and network of these Shadow Leaders, who would not have achieved tremendous growth in these countries. We are grateful for the GTM expertise and hands-on guidance resulting in revenue growth and winning of large enterprise grade projects for our development teams. Shadow Leaders also helped with a strategic partnership creation with AxonIQ inc. to help US based companies in banking and insurance benefit from our offering.
He has been instrumental in shaping the digital strategy for Surpassing Success and in bringing it to several European markets. Working with Shadow Leaders has been a real privilege. Beyond their sharp marketing expertise, I deeply value their commitment, reliability, and the way they bring fresh ideas to the table. Stefan in particular has helped us bring Surpassing Success to life in several European countries — and continues to stand alongside us on this journey. Grateful for his ongoing support and looking forward to many more years of partnership!
Stefan has been an inspiring professional to work with, bringing not only deep expertise in digital marketing but also a genuine enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge with our students. His approach combines practical industry insights with an open and engaging style of mentoring, which has greatly enriched the learning experience at Team Academy.
Students have consistently valued Stefan’s ability to translate complex digital strategies into clear, applicable lessons. His curiosity, creativity, and dedication to fostering growth have left a lasting impression, encouraging our students to think critically, act entrepreneurially, and explore innovative approaches to digital marketing.
We are truly grateful for Stefan’s commitment and the positive energy he brought to our community. His impact will continue to resonate within Team Academy, and we highly recommend him for any future professional endeavors he may pursue.
His insights have supported the growth and development of our institution, particularly in advancing our strategic initiatives and ensuring the academic quality of our programs.
Stefan serves in several capacities: as a growth advisor, co-host of our Tech Minds initiative, and as an active member of our Examination Board. In his role as a shadow leader, he provides me, as President and Founder, with thoughtful perspectives, constructive challenges, and critical reflections that strengthen our decision-making processes. On the Examination Board, he plays an instrumental role in safeguarding the standards and academic integrity of our TechMBA program.
I can confidently recommend Stefan and his organization, Shadow Leaders, to any EdTech or company seeking a highly skilled, dedicated, and forward-looking advisor.
We have built, sold, failed and won
(20+ years experience for each advisor).
Direct, to the point,
with humour where possible.
By invitation only. Because not everyone is ready for faster growth.
This is not a trick like popular playbooks and gurus tell you.
This takes time and money and yields a multiple return.
Work together with leaders who have been in your shoes before
Our Shadow Leaders cannot work without the support from strong partners in the growth ecosystem.
