My parents were born in Darjeeling, India, but are from Nepal.  It was an arranged marriage (very traditional for our culture).  My Dad joined the British army, and I was born in Singapore (so were my siblings later).  We moved countries almost every 2 years.  One time, while on vacation back to Darjeeling (3 months every 3 years) and I must have been about 10 or 11 years old, I noticed that Dad was very dressy for a family outing.  He had on a suit, paisley tie, a silk cravat, polished black George boots and a Burberry's overcoat.  I told him that he looked great, but then said, "why don't you dress like that when we are back on base in Hong Kong?" 

 

He looked down on me, and said something that I instantly understood.  "Son, you know that I can’t dress like this in the presence of the English officers."

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I knew exactly what he meant, even as a young boy.  He meant that he could not be seen anywhere near fashionable or dressy as the white white officers.  It was the way.  The pecking, racial order way.  I knew that from school where I was one of the few brown boys with the kids of military personnel.

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Not even one or two years later, while still in Hong Kong, we ended up rescuing a young British officer who was being pummeled by a large, angry crowd of Chinese men.  Somehow, we managed to extricate him (Dad did it while I towed along scared), and sped him to the barracks while the irate mob chased our military-issued Land Rover in multiple cars.  Straight out of a Mission Impossible movie scene where we sought the sanctuary of the military gate and compound.  

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So, as happens with young brains that are still forming, I started a belief system that there is always someone who is going to be bullied.  My Dad being bullied into dressing more plainly by the British.  The British being bullied by the Chinese.  That's what my brain concluded.

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When Dad asked if I wanted to enter the British army after my high school years, I had no hesitation in my response.  "No, Dad.  I would rather go into the private sector and start and dabble in owning my own businesses."  What I didn't say was, "No Dad.  I don't like large, bureaucratic organizations that can bully individuals."  But that was my main reason for making the decision to create businesses.  To not have bullies over me, and for me to create 'bully-free' organizations.

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After a B.Sc. in Computer Information Systems at BYU-Hawaii, and a MBA from BYU Provo, Utah, I had a short stint in leadership in Pacific Bell (Los Angeles, CA) and WordPerfect (Orem, Utah), and then I started on the entrepreneurial journey.  Helped 2 existing small companies grow to a sale and an IPO, and then I formed 4 businesses from scratch (sold 2 for profit, lost my shorts on one, broke even on another) and helped turn around another software company at the behest of a VC and friend.

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Smaller businesses are way more fun, and so is creating, versus maintaining, businesses.  Less bullies.

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For almost the last 10 years, I've now been helping first time founders with executive coaching for tech leaders.  I focus primarily on their software businesses as they get investment, or have organically reached an opportunity to grow faster, and need help scaling themselves and the business to extraordinary levels of success.  And if the organization is larger, within departments or business units, I often focus on executive presence coaching, leadership skills, managing distributed teams or even strategies on empowering psychological safety for their employees.  

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What's my personal secret sauce that has helped so many founders succeed:

-  Moving countries so much in my youth has taught me to LISTEN with an extra pair of senses.  I can understand what the intent of what is being said, as well as what is not being said.  I understand fast.

-  I approach the BUSINESS NEEDS and LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT in parallel.  As the leader, it's hard to be dispensing strategies or solutions if you are not already in a stronger, higher position that can help lift the team up.  Both business and personal needs are simultaneously developed.

-  Everyone is unique, so my engagements are CUSTOMIZED for each client.  I even tailor CEO bootcamps to help accelerate learnings and results.

 

I root for the underdog.  And I believe that there is no more of an underdog role than of some one who believes they can impact the world or business with their solution.  They are willing to stick their neck out to make their dream a reality.  To be their CEO coach or executive coach, they just need to be humble and hungry. 

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Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't share my proudest accomplishments.  My wife of almost 40 years, 5 great adult children, and, for now, 5 beautiful grandchildren.  They bring peace and joy into my life.

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I hope we can talk and connect.  I invite you to book a free session so we can get acquainted.

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Benoy​​​​