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Accelerate Growth. Minimize Risk. HaVe More Fun.
It is really hard to build a great sw business and being a CEO is a lonely role. You have your investors, your management team, but no partner.
AthenePartners is a boutique advisory and investment partnership that partners deeply with a select few CEOs and their management team to accelerate growth and de-risk execution.
I focus with you on the key value drivers for the business and go deep. I work alongside you, the CEO, and your management team to refine strategy, build great product, activate excellent GTM and partnerships, develop the team, help shape the financial architecture, and establish a rythme for how you run the business.
Quarter to quarter, we map out the key things that are most helpful for you. Then I climb into the foxhole with you to help you be the best CEO for your business. I spend the hours in product reviews and/or building customer journey maps . I spend the time on messaging, pricing/packaging and/or sales pipeline, engaging directly with customers and partners as appropriate. I am coaching and mentoring with your leadership team. I am at retreats and in the board meetings.
By way of background, I have helped build products and businesses that are used by billions of people and millions of businesses. I done this in virtually every capacity from the front line to leadership, from engineering leader, to marketing leader, sales and services leader, to GM, COO, President, CEO and Board Chairman. I have done this across a a wide range of companies of all shapes and sizes from Fortune 10 to start-up across three decades of technology and business model change.
I grew up on a farm and I understand what means to get dirt under my fingernails and work hard. But I also understand the joy is not just in the outcome. It is in the invention and the journey too. This is what we do, together.
I love building and transforming sw companies and markets across the full gamut of "levers" from product to GTM to people/organization. I love working with passionate people in pursuit of "quests" that enable people and companies to know more, do more, be more.
This is why I started AthenePartners and this is what I love doing.
What Great CEOs Say
“I have worked with Bill for many years and continue to learn from him. I can always count on Bill to bring energy and thoughtful insight to everything he engages on. He connects product and go-to-market in a way few people can.”
- Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft)
"I have worked with many great leaders over the years and Bill stands out in his ability to see the broader picture and then go deep to drive transformation with speed and focus, catalyzing change from people to product to partnerships to financial architecture. He was a wonderful partner for me."
- Meg Whitman (CEO, eBay, HP, Quibi)
"Bill is one of those rare people who is able to elevate the performance of a leadership team by creating strategic clarity, reinforcing operational excellence, and amplifying the power of teamwork. He is purpose-driven. He is passionate. He is a servant leader. "
- Kevin Johnson (CEO, Juniper Networks, Starbucks)
"Bill stands in a class of his own among thought partners who can help navigate the challenges encountered by leaders in a hyper growth environment. Bill has brought an invaluable level of clarity through some of Color's most strategic decisions at the intersection of leadership, commercial strategy, and the promise we make to our customers. Few people match Bill's ability to apply timeless principles gleaned from experience to the unique nuances of each business to bring clarity of thought and action. He does his work with empathy, curiosity, and a smile, working not only with me but forming great partnerships with my leadership team"
- Othman Laraki (Co-Founder/CEO Color Health)
"When Bill presents his well considered thoughts everyone reaches for their pens and paper and gets to work on his suggestions. He is especially good at coaching execs on Product and Marketing strategies and people issues. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Bill, learn from his broad experience at the top of the IT industry and enjoy his sense of humour and high energy. Any company and company founder would be lucky to have Bill alongside them."
- Rod Drury (Founder/CEO, Xero)
Bill is a compelling blend of humility and intensity backed by clear thought.
His crisp questions and perspectives particularly in product and marketing are second to none and guided me in setting the strategic direction of my company, Fingermark, in a way that no could. Against the backdrop of Covid, we entered the US and global markets and won. He challenged me and supported me as a founder, as a strategic thinker, as a product leader. I often refer to Bill as my "sensei" and the term fits perfectly.
- Luke Irving (Founder/CEO, FingerMark AI
“As founder and CEO of a fast growing start-up, Bill has been an invaluable partner for me as I charted the course for Embroker. His ability to think multi-dimensionally, from product to GTM, people to operating model, and then dive into the weeds of execution sets an incredibly high bar for operating excellence, one that I have learned and benefitted from greatly. Finally, he is just fun to work with, always bringing insight, wisdom, and a smile to our discussions.”
- Matt Miller (Founder/CEO, Embroker)
"Bill possesses great wisdom born of experience that is broad in scope and traverses from the most universal strategic questions to detailed execution. He frames the big issues with incredible insight and then moves to action quickly. He is unique in his ability to communicate deep and wide across all functions and does so with intensity, humility, and passion. Everyone looks forward to interacting with Bill because he makes us better. He has increased the company's value significantly and is a great partner for me."
- Jeff Hudson (CEO, Venafi, Vhayu Technologies, MS2)
