Coaching Founders Through the Chaos — With Paul MeyersFrom Filmmaker to Founder Coach

Mayank Singh
Feb 27, 2025
3 min read

Paul Meyers’ journey is anything but linear. He trained as a documentary filmmaker in the U.S., but quickly pivoted into corporate films, working with major Bay Area tech companies like Apple and IBM. His assignments brought him to Asia, where he fell in love with the region.

Over three decades, Paul started and scaled multiple ventures across Southeast Asia—from building an internet company that grew to 650 people and a NASDAQ listing, to running one of the largest mobile games distributors in the region. He’s raised millions, expanded across borders, managed crises, and sold companies. That breadth of experience now shapes his work as a coach for founders.

Founder Circle: Peer Support Without Posturing

Alongside his coaching, Paul runs Founder Circle, a closed-door mastermind he started in Singapore and later expanded to Bangkok. Each session brings together 8–10 founders or senior executives for confidential, peer-led conversations about their toughest challenges.

Themes naturally emerge—fundraising, co-founder conflict, hiring and firing, or even balancing work with family life. What sets it apart is inclusivity: Paul works hard to ensure gender balance, believing diverse perspectives lead to deeper discussions. Over 300 founders have participated, and many return multiple times.

Coaching Isn’t Mentoring

Paul is clear about the distinction. Mentors tell. Coaches ask.

Mentoring is tactical: “Here’s how to build a P&L” or “Here’s how to structure a pitch deck.”
Coaching is about clarity: helping founders surface the answers that fit their unique situation, rather than imposing a formula.

Paul’s approach spans both the operational (“How do I hire a CFO?”) and the deeply personal (“Am I doing the right thing?” “I can’t talk to my co-founder.”). It’s not one-size-fits-all; it’s a guided process shaped around the founder’s own goals and circumstances.

Why Many Founders Avoid Coaching

In Southeast Asia, Paul has noticed a common founder profile: male, firstborn, from a family with resources, and often educated abroad. Those dynamics, especially cultural pressure to succeed, can make asking for help feel like weakness.

That’s why, interestingly, two-thirds of Paul’s clients are women. Female founders often find it easier to seek support, despite receiving far less venture funding globally. In Silicon Valley, not having a coach is unusual. In Asia, the stigma still lingers—but it’s slowly changing.

The Most Common Founder Challenges

Across his clients, Paul sees a few recurring themes:

Existential doubt: “Am I doing the right thing?”
Co-founder conflict: friction over roles, values, or direction.
Strain at home: family members didn’t sign up for the founder lifestyle.

Operationally, today’s environment adds fundraising difficulties and the push for profitability. On the lighter side, Paul has coached founders tackling unexpected issues—like a cheese business in Bali where the first hurdle was simply sourcing milk.

Mental Health and Founder Fortitude

This is the subject Paul is most passionate about. Founders face relentless pressure, often in isolation. Left unchecked, stress can spiral into burnout or worse.

Paul knows this firsthand. During the 2008 financial crisis, a pending acquisition for his games company collapsed, leaving him with 40 employees, two months of cash, and a collapsing marriage. It was brutal—but having friends to confide in made survival possible.

Today, Paul advocates openly for founder mental health. He views Founder Circle as both a professional forum and a safe space for emotional honesty. He also emphasizes building founder fortitude—practical tools to manage stress before it breaks you.

Choosing the Right Coach

For Paul, finding a coach is about two things:

Fit and trust — The relationship must feel right for both sides.
Experience that resonates — The best founder coaches have lived the highs and lows themselves, not just observed from the sidelines.

He avoids areas where he can’t add value (deep biotech, crypto) and is transparent if he’s not the right person. The right coach should feel like a partner who understands both your operational world and your personal struggles.

What’s Next for Asia Founder Coaching

Looking ahead, Paul is developing group coaching programs for startup leadership teams and newly promoted executives—especially those suddenly thrust into management without formal business training.

He continues to run Founder Circle sessions in Singapore and Bangkok, and regularly speaks on mental wellness and founder resilience at conferences across Asia. His writing, including practical essays and resources for founders, is available at AsiaFounderCoaching.com and through his newsletter.