Joe Kleinschmidt

Founder Coach
San Francisco, California

Founders, let’s find your story.

I work with early-stage founders to uncover that story only they can tell — the one that makes investors lean in, makes customers energized, and makes hiring effortless. When your story is true and clear, everything moves faster: capital, traction, momentum.

I’m a multi-time founder and strategic advisor with deep experience in tech and AI. I don’t offer decks or templates — I offer clarity. In just a few sessions, I help founders articulate what they’re really building and why it matters. That shift unlocks everything.

Most founders are running at full speed, but not always in full focus. Let's help you name the signal, cut the noise, and lead with confidence. I work with a small number of founders each quarter. If you’re preparing to raise, reposition, or just feeling the fog — let’s talk.

Prior to supporting amazing founders, I've co-founded a number of startups.

Co-founded BRAIVE, one of the world’s first agencies to focus on helping innovative brands define and execute on their AI strategies, supporting great clients like Amazon.

Co-founded and served as CTO of Loop, an innovative AI listening platform that helped individuals and organizations capture and share key conversational knowledge.

Co-founded and served as CEO of Obindo, an AI-based digital agent that empowered future-focused organizations like Mars to organize and surface key institutional knowledge so everyone could find just who they need inside tools like Microsoft Yammer and Slack.

Co-founded and served as CTO of Leverage Software, an enterprise social networking platform that connected hundreds of thousands of employees at Fortune 500 companies such as Apple, Microsoft, L'Oreal, The Home Depot, Wells Fargo and Salesforce.

Additionally for several years I served on the board of Full Circle Fund, a philanthropic organization that provides seed funding and strategic support to social entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders. While on the board I led the launch of the Founders' Pledge, a program supported by The San Francisco Foundation and the Salesforce Foundation that empowered founders to incorporate giving back directly into their company's DNA.

I’m also a Founding Fellow of IGNITE, Northwestern University’s first Bay Area startup accelerator.