Swaro Ventures CEO Advisory

Everyone wants something from the CEO.I don't.

Confidential peer advisory for first-time CEOs.

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It's lonely at the top.

Not the kind anyone sees. The kind you can't put in a board deck or say out loud in an all-hands.

Everyone wants something from the CEO.

Your board wants performance.

Your team wants answers.

Your investors want growth.

And everyone assumes you know exactly what you're doing.

You can't tell your board what you're really thinking.
You can't tell your team.
You may not even be able to tell your co-founder.

You're figuring it out in real time.

Every CEO is.

This advisory exists for that.

What We Talk About

Questions I can
help you answer.

Why is my GTM failing? My co-founder and I aren't aligned. Do I actually have product/market fit? How honest can I really be with my board? When do I stop selling and start managing? Is it the people, the strategy, or me? AI is everywhere. How do we actually use it? Are we just an AI wrapper? Is PLG the right motion for us? Should I raise now, or wait for more traction? Is this a strategy problem or an execution problem? I know we're inefficient. But where? What are the biggest mistakes in the first six months after raising? We're growing but my early team isn't scaling. When should we go international? How do I know when to fire someone I like? Where are the quick wins? How do I keep my best people from leaving? Am I targeting the right customer, or just chasing noise? My team isn't executing. What am I missing?
What This Is

Not coaching.
Not consulting.
Not a board seat.

A confidential peer who has been in your shoes. Someone who can be your sounding board, without judgment and with complete trust.

Fully Confidential

Say what you actually think about your board, your team, your doubts. This conversation stays here.

Pattern Recognition

Thirty years and seven companies means I've likely seen the version of what you're navigating.

Available When It Matters

The decisions that define companies don't happen on a calendar. When something critical comes up, I'm reachable.

Your Agenda Only

No board seat to protect. No consulting methodology to sell. Your success is the only goal.

Still Building

I still build companies.

I've spent my career building companies.

Some succeeded. Some didn't.

Every time, I learned something valuable.

Now I help first-time CEOs build theirs.

Right now I'm building Marco.Travel, a platform for luxury travel advisors. I'm an active founder, not a retired one.

When you bring me a problem, I'm not drawing from theory.
I'm drawing from what I've seen and what I'm seeing.

The Track Record

Seven companies.
Seven exits.

I've helped build companies that returned billions in value. I've also been part of companies that raised enormous capital and didn't meet expectations.

Both experiences shaped how I think about leadership, strategy, and the reality of the CEO seat.

Not just pattern recognition from winning. Judgment built through all of it.

eGroups
Early career
Email community platform. Grew to millions of users.
$400M
acquired by Yahoo
Macromedia
Analytics · late 1990s
Led analytics at scale — over a billion transactions per year.
$3.4B
acquired by Adobe
Omniture / Adobe
SVP · GM · 2004–2014
$20M to $300M ARR. Drove Omniture IPO and $1.8B Adobe acquisition.
$1.8B
Adobe acquisition
Domo
COO · CCO · GM · 2014–2018
$30M to $150M+ ARR. NRR of 224%. PLG from 1% to 90% of sales.
$3B+
IPO
Big Squid
President · 2018–2019
ARR +250%. Raised $8.8M Series A-1. Acquired by Qlik.
+250%
ARR · acquired
GrowFlare
Founder & CEO · 2018–2020
Bootstrapped to 300+ customers. Acquired by Terminus in 24 months.
53×
return · bootstrapped
Parsable
CEO · 2022–2025
Full turnaround. ARR from -32% to +40%. NRR 68% to 125%+. EBITDA -$25M to Rule of 40.
~5×
ARR exit · turnaround
How It Works

Simple.
High-trust.
Built around you.

Step 01

One conversation first

25 minutes, no pitch, no obligation. We talk through where you are and what you're dealing with. We'll both know quickly if there's a fit.

Step 02

Regular sessions

Two to four calls a month built around your priorities. No slides required. Just the real conversation. Monthly retainer, simple terms.

Step 03

Access when it counts

Text and email access for the moments that can't wait. The decisions that matter don't happen on a calendar.

If something in this resonated.
That's the signal.

This isn't for everyone. It's for the founder doing the work, learning the role in real time, and looking for one person in their corner.

No pitch. No commitment. Just a conversation.