Hey there, I'm Steve Schlafman.

I'm an ICF-Certified Professional Coach who has coached, advised, and invested in more than a hundred founders and leaders across various sectors and stages.

Through one-on-one coaching and group experiences, I support high performers—founders, executives, creatives, and investors—as they slow down, reorient, and step into their next chapter with intention and purpose.

I also co-lead seasonal men's retreats in the Catskills, creating space for high agency men to slow down, go inward, and do the deeper work of awakening and healing.

My certifications include the 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, Coaching for Transformation, Navigating Transitions (with Modern Elder Academy), Mental Health First Aid, and Tiny Habits (with BJ Fogg). I have also spent considerable time studying Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy (currently enrolled in Level 2), Internal Family Systems (through Aletheia), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Nonviolent Communication, Soulcraft, and the Enneagram.

I also write Where the Road Bends, a Substack about conscious change, life transitions, and the slow, sacred work of becoming. And I create tools like The Ultimate Annual Review to help people live more examined, intentional lives.

I also founded and led Downshift, an immersive group coaching program that guided dozens of professionals in transition over several years.

Before becoming a coach, I spent nearly two decades as a venture capitalist and operator, holding leadership roles at Primary Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, RRE Ventures, and The Kraft Group (owners of The New England Patriots). In those years, I invested in dozens of startups, including Zipline, Boom Aerospace, Hone Health, and Brightwheel.