In this episode of the Berkeley Startup Podcast, we sit down with Rohan Verma, founder of Arbor Advisory, executive coach, startup advisor, and former LinkedIn and Dropbox exec. With over 15 years of leadership experience in scaling billion-dollar tech products, Rohan shares his remarkable journey from Berkeley undergrad to tech executive, and ultimately, to full-time coach and entrepreneur.

Rohan opens up about his values-driven career decisions, the founding of his coaching firm, and his edtech venture, Gritty, which is built on the principle that grit and personality can outweigh privilege and pedigree. He also unpacks what truly sets his coaching apart, the nuances between team and individual coaching, and how he leverages his unique cross-industry fluency to support leaders from tech to sports to pharma.

Whether you're an aspiring founder, a career pivoter, or someone exploring the impact of coaching in a rapidly evolving workplace, this conversation is filled with insight, candor, and deeply actionable wisdom.

What sets him apart in the coaching space

There are three key differentiators. Differentiator number one is that I was actually an executive at one point in a particular industry with domain expertise, and I made a conscious choice to move over into more of an executive coaching and advisory role. Number two, I don't do this on the side. It's not like I have my old day job at LinkedIn, and I do some coaching because it's fun, or it's invigorating, or I need a little bit of extra cash. I took the rigor and intensity of my old day job and brought it to the coaching world. And with that comes a certain style of personality that I tend to mesh with. Number three, I don't let my operating skills atrophy. I'm still managing some folks.  It's not really coaching work, but it will make me a better coach. I can still have some fluency in terms of the day-to-day running of a business.

On the importance of mastering difficult conversations

There are a few commonalities. Commonality number one, by far, is how to have difficult conversations in a way that allows you to give and receive feedback without shying away, and without being too vitriolic, right? And you're teetering on criticizing someone like an ad ho attack, where you’re holding back. So, how to really navigate through delivering and receiving hard conversations is paramount.

On using AI to your advantage

Be very deliberate and mindful about staying up to speed on as much as you can about the various developments and constantly thinking about how they could make you more efficient or better in your job, rather than cowering in fear. Think about how AI could provide you with leverage. Don't get caught flatfooted.

• Arbor Advisory
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckwort
• Gritty

In this episode, we speak with Lisa Altieri, founder of BrightAction, a SaaS platform designed to empower people and organizations to take meaningful climate action in their daily lives. Lisa shares how her commitment to protecting the planet and advocating for strong climate policies led her to create a tool that bridges the gap between intention and action—helping two-thirds of Americans who want to help the climate but don’t know how.

Lisa discusses how BrightAction supports cities, companies, and individuals in reducing their carbon footprint by focusing on five everyday behaviors that account for 42% of U.S. emissions. She also unpacks how she built the platform as a solo founder, the challenges of marketing and founder-led sales, and the importance of designing for behavior change. Her journey highlights the importance of being deeply connected to your mission—and what it means to build something you simply can’t not do.

On turning climate advocacy into entrepreneurial action

I decided that the most important thing to me was to focus my work on protecting our beautiful planet and doing what I could to really make a difference in climate change. I was spending a lot of time outside of my career organizing and advocating for strong climate policy, and this was when there were a lot of us out there spending time really advocating for strong policy, and we really didn't see it happening.

And so I started to really see this chasm growing between where climate policy was at and where science said we needed to be. And I started to really think about what else, in addition to policy, could we be doing to help move climate solutions forward? Because at the end of the day, what really matters is to actually go and implement the solutions that are going to address climate change and create a more sustainable, livable future for everyone.

On building a sustainable ESG business model

 There's a lot of perception that if you're making a positive impact, you're not gonna have a sustainable business model. And I think that's completely not the case. There are so many opportunities to combine impact with creating a sustainable business—ongoing, recurring, sustainable revenue, and opportunities.

 When I thought about building this [BrightAction], I thought about how to create a business around that. And ultimately, what we're creating is something of value. And I think that whenever you're creating something of value, there's a way to have that value be recognized and included.

On building with, not just for, your customers

Connecting with the people who have the pain point you're trying to solve, and inviting a few of them to be part of your journey and your development is a really powerful strategy to kick off

things and help you to not only get to market and get customers, but also to make sure that you're building something that's gonna be useful and be attractive to your buyer.

Start when not starting isn’t an option

You should only start a company if you can't not do it. Because it takes that much of you. It has to be something that you are so compelled to do, that you feel so strongly about, that you just can't not go do it. And you have to be in it for the long haul. You have to be ready to dig in and spend the time to make it work. There are gonna be times that are hard. You're gonna hit stuff that you've not done before. It’s tough. It takes a lot to figure out when you hit barriers and get past them. And so, just be ready to commit the time. Be ready to dig in. Best of luck and enjoy the ride; there's nothing like it ever.

• BrightAction
• Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

SaaStr Blog (Startup Sales & Marketing)

In this insightful episode of Berkeley Startups, Arjun Dev Arora, founder of Format One and Retargeter, joins us to share hard-earned lessons from over 15 years of supporting 500+ startups. A UC Berkeley alum and seasoned operator-turned-advisor, Arjun unpacks the reality behind successful startup journeys—from the grit it takes to build during downturns, to the power of deep customer listening, and the underestimated art of timing and obsession.

We dive into topics like co-founder alignment, communication as the core of leadership, when to raise capital, and how founders—whether fresh grads or seasoned professionals—can find their edge. Arjun’s reflections aren’t just tactical—they’re human. He talks openly about what he would’ve done differently at Retargeter and what founders should prioritize when navigating growth, conflict, and market waves. Whether you’re building your first product or navigating a pivot, this episode is packed with wisdom you’ll want to replay.

On how communication, repeated and refined, helps leaders lead

From a very tactical and practical perspective, it is off of just communication. Leadership is communication, and communication is repetition. And so you just want to continue to figure out ways to say the same thing in a different way. On a very practical level, synthesizing complex ideas simply and then communicating them and recommunicating them in different ways so that they can land with folks.

On how obsession powers resilience and breakthrough ideas

While that's helpful, I think the human experience is often driven by emotion and obsession. So, I think it's good to post facto look at that and rationalize, ‘Oh yes, this was a combination of things that I was particularly good at’. But the reality is, I think you have to find something that you can truly get obsessed about. Because I think that obsession and drive is what's going to push you through those difficult times, and it's gonna help you create that grittiness. Resilience is gonna happen through that kind of obsession. So, finding that kind of sharp wedge of obsession and drive, and then on the back of that, building around that to ensure you have a true product.

On learning the lessons you’re meant to learn

 I think everything had to happen the way it did. And I think that provides a lot of peace now, 10 years later. But I think there's always the idea of, sell the company earlier, raise capital a different way, be thoughtful about your cap table, focus on product roadmap expansion—earlier if you know that there's market pull. There are a lot of I think little things here and there. But at the end of the day, I think you, as a founder, have to go through the experiences you go through in order to learn the lessons you need to learn. In retrospect, it's hard 'cause you typically are just making the best decision you can in the moment and the best information you have. But lots of lessons learned and I share those as often as I can with anyone who listens, hopefully be able to help them in their own journeys as well.

• Format One – Strategic Advisory for Startups
• Retargeter (acquired by Sellpoints)
• True Self | Self-awareness tool mentioned by Arjun
• OpenX – The open-source platform used in early days of Retargeter
• 500 Startups Accelerator
• Y Combinator – Accelerator Program