AIPHELION INSIGHTS
This week we caught up with Alexis John d’Amecourt, Head of Coaching at Mochary Method.
Mochary Method was created by Matt Mochary in the early 2010s and is the go-to coaching system for CEOs in Silicon Valley, blending tactical, no-nonsense advice with human connection and mindfulness, resulting in a proven blueprint for leaders on how to run their companies effectively and efficiently.
Alexis brings a wealth of experience to the tech industry, having spent twenty-five years as a three-time founder and C-suite leader. His unique background allows him to provide invaluable coaching to the most inspiring CEOs, founders, and investors in the tech world.
Alexis was born in Marbella, Spain, and spent his childhood in Washington, DC. He graduated from Clemson University and London Business School as the student of the year. He currently lives in Atlanta, GA, with his wife and daughter.
Q1: You’ve worked successfully as a publicist, major music festival organizer, tech founder, and even as a talent agent. Why coaching?
The truth is, I was a terrible publicist and a forgettable talent agent. As a festival organizer, I inherited a well-run machine. And as I like to tell CEOs, I founded three startups and successfully drove each one off a cliff.
Coaching is the only thing I’ve ever done that taps my whole self—intellect, experience, empathy, strategy, personality—in every conversation. It’s my zone of genius. I feel energized after each session. I make a deal with the CEOs I work with: you think about your company 24/7, and I’ll think about coaching 24/7.
I’ve worked in Hollywood, London, and Silicon Alley. But nothing has required more presence, honesty, or range than coaching a founder through the actual chaos of scaling. Coaching isn’t a detour from those careers—it’s the culmination of them.
Q2: Your clients used to be bigtime Hollywood actors and now they are Silicon Valley tech CEOs. How is it swimming with sharks on the daily, and how do you avoid having your arm bitten off?
The sharks aren’t in the water—they’re in your head. Fear is the driving or limiting force for many CEOs. The need to be right. The constant self-comparison to self-proclaimed industry titans. Whether I was working with actors or now with founders, the real battle is always internal.
The metaphor of being bitten is too narrow. I approach everything with curiosity and an open mind. I swim in with clarity, honesty, and the understanding that most reactions are fear in disguise. That’s where coaching gets interesting—when you can name the fear without getting eaten by it.
Q3: How frequently are you surprised or even terrified by the tech your clients are working on?
I’m not intimidated by the technology—I focus on the people behind it. There’s a myth that some mad genius is cackling as they tinker away on something nefarious.
Some of the founders I coach are building tools that could reshape society. That’s thrilling.
I’ve learned to be less impressed by what’s possible and more invested in whether the person building it is grounded, self-aware, and thinking beyond the next funding round.
Q4: Do your clients ask for advice on the ethics of what they’re working on, and if so, how do you advise them?
The myth is that startup CEOs are unethical. The truth is, the ones who last—the ones people want to work for—have a strong moral compass. Many of my clients come from solid families, whose values are shaped by experiences, adversity, and reflection. They’re not confused about what’s right.
What they need help with isn’t deciding what to do—it’s learning how to say it. How to articulate their values clearly, especially under pressure. In the chaos of scale, the noise gets loud. Coaching helps them stay anchored to who they are and what they stand for.
Q5: There’s a rise in people replacing their therapists with LLMs. How are you positioning yourself to survive the AI revolution as a coach?
I’m a machine learning fanatic—I use LLMs every day. But advice isn’t coaching, and insight isn’t change.
I draw on 25 years of experience to push, cajole, support, and call out BS when I see it. Coaching occurs in the moment of discomfort—when a founder hears something they don’t want to hear and must sit with it. No LLM can hold that space. No machine can replicate the feeling of another human saying, “I see you, and here’s what I see.”
I’m not trying to outrun AI. I’m doubling down on what only humans can do.
Q6: How do you remain on top of your game?
I treat coaching like a craft, not a role. I work with my executive coach. I steal from every discipline—psychology, literature, physics, finance—anything that sharpens my ability to listen, reframe, and push. I like to think of myself as a clever thief.
I read two books a week, and I don’t mean business books. I mean Roberto Bolaño, Lucia Berlin, Benjamín Labatut, and Fernanda Melchor. If I can better understand the inner life of a fictional character, I can better coach the real ones.
I also build tools—OS systems, CEO growth plans, AI workflows—because staying sharp isn’t just personal, it’s structural. I manage a team of coaches and operators who provide me with consistent, healthy feedback. That keeps me growing.
Q7: There’s a quote misattributed to Freud: “The Irish are impervious to psychoanalysis.” Are some people impervious to your wisdom?
The idea that the Irish are resistant to analysis is often linked to the notion that they express themselves through storytelling, poetry, or escapism rather than introspection and self-examination.
Wisdom is subjective. To some, I’m full of it. To others, I’m full of other things.
If anything, what I see with CEOs is that the biggest mistake often occurs when someone else—such as a Head of HR or a co-founder—wants the CEO to seek coaching. If the CEO isn’t on board, the work doesn’t get done. And sometimes, I’m just not a good fit. My style or message doesn’t connect. That’s fine. The right coach at the wrong time is still the wrong fit.
Q8: What’s the hardest piece of advice you’ve had to give?
“Do you want to be CEO?” It sounds simple, but when someone’s acting out of fear or ego, asking that question forces a reckoning. It’s never about title—it’s about responsibility.
Q9: What’s the hardest piece of advice you’ve had to take?
“You’re coming across as defensive, and I don’t want to work with you.” That feedback hit hard. It forced me to confront how I listen—and more importantly, how I protect myself when I don’t want to feel something.
Q10: What’s your favorite and least favorite part of coaching?
My favorite part is the people—watching, someone grows in real time, finds their voice, or sees themselves clearly for the first time. My least favorite part is when I fall into the trap of trying to be right instead of staying curious and open.
Q11: What’s your favorite self-help book and why?
I’ll give you four. I love anything by Gay and Katie Hendricks—their work on presence, integrity, and conscious leadership has shaped my entire coaching philosophy. Matt Mochary’s “The Great CEO Within” has guided me through countless coaching sessions—without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today. From fiction: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, for how it captures grief, time, and transformation in a way no nonfiction book could. And The Years by Annie Ernaux, for its radical honesty and the way she turns personal memory into collective truth.
Q12: Who are your heroes?
My wife. She’s strong, wise, funny, fiercely loyal, and nobody’s fool. If I have any chance of becoming a better person, it’s because I get to learn from her.
We’d like to thank Alexis for his valuable time in answering our questions. For his full bio and more information on how to contact him for coaching see: https://www.