Van Ooyen
Steven
Coaching Application
Why Work with Steven?
Experience
When you interview business or executive coaches, you’ll likely find that many have never owned or built a business from the ground up. Most come from training backgrounds and hold some form of coaching certification. While certifications have value, they are a poor substitute for real-world experience.
Steven led a team of 45 developers at a Fortune 100 corporation with resources spread across the globe. He co-founded a GPS tracking company, served as its CEO, and led the successful sale of that business to a top private equity firm—where he also integrated a turnaround business and collaborated on M&A activities.
He has coached and consulted with businesses in Human Resources, medical practices, SaaS technology, and consumer tech.
Perspective
When you're accountable for business outcomes, your perspective changes. Steven has sat in the top seat and experienced the full weight of leadership. He has feared going under, disarmed unreasonable clients, suffered from poor hiring decisions, and carried the burden of disappointing stakeholders.
Because of this, Steven doesn’t judge your fears, concerns, imposter syndrome, or moments of panic. Having been in your position, he serves as both a safe space and a challenger. It’s unlikely you’ll face a challenge he can’t relate to.
Why not see if there’s a fit? Steven will be the first to tell you if there is someone better suited to help you.
What does Coaching Look Like?
My role, as your coach, is to be your guide, accountability partner, cheerleader, and sounding board.
I help you—the entrepreneur, business leader, or owner—gain clarity on your goals, improve your performance, develop your strategies, and lead more effectively.
Through structured conversations, ad hoc calls for support, and regular strategy sessions, we work together to overcome challenges, refine your leadership skills, boost your confidence, and make better decisions.
I don’t solve all your problems for you; instead, we unlock your potential to become the incredible leader you know you’re meant to be.
Who is this book for?
4-Star Reviews Suck is for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone hungry to level up. Whether you're running a company, leading a team, or preparing to take the leap, this book is your shortcut to hard-earned wisdom.
What does it promise?
Business school didn’t cover this. Experience is a brutal teacher—but you don’t have to learn everything the hard way. Inside are 25 battle-tested maxims that will accelerate your growth and help you sidestep costly mistakes. Every lesson is real—failures, wins, and the strategies that actually work.
What makes this book different?
No fluff. No theory. Just straight-to-the-point wisdom. Each chapter gives you:
✅ A maxim to remember.
✅ A real-life screw-up (so you don’t repeat it).
✅ A success story (so you can replicate it).
This isn’t a one-time read—it’s a desk-side playbook. When challenges arise, flip to the right maxim, make the right move, and keep winning.
ABOUT Steven
Known for his success leading software organizations through extreme, and profitable, growth while driving a unified culture throughout the organization, Steven Van Ooyen has successfully led companies from inception to private equity acquisition. Steven’s focus goes beyond product and sales to excellence in every aspect of the business that touches the customer’s experience. Innovative in both technology and go-to-market strategies, Steven refuses to accept historical methods as limiting factors of future outcomes.
At Rhino Fleet Tracking, Steven built a sales and marketing machine that produced a customer acquisition cost payback time of just 4 months accompanied by a customer lifetime of over 7 years. This method led to an Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies award. His teams, and their dedication to serving their customers, had a best-in-class retention rate without binding customers to contracts. This fueled a successful sale to a Accel-KKR.
With time spent leading teams in a Fortune 100 business and experiences at the startup level, Steven has the flexibility to propel teams in any environment to successful outcomes. An expert in company evaluations, with strategic talent, he has a unique ability to quickly make M&A assessments and determine the steps required to join multiple companies into a singularly focused culture.
Steven currently serves as a fractional CEO for various businesses with a focus on SaaS and medical practices. Steven is also an advisor for Sentiero Ventures, an AI-focused fund, and CEO of a clandestine startup. As a member of the Maxwell Team, Steven offers professional leadership and executive coaching to individuals hungry for growth.
PHILOSOPHY
Steven has the gift to identify and solve problems quickly. With a “leaders go first” mantra, he thrives on the development of talent one-on-one or throughout your organization.
Whether you are looking to grow personally, meld your team into a cohesive unit, or drive growth throughout the organization, Steven’s experiences and insights will propel you to success.
SERVICES
Fractional CEO
Consulting - CEO, CMO, CRO, and Product
Team Leadership Training
Leadership & Executive Coaching / Keynote Speaker
Business Exit Coaching