Empowering Tech Leaders to Build High-Performing Software Engineering Teams

Expert Coaching for Visionary Tech Executives

Hi, I'm Zach Goldberg

I’m an experienced executive coach and the author of “The Startup CTO’s Handbook.” My mission is to guide visionary tech executives in cultivating high-performing software engineering teams.

With a unique blend of leadership wisdom and technical insight, I tailor my approach to meet the distinct challenges of the tech industry.

What Clients Have To Say

  • "Within the first few months of working with Zach we've implemented tools and strategies across the business, from engineering to support to sales, that have culminated in: 1) back to back record breaking sales months, 2) increased clarity of vision that helped us close our latest round of fund-raising and 3) improvements everyone can feel in culture and hiring. Zach is an easy person to talk to, he "gets it", understands my questions and crafts neat frameworks that I can understand and apply immediately with the team. I'm a better leader and our company is better set up for success thanks to Zach."

    Mit Patel

    Co-Founder and CEO, SwitftSku

  • "Zach Goldberg has been an invaluable coach and mentor to me for several years, offering guidance and perspective predominantly in the realms of people, processes, and experience management. I've found our discussions most valuable when I come with either a half baked idea that I'd like to flesh out, or for another perspective on a tactical or strategic challenge I'm facing. His ability to listen attentively and provide thoughtful feedback has been crucial in navigating complex challenges in my career at multiple companies."

    Zach Wills

    VP of Engineerng, Haven

  • "There’s a big world out there of advice, it’s hard to consume and parse it all without context.  The value of working with Zach is getting a specific perspective and context to influence my own as I’m making technical, leadership and human decisions. There are 100s of books I didn’t read because I talked to Zach instead."

    David Scrobonia

    CTO and Co-founder, Portal Labs, Inc.

  • "Boost brought Zach on as a CTO advisor as we transitioned from a founder-only codebase to bringing on our first full-time engineers.  I'd highly recommend Zach as a CTO sounding board as he was able to share actionable frameworks (some of which were from the book) across a variety of decisions, including buying vs building, performance OKRs, 1:1 playbooks, code architecture, etc."

    Holman Gao

    CEO and Founder, Boost My School

  • "I thoroughly endorse Zach as an executive tech advisor and mentor. I hired Zach as an advisor and our work focused primarily on hiring and technical architecture. Zach was thoughtful, highly responsive and generous with his time. His advice and perspective on who to hire and technical direction was very valuable and has set us up for high performance and success long term."

    Jacklyn Rome

    CEO and Founder, Onward

“Zach Goldberg is the perfect example of someone who is a business leader, a mentor, and an advocate for education.”

“At Gruntwork, we've recently adopted automated call transcriptions, routing AI-generated summaries to appropriate internal communication channels. This nearly zero-effort system has significantly improved our internal coordination and time savings.”

  • - featured in CTO Sync

Why You Might Need Coaching

  • Misaligned Teams: Departments working in silos, hindering collaboration and efficiency.

  • Unclear Priorities: Conflicting goals and objectives create confusion and slow progress.

  • Delivery Delays: Scaling complexity can lead to missed deadlines and frustrated stakeholders.

How My Coaching Helps

  • Build a Strong Leadership Team: Master communication, motivate your team, and achieve a winning culture.

  • Scale with Agility: Maintain agility, prioritize effectively, and optimize workflows for a smoother journey.

  • Bridge the Tech-Business Gap: Align your tech team with business goals for measurable success.

    …and more.

How We’ll Work Together

  • Free Tech Team Assessment

    Start with a free evaluation. Identify what your team does well and where it can improve. Use these insights to move forward.

  • Customized Leadership Strategies

    Get advice tailored to your challenges. Improve team dynamics and project delivery with strategies built just for you and your team.

  • Actionable Roadmap for Success

    Receive a clear, step-by-step plan to significantly enhance your team's efficiency and productivity. This plan sets you firmly on a path to success.

Get started with a discovery call, today.

Executive Coaching Package

Executive Coaching Calls

  • Tailored Coaching Session

  • Accountability Partnership with Me

Prompt Communication

  • With continuous Slack Support

360 Reviews

  • Twice a year

  • Feedbacks to identify areas for growth

On Demand Services

  • Specialized support available at an hourly rate

Podcast Appearances

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August 26, 2024

The Top Mistakes by Startup CTOs

Today, we’re talking to Zach Goldberg, CTO at Gruntwork and Executive Leadership Coach. We explore key takeaways from his book, 'The Startup CTO’s Handbook,' common CTO mistakes, AI ethics, and more.

Zach, a seasoned technical entrepreneur with a 'founder's mentality,' believes in making software development a science by applying best practices, building a collaborative culture, and hiring well, all while creating a fun and world-class work environment.

Answering the Question

Journal & Your Brain as a Muscle

Zach on Tradeoffs

Transparency and Manifest

Deep Dive Into Terragrunt and OpenTofu with Zach Goldberg

June 21, 2024

In this episode, Zach Goldberg, CTO of Gruntwork, shares his insights on tackling enterprise IaC complexity with open source tools. We dive into the origins of Terragrunt and its roadmap, why organizations are rapidly adopting OpenTofu, and explore the innovative ways these tools are being used in the community.

How are these developments transforming IaC practices? What challenges and opportunities lie ahead?

Zach Goldberg, Gruntwork & The Startup CTO’s Handbook

March 14, 2024

Zach Goldberg was sent to computer camp when he was 12 years old. There, he fell in love with tech, and eventually became a counselor. He finds the most joy and impact at the intersection of business and technology.

His executive coaching linked him with his current company's founders, sparking discussions on DevOps and the industry's future, convincing him to join and share his vision. This is Zach's creation story at Gruntwork.

February 20, 2024

The Startup CTO’s Handbook

Host Dan Lines welcomes back Zach Goldberg, CTO and author of the book 'The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential Skills and Best Practices for High Performing Engineering Teams.’

Zach shares insights from his extensive career as a CTO and his journey in writing a book that condenses the wisdom of numerous other influential works into a single, comprehensive guide.

The Startup CTO’s Handbook

What is a Good Developer Experience?

Job Description Consistency and the Expectations of the Role

Performance Reviews

Software Engineering Like Any Other Form of Engineering

June 25, 2022

Creating a Better CTO Playbook

Zach Goldberg, CTO at Dama Financial, joins Dev Interrupted to talk about the few truths in software engineering & the need for a CTO playbook.

In this great conversation, Zach talks about the most important things he’s learned in separating signal from noise in the realm of engineering leadership. He also provides some amazing guidance on who you should be listening to (when you’re not listening to us).

CTO Playbook

Pull Request Costs?

Cooldowns As Innovation Sprints

Listening to Books on 3X Speed

What are Good Engineering Teams?

Improved Cycle Time With LinearB