About

My approach and how I got here

my Approach

At the heart of my practice lies a blend of art, science, and playfulness.

By merging traditional executive coaching with progressive tools like psychedelic coaching, I help leaders forge dynamic connections and gain profound insights to overcome obstacles.

Drawing from decades of experience in Design & Tech, neuroscience, psychology, and modern psychedelics, I am deeply passionate about facilitating personal transformation and helping leaders create meaningful, achievable paths forward.

My Journey

While leading the design team at Grubhub, I had a revelation during a commute home: If the world’s top athletes, like Serena Williams and Dan Marino, collaborate with coaches to enhance their performance, why shouldn’t Design leaders do the same?

Probably not a new insight, but personally significant for me. I had typically associated coaching as being leveraged to address ‘troubled performers’ and had not considered it as a tool for further developing already high-performing leaders who strive to better themselves.

After a profound experience with my first executive coach, I decided to enroll in Columbia University’s coaching program. Initially, my goal was to use coaching to enhance my own leadership skills, but I quickly fell in love with the art and science of coaching — and dedicated myself to mastering the craft of coaching.

After completing the certification program at Columbia, I began coaching my former and current colleagues, applying new methods and insights that proved highly effective. As my expertise and passion for coaching grew, so did my ambition to extend my impact beyond internal teams. Today, I work with Design & Tech leaders across the industry, offering bespoke coaching solutions that transform good leaders into great ones by fostering clarity, resilience, and innovation.

Client Love ♥

“Thanks to Jacob’s coaching mentorship I feel more knowledgeable and competent in coaching others more effectively. His open and non-directive approach to mentoring me was exactly what I needed.”

— Marena S, former Amazon

Certified Executive Coach

Jacob Styburski

I am an ICF-certified Executive Coach, former design executive, and BBQ pitmaster with over two decades of experience leading cross-functional teams at companies like Meta, frog design, Grubhub, JPMorgan Chase, PayPal, and American Express.

Throughout my career, I’ve been drawn to leaders navigating growth, change, and the deep questions of what it means to lead with clarity and heart. My coaching practice blends structured, data-driven tools—like 360 feedback grounded in human development—with more expansive approaches like psychedelic integration and team offsite facilitation. Whether I’m working with a product leader facing a pivotal transition or a team recalibrating its purpose, my goal is the same: help leaders go where their passion leads, with clarity, confidence, and courage.

I specialize in working with senior Design, Product, and Tech leaders, as well as leadership teams seeking to increase trust, alignment, and effectiveness—especially in this era of AI-powered transformation. I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Organizational Development & Change at Fielding Graduate University, where my research explores what it means to build high-performing teams in partnership with AI—and what it takes to stay fully human in the loop.

Oh, and yes: I also co-founded Revenge BBQ, a critically acclaimed Texas-style smokehouse formerly in Irvington, NY. So whether it’s brisket or business, I’ve always believed transformation is best served with heat, patience, and just the right amount of smoke.