I've Sat Where You're Sitting
Angelo Santinelli MBA, CPCC
Not metaphorically. Literally.
I've been the person accountable to investors when the numbers weren't there. The one who had to make a call that would affect many people and couldn't afford to be wrong. The executive who needed a trusted advisor and couldn't find one who actually understood the environment I was operating in.
That gap is why Entrepreneurial Edge exists.
My Background and Why It Matters to You
I don't bring theory to your problems. I bring three decades of having owned them.
When we talk about board dynamics, I've been the partner on the other side of the table as a general partner in a venture firm, where I evaluated thousands of founders and leadership teams. I know what your investors are actually thinking, not just what they say in the meeting.
When we talk about scaling, I helped grow Shiva Corporation from $20M to $200M in revenue through IPO. I know the wall you hit at each stage of growth because I hit every one of them myself.
When we talk about strategy, I learned to think rigorously about it in the high-tech practice at Boston Consulting Group, then spent 17 years teaching it at Babson College, where I built the Business Model Wheel and helped oversee a $200M+ private equity and venture capital portfolio for the endowment.
In short, I have been an operator at a startup, a VC, and an LP. That’s a trinity of knowledge and experience few coaches can claim.
The MBA from Harvard Business School, the BS from Fordham, the CPCC coaching certification, the ICF membership, the Certificate in Private Company Governance, the Certificate in FMVA: those are table stakes. What you're actually hiring is the judgment that comes from using all of it under real pressure, with real money and real people on the line.
That is the difference between a coach who has read about your world and one who has lived in it.
My Coaching Philosophy
I am not a therapist, and I'm not a cheerleader.
I'm a straight-talking advisor who will challenge your thinking, hold you accountable, and tell you what you need to hear — not what's comfortable. I bring operating experience, investor perspective, and board-level context to every engagement.
That said, I also know that the best coaching isn't advice-giving. It's helping you think more clearly, act more decisively, and lead with greater self-awareness. The work we do together is rigorous, honest, and built around your definition of success — not mine.
My clients don't come to me because their careers are failing. They come because they refuse to coast.
A Personal Note
I've spent decades in rooms where the stakes were high, and the margin for error was thin. I've seen what separates leaders who scale with their companies from those who get replaced. It almost never comes down to intelligence or technical skill.
It comes down to self-awareness, adaptability, and the willingness to keep growing when most people would coast on what already works.
That's the work. And it's the most important investment a leader can make.
Ready to Talk?
If you're a founder or executive who wants a trusted partner in your corner. Someone who has been there and will be straight with you. I'd like to meet you.