Hi, I’m Helaine
I'm a serial entrepreneur, executive coach, author, and the person you call when you need someone who has genuinely been in the room.
I built CITYROW from a personal injury-inspired idea into a national omnichannel fitness brand, raised over $20 million, navigated a pandemic, a Series A, and everything in between, and came out the other side with hard-won pattern recognition that no course or framework can replicate. Before that, I was an early employee at Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce for $745M) and Olapic (acquired by Monotype for $130M). Three exits. A lot of scar tissue. And a genuine love for helping other people build something real.
What makes my coaching and advising different is that I bring equal parts sharp business instincts and deep human awareness. I don't just diagnose the problem. I understand the person carrying it. How you think, how you move, what's actually holding you back. That combination is rare, and it's what my clients come back for.
Today I spend my time working with founders, Fortune 500 executives, and CEOs as a sought-after executive coach, writing and speaking honestly about what building something real actually looks like, and actively working on what I'm building next.
How did I become the founder?
I was the shy, chubby kid. The one who got cut from the sports teams and whose mom called to get her back on - still cringing over that one. I’ve always been smart and a hustler and able to navigate any and all surroundings to make things happen - but never would I have imagined being the one to start the company. Except that I did.
It’s one of my greatest adventures and one of the hardest set of challenges.
It’s a good story.
It all started when I fell in love with boutique fitness after college: I was hustling the world of publishing, then tech-start-up life, and fitness was my outlet. Unfortunately, my passion turned to pain when I developed a serious lower back injury; those months of spin and bootcamp classes left me with some serious credit card charges, but the opposite of a strong physique - I was more damaged than when I’d walked in there.
The frustration of being hurt by something I thought was going to help me fueled a desire to identify something better for the market. I had a great idea. But then I did the thing most people don’t do (and some shouldn’t)...I executed on the idea.
When I was in the throes of my boutique-fitness induced back pain, a friend suggested rowing - the doctor had mandated a low impact workout, and rowing was not only low impact, but total body and torched calories. I initially rejected it as something “my dad did in college,” or exclusive to Crossfit dudes, but a few workouts on a sleek machine later, and I had the dream to bring this to the mainstream consumer. We’d do so by re-branding rowing to be sexy and pair it with total body sculpting moves off the machine, and that was it - the concept for CITYROW was born.
Executing on the idea is one thing but digging deep and solving problem after problem that all founders face is where the building of the company - and the executive/CEO - really happens.
After ten years of expanding CITYROW, you name it, I’ve been through it: the good, the bad, and the (very) ugly. And I know how to come out on the other end, maybe not unscathed, but still fighting.
Now, I’m more passionate than ever about helping founders and CEOs navigate the natural challenges of running and growing a business.
Today I spend my time doing the work I wish I'd had access to when I was in the thick of it. Coaching founders and executives through the hard stuff, speaking honestly about what building something real actually looks like, and figuring out what I'm building next.