The best leaders never stop learning.
Pracademic Coaching works with founders, executives, and high-performers who are committed to operating at their best — in the boardroom, on the leadership team, and under pressure. We combine deep academic grounding in psychology and human motivation with 20 years of real-world executive experience to help our clients see clearly, lead decisively, and drive successful outcomes.
The Pracademic difference
Most coaching practices come from one direction — either the theoretical or the practical. Pracademic Coaching was built from both.
Co-founder Lauren Rigney brings academic rigor and clinical depth: a Princeton psychology degree, graduate training in both counseling and sport psychology, and 15 years of practice as a licensed mental health counselor and performance coach. She understands human behavior at a fundamental level — why high-performers succeed, struggle, and get in their own way.
Co-founder Kristen Connor brings operating experience: 20 years as a technology executive, including executive team roles at three venture-backed companies through successful exits. She has navigated board dynamics, investor relationships, and leadership team challenges from inside the room, and brings that pattern recognition to every coaching engagement.
Together, they offer something genuinely uncommon — the rigorous and the practical, in equal measure.
Our approach:
Think ahead.
Act now.
Every coaching engagement at Pracademic is built on a simple but powerful idea: clarity about where you're going unlocks the ability to act with conviction now.
Whether the challenge is a complex stakeholder dynamic, a high-stakes decision, a leadership team that needs to align, or a performance barrier that keeps showing up — the work always begins with a complete understanding of the situation. What does success look like? For whom? What's actually in the way?
That clarity is the foundation. Everything else follows from it.
Coaching services
Performance Coaching
For elite performers — in business, athletics, and the arts — who want to operate at their absolute best. Rooted in performance psychology and 15 years of clinical and coaching practice.
Founder & Startup Coaching
For venture-backed founders and startup executives navigating the complexity that comes with building — board dynamics, investor relationships, leadership team alignment, and the decisions that define a company's trajectory.
Senior Executive Coaching
For accomplished leaders in demanding industries — finance, emerging technology, and beyond — who want a rigorous thinking partner to help them perform at the next level.
Leadership Team Coaching
For leadership teams that want to think better together — combining individual coaching with group sessions to build alignment, sharpen communication, and unlock the productive debate that high-performing teams depend on.
Recent blog posts
Coaches
Lauren Rigney
Lauren has spent her career approaching human performance from every angle — as a student of psychology, as a Division I athlete and coach, and as a licensed clinical counselor. That combination is the foundation of everything she brings to her clients. Learn more
Kristen Connor
Kristen built a 20-year career in the technology industry — including executive roles at three venture-backed startups with successful exits — before bringing that experience to her coaching practice. She helps founders and executives see the whole board and act with conviction. Learn more
Ready to do your best work?
Every engagement begins with a free consultation — a conversation to understand your situation and whether we're the right fit. No obligation, no pitch.
Planning a startup’s strategy and approach for the next year is incredibly challenging. We propose a simple planning framework to help early-stage startup leaders say yes to the right work to achieve the right outcomes for their business — and say no to the other things (even if they’re great ideas).