One conversation can change everything.

Sometimes you just need one honest conversation with someone who’s been through it.

2 AI Startups built, one $60m Exit

I founded e-bot7, one of Europe’s leading AI startups, scaling it to 130+ employees before selling the company for $60M to a NASDAQ-listed US company.

200+ trusted founders

I’ve supported more than 200 founders on their journey from early idea to fast-scaling teams.

10+ years of scaling expertise

I built and scaled two AI companies from zero to multi-million ARR over the last decade - featured on the cover of Forbes 30 Under 30 and recognized with 30+ awards.

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How I can help.

These are the topics I typically work on with founders from fundraising to helping them stop being the bottleneck and set up systems that actually scale.

Getting ghosted by investors?

From pre-seed to Series B. Helping founders craft compelling narratives, build investor pipelines and decks, and close competitive rounds.

Revenue flat?

Designing and scaling GTM strategies that drive traction, from early validation to repeatable sales motions.

No audience?

From no idea and zero audience to industry authority. Helping founders craft powerful content, build trust at scale, and turn their insights into opportunity.

Burning out?

If you’re the bottleneck in your own company and already feeling burned out, something needs to change. I help founders regain clarity, reduce pressure, and build in a way that’s actually sustainable.

Hiring uncertainty

Unsure who to hire next? We clarify when to hire, who to hire, and what you should finally let go of so hiring accelerates you instead of creating more bottlenecks.

Ready to make a difference?

Two ways of working together.

Quick 1:1 Call

Borrow my brain for up to 45 minutes. A focused 1:1 session for founders who need clarity fast. Whether you’re facing a fundraising roadblock, a tough hiring call, or a high-stakes decision you can’t afford to get wrong.

This session gives you immediate alignment, actionable next steps, and the confidence to move forward.

Book Now

Man in white t-shirt working on a silver laptop at a gray outdoor table on a sunny balcony.

Mentorship program

If you want structured, proactive support over several weeks (min. 4-week commitment), the mentorship is the right setup. Perfect if you’re navigating a fundraising process, GTM challenges, leadership issues, or simply need consistent guidance to move faster and stay aligned.

In the mentorship, we work consistently together on the things that move you and your company forward.

Apply here

Only 3 slots each month available

See how it works

Real Stories. Real Results. Trusted by 200+ Founders.

What founders say after working together - unfiltered and honest.

Kiyan Foroughi

Founder & CEO Needle (3x Founder)

Xaver gets it. Real operator who's built and scaled AI companies, dealt with the dark side (burnout), and came out with actual wisdom instead of just war stories. Our convo felt like talking to a founder who's been in the trenches. He gave me a helpful framework for thinking about automation timing with AI. If you're scaling a company (especially B2B/AI) and want honest feedback from someone who won't blow smoke, book this.

Michael Beches

Co-Founder Tokapi

Working with Xaver was honestly one of the best decisions we made this year. I came in expecting some high-level advice, but he immediately got hands-on and helped us cut through the chaos. He understood our situation in minutes and pointed out blind spots we didn’t even realise we had. The clarity we walked away with was huge suddenly the next steps felt obvious instead of overwhelming.

Valentin Belser

CEO & Co-Founder Delicious Data

Before working with Xaver, our onboarding was outdated and honestly… we knew it, but we kept pushing it aside. It was clearly hurting retention, yet we didn’t have a clear strategy for how to fix it. Xaver came in with a completely fresh perspective. He challenged our assumptions, walked us through what actually matters in those first user moments, and helped us rebuild the entire flow from the ground up. Working with him was like having a founder who has ‘been there’ sit next to us and show us what really moves the needle.

Catalina Turlea

Co-Founder & ex-CTO @nilo

I reached out to Xaver as I was searching for advice from experienced founders. He openly shared his experience and gave me really actionable advice. I am grateful for the change to have these conversations with Xaver, they were extremely helpful, insightful and helped me navigate a quite tough situation with confidence. Would totally recommend! Thank you, Xaver

Sebastian Flick

CEO & Co-Founder Branchly

We were completely stuck on what to build next. Every idea felt half-baked, and our internal brainstorming sessions went nowhere. So we booked a session with Xaver and honestly, it changed everything. He didn’t give us generic advice. He asked a few tough questions.

Adam Probst

CEO & Founder ZenML

We closed our $3.7M round in just 8 weeks after Xaver helped us reshape the narrative- It changed everything for us so thanks a lot again!!

Jonas Schoebel

Co-Founder Dais Group

We were struggling to get revenue off the ground. After working with Xaver, our growth rate jumped from 68% to 122%. His input made a huge difference. Jonas Schoebel.

Christina Amara

Founder āera (Ex Amazon)

Xaver’s advice is genuinely powerful. He is sharp, incredibly smart, gives no BS feedback, shares very open and unfiltered thoughts, strong recommendations. In one session he surfaced blind spots I didn’t even know I had and reframed how I think about product, focus, and scaling as a founder. His guidance is direct, practical and grounded in real experience, not theory. He also shared several high-leverage insights about building, momentum and product development. If you want honest, fast clarity from someone who’s actually built at scale, I’d absolutely recommend him.

Nick van Heyningen

Senior Legal Counsel

Thanks for the guidance Xaver, talked about MVP, ideation and AI. Xaver has tons of experience in the field and as a founder knows the ropes well. Also a super nice guy, highly recommend :)

Example of a Mentor Program Journey.

What working together actually looks like session by session.

Understand the business, the founder, and tackle what’s urgent

We start by understanding the full picture. The business, the founder behind it, and the challenges you’re facing right now. We already work on pressing issues in the first session. Critical decisions, urgent blockers, or situations that can’t wait. You leave the call with: • Clarity on what actually matters right now • Immediate relief on the most urgent problem • Clear next steps for the coming days

Deep dive into the real challenges

After the first session, we zoom in. This call is about going deep on the core challenges we identified. We break down: • What’s actually blocking progress • Where decisions are unclear or avoided • What’s structural vs emotional vs tactical • What you might be overlooking

Turn insight into a clear plan

After understanding the business and going deep into the challenges, this session is about direction. We take everything uncovered so far and turn it into: • Clear priorities • Concrete decisions • A simple plan you can actually execute We define: • What to work on now • What to explicitly ignore • What success looks like over the next weeks

Review, adjust, and lock in momentum

This session is about reality. We look at what actually happened after the decisions and plan from Session 3. - What worked. - What didn’t. - Where friction showed up. We refine: • Execution based on real feedback • Decisions that need adjustment • Priorities for the next phase

Ongoing Support & Accountability

Between and beyond sessions, you’re not on your own. This mentorship is designed to keep you accountable to the decisions you make not just talk about them. That means: • Regular check-ins on progress • Quick feedback when you’re stuck • Pressure-tested decisions before they become expensive mistakes We track: • What you committed to • What actually happened • What needs to change next

A man with short brown hair, wearing a black jacket and white t-shirt, looks up and to the right. Xaver Lehmann.

Hi! I am Xaver.

Xaver is a serial entrepreneur, speaker and investor from Munich. He co-founded e-bot7, one of Europe’s leading AI startups, scaling it to 130+ employees before selling the company for $60M to a NASDAQ-listed US company. He later launched VidLab7, backed by top-tier investors like EQT which he left due to Burnout. Today he runs The Honest Founder, a community with 30,000+ Founders & CEOs. Drawing on a decade of building and scaling companies, Xaver shares raw founder stories, frameworks, and lessons to help entrepreneurs grow with clarity, resilience, and authenticity.

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Xaver Lehmann

The Honest Founder

Frequently asked questions.

Just let me know if you have any more questions. Don't hesitate to reach out to me.

You can book a short call with me anytime - no approval needed. If you’d like to work together on a longer-term basis (4+ weeks), please apply.

It’s entirely up to you. Whether you want to solve one urgent challenge or prefer weekly coaching to go deeper - I offer both.

A session is straightforward. You bring your biggest challenge, and we work through it together. You don’t need to prepare anything, but if you want to send context or materials in advance, you’re welcome to.

If you walk away from the session without clear value, I’ll refund you immediately. No questions asked.

If you get defensive when someone challenges your assumptions, this coaching won’t work for you. I don’t sugarcoat things, and I won’t tell you what you want to hear I’ll tell you what you need to hear to move forward.