What We Built at KJS in 18 Months
An End-of-Year Reflection (Earned Edition)
Eighteen months ago, KJS wasn’t a fully formed ecosystem. It was an idea rooted in a belief: that leadership, coaching, and company-building could be done with rigor and humanity, and that generosity, when designed intentionally, could be operational rather than aspirational.
This year, that belief turned into scale.
In the last 12 months alone, we grew 10×.
Not as a personal brand.
Not as a coaching side hustle.
But as a real company, producing real outcomes, for real people and organizations.
This is what we actually built.
Coaching Is the Heart - and the Outcomes Tell the Story
Coaching has always been the center of KJS. That hasn’t changed.
Over the past 18 months, we supported more than 50 C-suite and executive leaders through some of the most pivotal moments of their careers. Together, we negotiated millions of dollars in offers, exits, compensation packages, and role expansions. Leaders landed roles at Fortune 5 companies and across top-tier tech, retail, CPG, and media organizations.
Just as importantly, many left companies that no longer deserved them, doing so with leverage, clarity, and dignity.
Alongside this work, we intentionally embedded hundreds of pro bono coaching sessions into the model. Access wasn’t an afterthought; it was designed into the system from the start.
The work is deeply human.
And the results speak for themselves.
We Don’t Advise From the Sidelines
KJS doesn’t operate as a detached advisory firm. We embed.
Over this period, we helmed two companies at the executive level, led People Ops across multiple organizations simultaneously, and built, or rebuilt, HR and Strategic Operations from the ground up. That meant designing org structures, compensation frameworks, leveling systems, and performance models that could actually hold real people and real growth.
This wasn’t theoretical work. These transformations carried payroll, P&L responsibility, and real human consequences.
We don’t posture.
We carry responsibility.
Building Community (The Hard Way)
Community is often talked about. Building one that lasts is much harder.
Over the last 18 months, we built and launched a nonprofit from scratch, full infrastructure included. We grew three official partnerships that now drive meaningful growth. Internally, we built KJS partnerships across sister companies and fractional leaders, creating connective tissue rather than silos.
What began as a volunteer-based community evolved into real relationships, real work, and real momentum. Eventually, it became clear that the community itself needed support, so we built an entirely new business to serve it, alongside exceptional partners.
Community didn’t happen by accident. It happened by design.
One of Our Proudest Wins: Consultants Launched
One of the most meaningful outcomes of this work has been helping dozens of consultants launch from zero.
Operators, HR leaders, strategists, creatives, technologists, people with deep expertise but no roadmap for turning it into a viable business. We worked through pricing, positioning, confidence, and execution. The result wasn’t just clarity, but revenue. Real businesses. Real momentum.
And this is just the beginning.
More consultants. More lanes. More scale. More access.
Expanding Into New Frontiers (Without Chasing Trends)
Some of our growth surprised even us.
We expanded into AI enablement for executives, building workshops, internal tools, and practical adoption models that prioritized usefulness over hype. We diversified into digital products and content, and built a full engine around branding, writing, ghostwriting, and thought leadership.
That work opened doors to speaking opportunities, in-person presence, and expansion into new industries and markets.
No trend-chasing. No empty buzzwords.
Just systems that work.
The Systems Matter (So Here’s the Data)
Once the right systems were in place, we saw a 69% conversion rate. Our newsletter grew from zero to 4,200 subscribers in two and a half months. Multiple ecosystems are now standing on their own, and the backlog of ideas we’re sitting on could fuel the next decade.
This is the Generosity Flywheel in practice:
Paid work funds access.
Access builds trust.
Trust creates opportunity.
Opportunity feeds the system.
It’s not a philosophy. It’s operational.
Stepping Fully Into Leadership
This level of building required stepping fully into CEO energy - both for KJS and inside the organizations we support.
Not because it was the plan. Because it was necessary.
Coaching remained the heart. Operations, leadership, and systems became the spine.
Looking Ahead to 2026
2026 is already clear.
It’s about partnerships and intentional growth. We’re still deeply in the work, but now we’re scaling alongside others, through larger engagements, bigger organizations, enterprise and nonprofit work, and faster pathways for consultants and leaders alike.
You’ll see us more IRL.
More speaking.
More presence.
Same values. Bigger stage.
What KJS Stands For
Exceptional work.
Exceptional support.
Aggressive kindness.
Strategic generosity.
No perfection theater.
We care deeply.
We work hard.
We build things that last.
If you’re a leader, company, or partner thinking about 2026 and want to build real infrastructure, scale without losing your soul, and work with people who embed rather than posture - you’re in the right place and we should talk.
We built all of this in 18 months.
And this is only the beginning.
