About Vijay Solanki
A career spent inside the minds, and organisations, that start things
Biography
Vijay Solanki
Vijay Solanki is an author, strategist and executive coach with more than three decades of experience across marketing, innovation, media and technology. He has held senior roles with organisations including Unilever, Castrol, Philips, BlackBerry and Shazam, and has worked with hundreds of founders and senior leaders.
Perspective
His work sits at the intersection of human psychology, commercial strategy and entrepreneurial action. He is particularly interested in what allows some people and teams to move through uncertainty, make courageous choices and create momentum when others remain stuck.
The Founding Courage story
It began as a book and is becoming a broader platform
Keynotes, leadership workshops, assessments and practical tools that help people and organisations rediscover their capacity to start things.
Purpose, vision and strategy
Why Founding Courage exists
Purpose
To help people and organisations rediscover their capacity to start things.
Vision
Leadership teams that decide and act before all the evidence arrives, and are better for it.
Strategy
A book that starts the conversation, keynotes that carry it into the room, and workshops that turn it into a 90-day plan.
Values
What we hold ourselves to
Curiosity
Emotional connection
Creativity
Growth
Leadership in service of others
Who we are
A joint venture between Vijay Solanki and Meliora
Vijay Solanki
Author, strategist and executive coach. Three decades across marketing, innovation, media and technology, and 500 founder coaching conversations.
Meliora
The Intelligent Experience Company. Partner in the venture, bringing the design, delivery and organisational craft behind the programmes.
Founding Courage is a training company, not a consultancy. We do not write your strategy. We build the courage and the habits your leaders need to execute the one they already have.
Advance praise for the book
Having worked closely with Vijay during the formative years of lastminute.com, I recognise the depth of experience behind this book. Through honest storytelling and sharp psychology, he reveals the blind spots founders rarely see and the inner shifts that leaders must make. Deeply useful for first-time founders, executives making the leap, and C-suites who want to lead with genuine entrepreneurial intent.
Vijay has a rare ability to blend marketing craft with entrepreneurial instinct — I saw it firsthand at Shazam. This book captures that brilliantly: sharp insights and practical actions that leaders can apply immediately to build more entrepreneurial organisations.
Entrepreneurs and founders come in all shapes and sizes. Some may be tech bros trying to emulate Silicon Valley and obsessed with world dominating scale. Yet far more startups have founders with a much wider focus, and this book also champions courageous entrepreneurs driven by service, purpose and impact.
Start with a conversation
Tell us about the audience, team or challenge and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
Where Founding Courage operates
Two questions: where in the world, and where in the business
Geographies
London and the UK, in the room
Europe, for offsites and conferences
Remote, for programmes that run over months
Contexts
Medium and large enterprises
Scale-ups and their leadership teams
Founder communities and accelerators