There’s one insight in our client work that many people would find surprising: mid-career professionals often land stronger increases, both in percentage terms and in absolute dollars, than do senior executives.

At first glance, it feels counterintuitive. Senior leaders negotiate business deals, oversee large teams and budgets, and carry higher titles that signal experience and competence. But job offer negotiations draw on a different set of muscles, and the instincts that help people succeed at the executive level don’t always translate cleanly.

Our conversation covers:

• How common executive instincts like decisiveness and transparency can cause leaders to move too fast and lose early leverage

• Why “executive presence” can backfire

• Why role scarcity raises the stakes for senior candidates, and how the pressure to land a rare role can push executives to accept terms prematurely

If you’re a senior leader, mid-career professional, or simply someone who wants to negotiate with more steadiness and clarity, you’ll find a ton of insight in this episode about how to stay grounded and ask for what you actually need.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

This week we spoke with our friend Matt LeBaron, cofounder and CEO of Pocketbook. Matt helps large companies evaluate their software vendors, renegotiate contracts, and make smarter decisions about their tech stack. He also works as a part-time consultant with Adobe’s software procurement team.

Our conversation covers:

• How Matt creatively turned a full-time job posting from Adobe into part-time client work for his business

• Why negotiations are more flexible than they appear, and how stated policies or pricing often function more as starting points than strict rules

• How timing, context, and business needs contribute to negotiation leverage

• Why relationships matter more than negotiations tactics taught in the classroom or in books

Whether you’re a freelancer, you have your own business, or are a job seeker who’s having trouble finding that perfect role to apply to, you’ll find a ton of gold in this conversation with Matt.

Learn more about Matt and Pocketbook here: Website | Matt’s LinkedIn | email: [email protected] 

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

This week on Gentle Power, we’re joined by Shawna Samuel, an executive consultant who focuses on supporting executive-working mothers in demanding roles. 

Shawna began her career in global finance, where she spent two decades shaping partnerships across the US and Europe. When she became a mother, the structure that had supported her career started to feel less stable. Her responsibilities grew while the available support didn’t grow with them, and she began questioning the default assumption that people should simply adapt without help. That turning point led Shawna to create The Mental Offload, where she helps clients reclaim time, influence, and steadiness in both their professional and personal lives without sacrificing career trajectory.

This conversation will be valuable to anyone who is career-focused but also has big responsibilities outside of the office.

Our conversation covers:

• How to frame your asks around the business value you create rather than treating adjustments as favors

• Why silence can be a powerful tool and how to use it to guide a negotiation

• Practicing saying no in small, everyday ways so that boundaries shift from feeling uncomfortable to normal

• Why people do better work when the responsibilities they carry outside of the office are acknowledged and supported

Learn more about Shawna and The Mental Offload here: Website | Spotify | Apple | LinkedIn

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

This week on Gentle Power, we explore how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has changed the way we think about negotiations. The IFS school of thought is based on the idea that we all have different “parts” within us that try to protect us in different ways, and this framework offers surprising lessons for how we show up in high-stakes conversations.

Our conversation covers:

• Why curiosity works better than confrontation when someone gets pushy or defensive
• How to stay grounded when you feel triggered or under pressure
• Why advocating for your younger self (or for someone you care about) makes it easier to ask for more
• The link between self-awareness and business confidence, and why not negotiating can send the wrong signal
• How responding with kindness helps you maintain your power while also getting a better outcome

Negotiating from this mindset will feel less like a flight and more like a creative dialogue. When we understand our own reactions and stay curious about what’s happening on the other side, even tough moments can turn into opportunities for connection and confidence, and of course, better outcomes.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

In this episode, we break down one of the most overlooked negotiation traps: how people give away their leverage when they think they’re actually helping their case. From revealing salary history to competing offers to personal disclosures, even senior leaders can unintentionally anchor themselves low and limit their earning power.

Our conversation covers:

• How one of our high performing, executive clients made a fatal mistake in their negotiations thinking they were actually helping their case

• Why sharing salary history instantly anchors the negotiation and erases options you didn’t know you had

• How companies subtly steer candidates into revealing information they’re legally protected from sharing

• Why “market data” is far less reliable than people think. The real number that matters is the top of their budget - we can never know that number but here’s what to do about it. 

• The compounding cost of leaving even a small amount of salary on the table and how it shapes every raise, promotion, and future offer

• How disclosing pregnancies, relocations, side projects, or “I’m not talking to anyone else” can shift power

• Why naming competing companies or industries collapses your leverage, and how to keep optionality without lying

  
  

Most leverage is lost in moments that feel harmless. The more intentional you are with what you share, the more confidently you can negotiate for the future you want.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

In this episode, we discuss a common dilemma: how to negotiate when the job opportunity came through a referral. Many people hesitate to negotiate in these situations out of fear of seeming ungrateful or straining the relationship that helped them get in the door. We share how to approach these conversations without creating awkwardness or risking the relationship.

Our conversation covers:

• Why a warm intro doesn't mean you can’t advocate for yourself
• Why keeping a pulse on your market value now will help you negotiate roles later that came through warm intros
• The mindset of treating referrals as opportunities for both sides, not an obligation that you must fulfill
• How to communicate tactfully with gratitude, professionalism, and calm
• Viewing referrals like dating intros (mutual fit still matters)

We also share:

• Alex’s biggest DJ set yet: opening at one of NYC’s biggest Halloween festivals
• Recording our podcast and serendipitously hosting a mini-reunion during our 12-hour layover to Korea
• Alex's real-life story where the “backup company” became the dream offer

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

This week we’re joined by Alex Daniels, founder of Decrypted Law and a JD-MBA who is ex-Google, has advised startups and investors during his time at Cooley, and now through his own practice. Alex helps founders and employees navigate legal complexity and drive equitable outcomes through intentional legal design. We explore the structures that keep negotiations ethical, equitable, and grounded in real leverage.

Our conversation covers:

• What founders and employees should know about clawback clauses, non-competes, non-solicits, and NDAs, and why the language matters more than the label

• How to approach severance negotiations, what “reasonable” looks like, and when to consider outside counsel

• How personal disclosures can shift power in negotiations, and why the wrong timing or location-based pay changes can expose companies to discrimination claims

• The difference between RSAs, RSUs, and ISOs, and how early exercise or cash compensation can preserve real value over time

  
  

We also share:

• Alex’s journey from Google to Cooley to building his own flat-fee law firm for startups

• A true case of a relocation gone wrong and what founders can learn about jurisdiction and fairness

• Why reading and understanding every clause in your offer or CIIAA is the strongest move you can make

  
  

The more awareness you bring to the table, the better equipped you are to ensure your best outcome, and our conversation with Alex provides the tools to navigate your next contract confidently.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

In this episode, we’re joined by corporate attorney and SaaS dealmaker, Omeed Tabiei, whose career spans Hyperloop’s moonshot years, two startups of his own, and now a boutique legal firm that helps software founders from incorporation to exit. We dig into how negotiation really works across the startup lifecycle: pricing your services, converting cold outreach into warm relationships, and protecting leverage when buyers come knocking.

We cover:

• Why everything is a negotiation, from scoping legal work to structuring M&As

• How Omeed turns cold leads warm: identify motivations, give value up front, and keep a seat at the table

• How founders lose leverage in exits and how to run a competitive process

• Decoding offers beyond the headline price: stock, holdbacks, working-capital adjustments, taxes

• Guardrails for buyer diligence: phased NDAs, term sheets first, and when to use breakup fees

  
  

We also share:

• Bazaar-born instincts: a dad who made every purchase a negotiation (and how that translates stateside)

• The inside story of Hyperloop’s rise and lessons from raising nine-figure capital on a moonshot

• Omeed's journey: starting two companies, navigating a co-founder dispute, and returning to law to help founders succeed

  
  

“Gentle power” here means pairing clear asks with real empathy: protect your leverage, lead with value, and move every conversation toward fair, durable agreements, for both sides.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

In this episode, we’re joined by Mariane Bekker: engineering leader through six exits, former Director of Engineering at Mindbody, and founder of the 80k-member tech community, Founders Bay. Our conversation explores pay and negotiations from the hiring side, how bias actually shows up in offers, and how women (and allies) can ensure fair offers from both sides of the table.

We cover:

• How to avoid anchoring traps that disadvantage women in offers

• Why motivation and scope often matter more than “market data”

• Practical phrases that reframe the conversation without giving up leverage

  
  

We also share:

• Mariane’s path from cold-calling offices with 50 resumes to building a 55% women engineering org

• How asking for a higher title early shaped every step of her career

• Real tactics she used as Head of Engineering to redesign hiring systems

• The personal grit behind her negotiation style, from war-torn Lebanon to Silicon Valley

  
  

If you hire, lead, or negotiate in tech, this one’s a masterclass on advocating for yourself and others without leaving value on the table.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex

This week we’re sharing a live workshop we hosted with Marianne Bekker (Managing Partner, Founders Bay) on how founders can negotiate across every phase of the startup journey, from co-founder splits to investor terms, design partners, vendors, and early hires. Gerta walks through a practical framework for keeping leverage, avoiding common traps (like giving numbers/ranges), and aligning deals to the right priorities rather than the loudest ones.

Our presentation covers:

• The founder negotiation map: co-founders, investors, early employees/contractors, advisors, vendors, design partners, customers, and M&A
• How to preserve leverage (and why you should almost never give numbers or ranges)- Crafting your priority stack (price now vs. lifetime value, brand/reputation, referrals, timelines) and marking true non-negotiables
• Design-partner dynamics: avoiding excessive customization and setting scope, time, and compensation
• Vendor contracts 101: price, scope, timelines, royalties, exclusivity, and when to push vs. trade
• Investor terms beyond valuation: board seats, control, and post-deal involvement
• In-person moments: why you shouldn’t negotiate on the spot (and what to do instead)

A founder’s job is nonstop negotiation, and this workshop gives you the scripts, structure, and judgment to secure better terms without burning bridges.

For more:

Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly

Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com

Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Instagram: @yournegotiations

LinkedIn: Gerta | Alex