My Story

I’m Keiko. I’ve been a tech marketer for 20 years, leading teams at startups and top tech companies. I’m also a certified coach who has coached over 200 people from ICs to VPs, and a mom of two.

Through my experiences as a minority woman in leadership and a working parent, I've lived through the challenges my clients face today. I’ve also learned what it takes to break through the self-imposed limits that keep us from going after what we really want.

Let me take you through the journey that shaped me into the coach I am today.

Early life

I grew up in New Jersey as the youngest of three daughters to Japanese immigrants. I was a straight-A student and internationally-ranked tennis player with a bright future, until I experienced my first major setback when I was hospitalized for a month with Crohn's disease.

That moment taught me something crucial: your plans can fall apart overnight, but you get to decide what happens next. I recovered, attended Stanford on a full tennis scholarship, and played on the pro tour before transitioning to a corporate career. That early experience with limitation and comeback became the foundation for everything I do now.

Finding my path in tech

I started my corporate career at 23 with no prior work experience. Leveraging my bilingual skills and athletic discipline, I joined Ajinomoto's sports drinks division as a marketing assistant.

Excited by the tech innovation scene, I left after 4 years to join Google's marketing team. While my colleagues were brilliant, I felt my growth stalling after moving through several teams. I could have stayed comfortable, but I knew there was more out there for me. I left after 4 years, ready for a new challenge that would push me beyond what felt safe.

The startup gauntlet

At Eventbrite, I became a first-time manager leading 12 people across Product Marketing and Growth Marketing. I made countless mistakes, worked 70-hour weeks, and burned myself out trying to prove I belonged. The imposter syndrome was crushing. I kept telling myself I wasn't ready, wasn't good enough, needed to work harder.

After 5 years, I finally found my footing, but I was exhausted.

I took a few months off to travel, surf, and rediscover who I was beyond my job title. This reset changed everything. I learned to live in the present and realized the biggest barrier to my success: the story I was telling myself about what I was capable of and what I deserved.

The executive crucible

I joined Front as VP of Marketing, a first-time executive at a rocket ship Series A startup. As we raised our Series B, my imposter syndrome intensified. Building an entire marketing team, reporting to a board, and driving hypergrowth were all new territory.

The pressure was crushing. I had stress-induced illnesses. My team members cried in 1:1s. But in these dark moments, I discovered my superpowers: hiring exceptional teams, navigating complex work relationships, and most importantly, helping people see what they were capable of and grow to their potential.

I watched talented people hold themselves back with the same stories I had told myself. I saw them stay in their lane when they should have gone bigger. I realized coaching wasn't just something I was good at—it was what I was meant to do.

Dare to Grow coaching

In October 2019, I left the startup to pursue coaching full-time. This was terrifying. I was walking away from a six-figure salary, prestigious title and company, and clear career path to start something from scratch. Every limiting belief I'd ever had came rushing back.

But I did it anyway.

I completed my certification with the Co-Active Training Institute after 400+ hours of training and coaching. I named my practice "Dare to Grow" because growth is central to everything I do and it's rarely easy. Real growth requires courage to face discomfort, challenge the stories keeping you stuck, and push through when it would be easier to play small.

Motherhood and career balance

As I built my coaching and consulting practice, I became a mom to Enzo (2020) and Remi (2022). In 2024, I returned to a marketing leadership role at LinkedIn, thinking I could balance both worlds.

I lasted four months.

It wasn't the workload or the people. It was the realization that I had given up control of my life. My creativity was stifled. My time wasn't my own. I felt like a cog in a machine, going through the motions instead of working to my full potential. The structure that works for so many people felt suffocating to me as a mom and as a marketer who thrives on autonomy.

Leaving LinkedIn reinforced something I've learned repeatedly: you can have big ambitions and a full life, but only if you stop waiting for permission and start making choices that align with who you actually are. Sometimes the "safe" path is the one that limits you most.

This experience gave me fresh perspective on what working parents face: the 40+ hour weeks, the sick kids, the childcare emergencies, trying to push through when you're depleted. But it also clarified why I do this work: too many talented people are stuck in situations that don't serve them, waiting for the "right time" to make a change instead of creating the life they want now.

Why I do this work

I coach because I've been on both sides of limitation.

I know what it's like to be held back by imposter syndrome while advancing in your career. I know what it feels like to have a big goal and talk yourself out of it. I know the exhaustion of trying to prove yourself worthy over and over again.

I know what it's like to choose stability, only to realize you've traded your potential for comfort.

I also know what's possible when you break through those barriers.

Whether you're navigating executive leadership, pursuing a major goal, or simply ready to stop playing small, I've walked similar paths. I can help you identify what's holding you back, develop the strategy to move forward, and hold you accountable to becoming who you're capable of being.

You don't need to do this alone. Let's grow together.