Katie Ceccarini is a Certified Executive Coach and the founder of Endurance Management Coaching. With two decades of experience in leadership, management, and team development, she has a proven track record of scaling high-performing teams. She began her career in early education before transitioning to the tech industry, where she became the first Account Manager at Yelp and later led Learning & Development at Opendoor. Passionate about empowering leaders—especially women—Katie now focuses on leadership coaching and development. She is also a triathlete, an aspiring cowgirl, and a devoted mother, residing in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and son.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your entrepreneurial journey.
I was raised by a single, hard-working mom. She was an outside sales rep in a male-dominated industry. Simultaneously, I watched my dad found his own company and grow it to have a few dozen employees. Between the two of them, I absorbed a core lesson: make it happen.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned not only how to make things happen, but I’ve also realized that you’ve got to make it matter to make it happen.
And that’s been at the heart of my success. I do this work because I want to be a model for my son. I want to show him that it’s possible to do work that engages you, makes a difference in the lives of others, and enables you to live a life where you’re fully present with family and get to enjoy hobbies.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business? What motivated you within to say, “YES, go for it!”?
In 2019, I was on an airplane heading to a trail running retreat with two friends who are also moms. The entire flight, I wrote down ideas, business names, and offerings in a notebook—basically, my elevator pitch for my business.
What got me to fully say yes and go for it was a combination of wanting to have a larger impact and also realizing it was silly to spend three hours of my day commuting to an office and only one hour with my son.
So in 2020, I founded Endurance Management Coaching so I could work with leaders beyond the walls of one organization and be a more present mother to my son.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
Over the last 18 months, I have really been focusing on women in leadership—helping women strengthen their leadership voice, be more deliberate about how they influence, and empower them with tactical tools to drive change in their organizations.
I hosted two in-person leadership retreats for women in 2024, and I cannot wait for the experience I’m building for the 2025 retreat!
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
I’m incredibly proud of the thousands of managers and leaders I’ve been able to work with and impact over the years.
Outside of traditional work, my biggest personal achievements have been completing over 30 triathlons and growing my horsemanship skills.
Both triathlon and horsemanship stemmed from self-doubt and fear.
I didn’t believe I could swim and complete a triathlon. That self-doubt caused me to learn, try, and ultimately succeed. I’ve completed 12 Ironman 70.3 races, in addition to more than 20 shorter-distance triathlons in the last 12 years.
And with horses—I was afraid of them for 30 years. As a kid, I rode English and took lessons every Sunday. After a few scary events, I didn’t go near a horse for 30 years.
Then in 2022, I faced my fears and began taking lessons again. Now I have a horse whom I train and ride three to four times per week.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I would love to see women seeking permission less.
It’s so incredibly common, and we don’t often realize we’re doing it.
We’re often waiting for permission to start. Waiting for permission to speak up. Waiting for permission to pursue an idea.
Instead, what if we gave ourselves permission?
Permission to start. Permission to speak up. Permission to pursue.
Permission granted!
Women are a growing force in workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. What are your thoughts about women in leadership today?
The world is a better place when more women are actively leading.
Generally speaking, women tend to index higher than men in key leadership areas: connection, relating, and authenticity.
And yet, overwhelmingly, women tend to doubt their leadership abilities more than men.
When we can help more women embrace who they are, their gifts, and what they bring to the table, incredible things can happen for communities, organizations, businesses, and countries.
What would you want to say to our young leaders/audience reading this?
You always have a choice—make the choice that serves you best. It might not be the conventional choice or the safe choice.
Honor who you are, what you know you’re capable of, and choose to take the action that lights you up.
Links & Social Media
Website: Endurance Management Coaching
LinkedIn: Katie Ceccarini
Instagram: @enduranceboss
