Founder Story Partner · Brisbane, Australia
Books and thought leadership for founders
You’ve done the work.
Let’s put it into words.
You’ve built a business, made difficult decisions and learned things worth sharing. I help you turn that experience into a book, LinkedIn posts, articles or a newsletter—with a clear point of view and a voice that feels like yours.
I’m Lia Golledge, an author, writing coach and founder story partner. Through interviews and editorial collaboration, I help you find the story’s angle, connect your ideas and create writing that earns trust.
Experience you can see
An experienced author.
Your writing partner.
I bring years of writing, publishing and helping others find their stories to your book: the judgment to find its angle, shape its structure and preserve your voice.
Selected published work
Published as Ollie and Lia Golledge. My work spans business, technology, personal growth, fiction and travel, alongside editorial work on Indonesian translations of Stoic classics.
For your book, that means a partner who can connect your ideas, make thoughtful editorial choices and help you turn lived experience into something useful for readers.
See my work with foundersWatch · 85 seconds
How a story gets out of drafts
A short film on how lived experience becomes a book, one interview at a time.
Ready to talk about your story? Let’s talk ↗
The story is already there
You have the experience.
Finding the words is another job.
There’s a book you keep thinking about. A lesson you explain brilliantly in conversation but struggle to write down. A folder of unfinished drafts that never quite sounds like you.
Perhaps you want to share more of your thinking, but every attempt feels too polished, too generic or too much like self-promotion.
We start with what actually happened: the decisions, mistakes, tensions and breakthroughs that changed how you think.
Then we find what those experiences can offer a reader.
A useful story can help someone understand a problem, make a better decision or feel less alone. That gives your writing a purpose—and gives people a reason to remember you.
Why write a book?
Why write a book as a founder?
Founders write books to clarify what they believe, preserve hard-won lessons and turn experience into a useful body of ideas. The work can strengthen your point of view and generate material for talks, articles, LinkedIn and future projects—even when publication is not the first goal.
01 / SELF-EXPRESSION
Self-expression
Explore your thinking and put your experience into words.
02 / THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Develop ideas people can use
Turn what you have learned into a distinct point of view, practical frameworks and ideas others can apply.
03 / LEGACY
Preserve what matters
Capture an important chapter, the people behind it and the lessons you want to pass on—in your voice.
Selected founder book projects
Different founders.
Different books. The right support.
From shaping an existing manuscript to writing a biography through interviews, each collaboration starts with the founder’s story and the support their book needs.
Start Agile
Hugo Messer
Partner, Addon Ventures
Book coaching · Structure · Accountability
Working from Hugo’s existing writing, I helped with coaching, structure and accountability as he moved towards a book launch in three months.
In My Own Shoes
Uma Hapsari
CEO, OBSIDIAN
Developmental editing · Book coaching
Developmental editing and coaching to sharpen the existing manuscript of Uma’s memoir, helping her shape the story she wanted to tell.
Done Is Better Than Perfect
Denny Santoso
Founder, Brainboost
Biography writing · Founder interviews
Biography writing from interviews, turning Denny’s experience into a book. The writing took three months, with interview and editing stages scheduled separately.
These are individual project examples. Each started with different material and support needs; we agree your book’s scope and schedule together.
Ways to work together
A book. A public voice.
A writing partner.
Choose the support that fits what you want to create. We can begin with an idea, a collection of notes or an existing draft.
01 / YOUR BOOK
Book co-writing & ghostwriting
I interview and co-write.
You shape and approve.
AUD $2,222 / month
For founders ready to turn their experience into a business book, memoir or a book built around a defining chapter of their life.
You bring the experience, knowledge and point of view. I help you find the central idea, choose the stories that belong and shape them into a manuscript.
- Four 60-minute interviews per month.
- Organising relevant notes and existing material.
- Developing the book’s angle, synopsis and outline.
- An AI-assisted writing workflow to support the process.
- Co-writing towards an agreed first-draft scope, typically around 50,000 words.
A three-month first draft is a baseline target for a suitably scoped project. The working timeframe is typically three to six months, depending on complexity, source material and availability for interviews and feedback. We agree the scope and schedule before starting.
02 / YOUR DRAFT
Book coaching
You write.
I help you move the book forward.
AUD $1,111 / month
For founders who want to write their own book with an experienced partner to help develop the idea, strengthen the structure and maintain momentum.
We work through the decisions that can keep a manuscript stuck: who it’s for, what it promises, which stories matter and what to write next.
- Two 60-minute coaching sessions per month.
- Brainstorming and outline development.
- Light feedback on your draft.
- Guidance on using AI to support your writing.
- Accountability between sessions.
The duration depends on your starting point, writing pace and the support you need.
03 / YOUR PUBLIC VOICE
Ongoing founder storytelling
Your ideas, developed through
a regular writing partnership.
AUD $2,222 / month
Initial three-month foundation
For founders who want a consistent public voice on LinkedIn and space to explore their thinking through longer articles.
We use interviews and your existing material to capture how you see the world: what you’ve learned, what you question and what you want people to understand.
- Gathering and organising your existing ideas and materials.
- Two 60-minute interviews per month.
- Eight short LinkedIn posts per month.
- One article of up to 1,200 words per month.
- One revision round per piece.
Newsletter, Substack and other channel requirements can be scoped around your audience and preferred format.
All prices are in Australian dollars. Final inclusions, duration and tax treatment are confirmed in your written quote. For book projects, developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, cover design, layout and publication are separate. Any extension in scope and cost is agreed before continuing.
The editorial process
How we find your story
01
Experience
We explore your journey chronologically, capturing the moments that changed your direction and the details that make those moments real.
02
The thread
I look for recurring tensions, decisions and breakthroughs. Together, we identify the connections you may be too close to see.
03
The angle
We name the central belief or idea and decide who it will help. This becomes the basis for choosing what belongs in the writing.
04
The journey
For a book, we build a narrative around change. For ongoing content, we develop individual stories that contribute to a recognisable point of view.
05
Useful ideas
We turn experience into lessons, questions and practical frameworks readers can apply in their own lives or work.
The person behind the words
An experienced editorial partner for your story
I’ve spent more than 15 years writing, publishing and helping people find their stories. My 34 published books span fiction, business, technology, personal growth and other subjects.
My contribution is in the editorial decisions: finding a fresh angle, recognising the thread that connects your experiences, asking the question that opens up a story and preserving the way you think and speak.
AI supports the process. I lead the interviews, make the editorial choices and work with you to shape the writing.
Lia
Selected writing partnerships
Real stories. Close collaboration.
In a client’s words
“Lia is a teacher, coach, storyteller and editor all rolled into one.”
Sayan Gulino
CEO, Waterbom Bali
Sayan Gulino
CEO, Waterbom Bali
Editing and coaching for A Blank Canvas (of My Own Self), a 50,000-word journal about business resilience during the pandemic in Bali.
Our second collaboration, a novel based on a true story, reached a complete first draft of more than 180,000 words after ten months of working together.
Lavinia Iosub
Co-founder & CEO, Livit
Coaching and support as Lavinia moved from hesitation about LinkedIn to regular posts and building her own newsletter, Work in Progress. Named a Remote Influencer in 2024 and #15 globally and #1 in Indonesia for Remote Work & Digital Nomading according to Favikon.
From the page to people
Real impact. Real readers.
Books become part of people’s lives through the conversations they start. Here are moments from my book launches, reader gatherings and publishing work.
A reader’s words
Explore Creative Waiting on Amazon“Thank you for the love and joy you have poured into writing this book. It has been helping me a lot.”
A Creative Waiting reader in the USA
Excerpt from reader feedback shared in my portfolio.
A good fit
Ready to give your ideas a place to grow?
You don’t need a finished outline or a polished story. We can begin with the idea you keep returning to.
- Your business has momentum and you want your writing to support its next stage.
- You have experiences and ideas that could help a specific reader.
- You want a partner who will question, shape and strengthen the material.
- You can invest in the work and make time for conversations and feedback.
Before we begin
Questions founders often ask
What is a founder story partner?
A founder story partner helps you turn business and personal experience into writing with a clear purpose. My work combines interviewing, story development, editorial direction, co-writing and coaching across books and ongoing thought leadership.
Should I start with a book or with LinkedIn and articles?
Start with the format that suits your goal and the material you have. A book gives a substantial idea room to develop. Regular posts and articles let you explore individual ideas, hear from readers and build a body of work over time. We can discuss the right starting point together.
How will you make the writing sound like me?
We begin with conversation. I listen for your language, reasoning, examples and the things you care enough to explain carefully. Your feedback helps refine the writing so it reflects your point of view and feels natural to you.
Can we work from my existing notes or manuscript?
Yes. Notes, voice recordings, articles and unfinished drafts can all provide useful starting material. We assess what you have and decide whether you need co-writing, coaching or a separately scoped editing engagement.
How long does it take to write a founder’s book?
The schedule depends on the length, complexity, existing material and time available for collaboration. For an agreed scope of around 50,000 words, three months is a first-draft baseline. More complex projects take longer, and editing and publication require separate stages.
How do you use AI in the writing process?
AI can support organising material and the writing workflow. The work remains grounded in your experiences and shaped by editorial judgment. We discuss how AI fits into your project before beginning.
What if I don’t want to sound self-promotional?
We focus on what the reader can gain. Sharing how you handled a difficult decision, changed your mind or learned something through experience gives people useful insight into your thinking. You can be visible while staying thoughtful about what you share.
Your next chapter
Let’s put it into words.
The book you keep thinking about.
The idea you want to explain properly.
The stories you’re ready to share.
Tell me what you’re building, what you’ve been thinking about and where the writing feels stuck. We’ll explore the right format and whether we’d work well together.