Melani Gordon, or just Mel, is a Partner at Evolution and a serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience helping startup founders build and scale. With over 200 founders coached through Techstars and Founders First Capital, Mel specializes in CEO alignment, team dynamics, and sales strategy. Mel’s deep expertise spans sales processes, customer success, data management, and forecasting, with a particular focus on aligning teams across revenue-generating functions.
Before Evolution, Mel was the CEO of TapHunter, where she transformed a two-person software startup into a powerhouse, partnering with industry leaders like Lagunitas Brewing, Gordon Biersch, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Stone Brewing. Her strategic leadership helped scale operational processes and navigate complex organizational structures, ultimately driving business growth. TapHunter was acquired in 2022. She also led a successful marketing firm and held leadership roles at several tech startups, where she honed her ability to align teams and improve execution in larger organizational settings.
Today, Mel focuses on coaching career leaders who feel stuck at the individual contributor level and are seeking career clarity. She taps into mind-body awareness to help professionals make clearer decisions and teaches nervous system regulation to manage stress during career transitions.
Melani’s Breakfree Blueprint program helps corporate professionals transition into entrepreneurship, building meaningful online businesses in 6-12 months. She also works with companies to strengthen leadership teams, align strategy, and optimize operations, stepping in as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) to drive sustainable growth.
When she’s not coaching, you’ll find Mel in the Sierra Nevadas, snowboarding or mountain biking with her husband Flash and their rescue pup Charlie. She’s AIARE 1 Avalanche Certified and always seeking her next adventure.