Roman Piatko · Burnout coach for founders & CEOs

You built the company.
You forgot to build yourself.

An engineering approach to burnout for founders and CEOs who carried everything on their shoulders and can't stop. No motivation speeches, no therapy, no spirituality — a system you install with your hands and measure with real metrics.

See the method
12 years in systems architecture
3 burnouts survived
→ rebuilt from zero
Roman Piatko — burnout coach for founders and CEOs
Sound familiar?

On the outside — numbers.
On the inside — the tank is empty.

You've built what you set out to build in your twenties. But you wake up and don't know why anymore. You may feel alone, but you're not the only one. I know, because I was there.

You work 14-hour days — not because you have to, but because if you stop, you'll have to feel the emptiness
Every evening is a shutdown ritual. Supplements in the morning. Coffee all day. Therapist once a week. And by night — still drained
Family is close, but you're far away. Your partner looks at you like a ghost. Your kids say "Dad, you're busy again." And you hate yourself for it
You've tried everything: retreats, biohacking, exec coaching, Vipassana, ayahuasca. Two weeks of relief — then back to the bottom
The real fear — if you said "I can't do this anymore" tomorrow, no one would get it. Because from the outside, you're the one holding everything up
Why people come to me

Not "help me be happy."
Specific, operational problems.

If you recognize yourself in even one of these — we have something to talk about.

Burnout
"Everything looks fine, I feel nothing"
Business is working, metrics are up, but you don't know why you get out of bed. Even wins don't land.
Co-founder
Your co-founder became the trigger
Used to be a friend and anchor. Now every conversation is a minefield. And you don't know — did they change, or did you just burn out?
Family
Family is near, you're a stranger
Your partner looks at you like you're not there. Kids stop inviting you to play. And you realize — they're right. You're not there.
Scale
The fear of scaling up
The business is ready to 3x. You're the bottleneck. Because the current load already eats you whole — what happens at triple?
Meaning
"I got there. Now what?"
The goal you chased for 10 years — done. You expected joy and got emptiness. And that scares you more than any failure.
Relapse
Every 3–6 months — a crash
Alcohol, affairs, impulse spending, lashing out. Then shame and "never again." Six months later — same loop.
Who I am

I didn't win.
I survived — and rebuilt systemically.

I'm Roman Piatko. Systems architect — 12 years building CRM and business process automation. I spent a decade designing systems that run without humans. Then I became the human that couldn't run.


Three burnouts. A war. Evacuation with two kids. Complete zero — physical, emotional, financial. I tried everything people try at the bottom: retreats, years of therapy, supplements, psychedelics, biohacking, executive coaches. Nothing lasted longer than two weeks.


So I did what I know how to do: I engineered a system. Micro-habits, relapse protocols, identity work. An architecture that holds in exactly the moment when you have no strength left for architecture.


I'm not a victory coach. I won't sell you "peak performance" and "flow state." I'm still walking this path myself — I just have a system now instead of hope. And I have a lever I can hand you.


I don't save people. I don't motivate. I work with you the way I work with any system: find the leaks, set the framework, walk through the install. The same way I did it for myself — and keep doing every day.

12
years in systems
3
burnouts survived
0→1
rebuilt from zero
Video

Watch before you decide

On integrated identity. On the fact that you're not broken — you just don't have a system.

An honest log

What I tried myself
and what didn't work

I went through all of this. Each one gave me a short window of 1–3 weeks. Then the fall again. Until I realized: I didn't need more relief — I needed architecture.

Therapy
3 years, weekly. I understood my past. I still didn't know what to do at 7 a.m. tomorrow when I couldn't get out of bed.
Retreats & Vipassana
10 days of silence, a spiritual "reset." Two weeks of lightness, then the old pattern. Zero architecture for re-entry.
Biohacking & supplements
Labs, protocols, $500+/month of compounds. Raises the floor. Doesn't fix the cause — why resource drains faster than it refills.
Psychedelics
I understood things about myself I hadn't grasped in 10 years. But without structure after the experience — the insight evaporates in a week.
Motivation courses & bootcamps
Energy for 3 days. On day 4 — the old system wins. Because the system didn't change, only the mood did.
Founder groups & mentors
Useful for business problems. For resource — zero impact. They teach you how to scale, not how to recover.
Main conclusion. All of this is relief. Relief isn't a system. Relief buys you two weeks; a system builds a framework for years. I'm not against relief — I just know it doesn't hold without a framework.
How it works

Not therapy. Not motivation.
An engineered path.

The same way a CRM rollout works: diagnostic → proposal → implementation → support.

01

Diagnostic

Where you are now. What's holding you up. What's draining you. No therapeutic digging — an engineering audit of your life system. We find your anchor point and the leaks.

Intake form + 60–90 min session
02

Personalized proposal

A system built for you: which micro-habits to install, what relapse protocols you need, which identity layer to work on. Not a template — architecture for your life.

Personal plan + implementation strategy
03

Implementation

Three actions per day that keep you afloat even when you're burned out. Stress-tested in wartime, without electricity. The system works while you're weak.

Autonomous Habits course or 1:1 custom setup
04

Integration support

Like a CRM rollout — we ship the system, observe, iterate. You will relapse. That's fine. Relapse protocols are built in. The system doesn't stop.

1–3 months of support + Telegram access
Positioning

What I'm not competing with

Important to understand what I don't replace. I'm the framework. Everything else can stand on top.

Therapy Retreat / Vipassana Biohacking Me
Focus Cause from the past Pause, reset Body as hardware Framework for today
Horizon Years 10 days → 2 weeks of fuel Months of protocol 90 days to install, then autonomy
What you do between sessions Process, reflect Nothing specific Take supplements Install micro-habits & relapse protocols
Your role Patient Participant Data point Co-architect
What you're left with Understanding An experience Lab results A working architecture

You can and should combine. Many of my clients still see a therapist or go on retreats. The difference now: they have somewhere to return to.

Feedback

What clients say

Names abbreviated at clients' request. All testimonials are real.

"I'd been in therapy for three years and couldn't understand why nothing was shifting. Two months with Roman and for the first time I felt an anchor that doesn't depend on my mood."
D., 38 · CEO, SaaS company, San Francisco
"Whiskey every evening — the only way to shut my head off. Not alcoholism, just an off-switch. The micro-habit system replaced that ritual in three weeks. Quietly, without drama."
A., 41 · e-commerce founder, Austin
"I've tried Vipassana, microdosing, biohacking. Each one worked for two weeks. This is different — the system runs every day, even when I have no willpower left."
M., 35 · co-founder, SaaS, Berlin
"First time a coach spoke to me like an engineer, not a patient. No 'how does that make you feel.' Specifics, structure, plan. That's my language."
K., 43 · agency owner, Singapore
"I have 200 people under me. I could hold the team but not myself. Roman didn't try to 'heal' me — he showed me where the leaks were and gave me tools that fit into 15 minutes a day. A month later I stopped snapping at my wife in the evenings."
I., 45 · VP of Engineering, fintech, Tokyo
"As a practicing therapist myself, I was skeptical walking into a coaching engagement. But Roman isn't working the same layer I work. He builds the framework that everything else rests on. I recommend him to colleagues who burn out helping others."
E., 39 · clinical director, therapy practice
Autonomous Habits course — Roman Piatko, habit system built on James Clear's framework
Course · Autonomous Habits

A system that works
when you're at zero

"You don't have to be strong. You need to build a system that works while you're weak."

Not motivation. Not "pull yourself together." An engineering course in 4 modules for those who already know — willpower has run out. You need a system that carries you without it.

Course map
Module 1 · The Power of Micro-habits Free access
Why 1% a day changes everything. The valley of expectation. Anchoring habits to existing routine. — 1h 4m video
Modules 2–4 In production
Deep beliefs and a life by your own design. Architecture of breakdown and recovery. Autonomy — when the system works without you.
Get the first module
A 1h 4m video lands in your inbox. No payment — enough to know whether my method is for you or not.
No spam. One-click unsubscribe.
Horizon of results

What specifically changes
in 30, 60, 90 days

Not "you'll feel better." Concrete metrics — so you can verify for yourself whether the system is working.

30
days
Framework installed
  • Three micro-habits installed and running without willpower
  • Fewer evening "shutoffs" (drinking, doomscrolling, overeating)
  • A working relapse protocol — you know what to do in the first hour of a crash
  • Returning sense of "I have a lever" instead of "I'm a passenger"
60
days
System becomes yours
  • Morning routine runs on autopilot — no more "starting fresh Monday"
  • A real boundary between work and home — through structure, not force of will
  • Relapses are shorter and rarer — with the protocol, you return in hours, not weeks
  • You spot resource leaks before they become holes
90
days
Autonomy
  • You rebuild the system yourself, without me — principles are installed
  • Context changes (travel, launches, crisis) don't break your rhythm
  • You have a shared vocabulary with your partner for discussing resource
  • In crisis, you reach for a protocol — not hope it passes

This isn't a promise, it's a contract. If at 90 days the key KPIs haven't moved, we debug together — where you and I both missed — and recalibrate. No vague "just believe in yourself."

Formats

Four ways in

From $17 to full 1:1 support. Start where the budget and bandwidth fit — if it lands, we go deeper.

Entry point · PDF + audiobook
First-Step Protocol
33 pages. No chapters, no fluff — a practical instruction manual with a template. Audio version included. A micro-habit system you can start tonight. No call, no commitment. Read → install → it runs.
  • Not a book — a practical playbook with a template
  • Audio version for commutes and walks
  • Entry-level relapse protocol
  • Lifetime access — future updates are free
$17
One-time. PDF + audio in your inbox right after checkout.
Buy & start tonight →
Not for you? 7-day no-questions refund.
If you need depth — keep reading
Self-paced
Autonomous Habits
$97
Full video course — all 4 modules. For people who want to go alone.
  • 4 video modules (4+ hours)
  • First-Step Protocol book included
  • Relapse protocols — ready templates
  • Access to private Telegram community
  • Lifetime access + future updates
Course in development
Launching soon — follow on Telegram
Recommended starting point
Diagnostic
Anchor Point
$150 / session
A single 60–90 min session. To see where you are and whether it makes sense to go deeper together.
  • 15-minute intake form
  • 60–90 min session on Zoom
  • Personal state map
  • A specific first-step plan
  • Session recording — rewatch with a clear head
Book a session
Deep work
1:1 Coaching
from $1,800 / engagement
1–3 months of support. Full system rebuild from the ground up — only after a diagnostic.
  • 4–12 sessions of 60 minutes
  • Identity and belief work
  • Personal micro-habit system
  • Protocols for crisis moments
  • Telegram support between sessions
  • Autonomous Habits course included
Discuss the program

Any format can be credited toward the next — if you decide to go deeper.

Straight talk

This isn't for everyone

I don't work with everyone. Not elitism — engineering judgment. There are things I don't do.

I don't motivate. If you need someone to shout "you can do anything" — not here
I don't dig through childhood. This isn't therapy, it's an engineering rebuild
I don't sell illusions. It will be hard. But you will have a system
I don't run bootcamps. I give you a framework
I don't sell inspiration. I sell structure
Objections

What you're probably telling yourself right now

You've already run these thoughts scrolling this page. I know — I ran them too. Honest answers below.

I don't have time for coaching — I work 14-hour days+
That's exactly why you need a system, not another source of load. Sessions are 60 minutes a week. Micro-habits are 15 minutes a day. If you can't find 15 minutes to stop losing 3 hours to procrastination and 2 hours to "shutting your head off" at night, the issue isn't time — it's architecture. That's what I help you build.
I already know all this — I don't need basics repeated+
Agreed. Knowing you should sleep 8 hours has never put anyone in bed at 11 p.m. The gap isn't between "knowing" and "not knowing" — it's between knowing and doing. I work precisely in that gap: concrete architecture that turns knowledge into daily execution, even when you have nothing in the tank.
Isn't this just another online guru grift?+
Fair question. Verify me. YouTube, Telegram, LinkedIn — all linked in the footer. I don't promise "peak performance" and I'm not posting next to a Lambo. I spent 12 years as a systems architect — that's verifiable. I went through three burnouts and a war — that's verifiable too. If my content doesn't feel right — don't buy. I mean it.
What if my situation is too complex for your approach?+
Fair concern. That's why we start with a $150 diagnostic. In that session I tell you honestly whether my approach fits your situation. If you need a psychiatrist or your case is outside my competence, I say so directly and refer you to a colleague. Cheaper for both of us than three months of disappointment.
It's expensive. I could put that money into the business+
You could. And if you're currently operating at 60% because of burnout, any investment into the business returns at 60%. Businesses scale behind the operator, not behind the org chart. Until your primary resource is rebuilt — you are the bottleneck.
What will my team / partner think if they find out I'm seeing a coach?+
Real concern. Everything is confidential. No case studies without consent, no posts without approval. Many of my clients are public-facing CEOs — that's non-negotiable for them. And: most partners, once they find out, say "I'm glad you went." They saw you running on empty long before you admitted it.
I'll figure it out on my own+
Respect. I was in that position — until "I'll figure it out" walked me through three burnouts and a two-year bottom. "I'll figure it out" isn't bad. It's bad only when it's your only strategy. A systems architect hires another architect to look at their own system from the outside. That's not weakness — that's the engineering move.
What if I start and relapse — I'll have wasted the money+
Relapse isn't failure. It's part of the process. The relapse protocol is its own module of the system. You will relapse. That's normal. The question isn't whether you relapse — it's whether you come back in hours or months. That's the difference between motivation and architecture.
Fresh notes

From the Telegram channel

Short notes on burnout, systems, and working with yourself. No filler.

Subscribe to the channel →
Questions

Frequently asked

If your question isn't here — DM me on Telegram, I'll answer personally.

How is this different from therapy? +
A therapist works with the past: trauma, patterns, origins. I work with the present: what system is holding your life now and where the leaks are. Therapy and coaching aren't competitors. Many of my clients see a therapist in parallel — the therapist treats the cause, I install the framework for today. They work faster together.
How does the first session work? +
Before the session you fill out an intake form (15–20 minutes — current state, pain points, goals). The session itself is 60–90 minutes on Zoom: we run a diagnostic — where you are, what's holding you up, what's draining you. Output: a state map, an anchor point, a concrete first-step plan. No "tell me about your childhood," no abstractions.
How long until I see results? +
First shifts show up on day 3–7 of installing the first micro-habits. Not "transformation" — a felt sense of "I have a lever." A real system rebuild is 1–3 months. I don't promise "miracle in a week" — that's marketing. I promise a system that works every day, including when you feel bad.
Is this online or in person? +
Primarily online via Zoom. I work with founders across the US, UK, Japan, EU and APAC. In-person occasionally possible by arrangement. Experience shows format isn't critical for this kind of systemic work. What's critical is your willingness to work between sessions.
What about time zones? +
I hold sessions across US (PT to ET), European, and Asia/Pacific hours. Tokyo, Singapore, San Francisco, New York, London — all workable. We lock a consistent slot for your engagement so it becomes part of your calendar rhythm.
How confidential is this? +
Fully. I don't use client cases in posts without explicit consent. All testimonials on this site are anonymized with owner approval. Session recordings (when we make them) are for you only — I don't keep them after delivery. Many of my clients are public-facing, so this is critical.
I've worked with 3 coaches already. What makes you different? +
Maybe nothing. I'm not "better" — I'm different. I'm an engineer, not a guru. I don't do "inspiration and support." If previous coaches didn't produce results, it's usually because there was no implementation system — just conversations. For me, conversations are 30%. The other 70% is concrete protocols and habits you install between sessions.
Can we just talk first, no payment? +
Yes. Message me on Telegram, share your situation briefly — I'll tell you whether we're a fit. I don't take on everyone. If my approach doesn't fit your case, I say so directly and recommend a colleague.
What if I start and relapse? +
Relapse is part of the process — I build for it. We have relapse protocols: what to do in the first hour, the first day, the first week after a crash. No "start over next Monday." The system is designed for people who already tried and quit.
Book a diagnostic

You're tired. You're not broken.

30 minutes. We'll figure out where you are, what's eating your resource, and what first step actually makes sense. Fill in the form — I'll personally reply within 24 hours.

Or message me directly: @Piatko on Telegram
Message Roman on Telegram