ABOUT
People Support Built for the Reality of Startup Life
Not corporate HR. Not “best practice.” Just what founders actually need to build teams that work.
I went independent because I was tired of watering down what founders actually needed.
Most People consultants come from corporate HR and bring corporate solutions - policies designed for 500-person companies, "best practices" that kill the speed that got you funded. I spent years watching that mismatch play out from the inside, and I knew there had to be a better way.
So I built it.
The People Vault works exclusively with founder-led startups who need structure without the bureaucracy, and someone who understands that every People decision feels existential when it's your company on the line.
The reason I love working with first time founders so much is because you’re on this intense personal journey which is so wrapped in your own identity, and worth, and you’re vulnerable (but can’t show it), questioning (but who to ask!) and just trying really hard not to fuck things up.
And there’s something wonderfully messy and human about that.
HI, I’M DANIELLE 👋
and I’m obsessed with people.
I'm genuinely obsessed with what makes humans tick - teams, founders, culture, all of it. I've spent 15+ years studying it formally and informally, because understanding People better makes me better at this work.
MSc Organisational Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London
Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching (Henley, ILM7)
ICF ACC Coach
Accredited in Hogan, Facet5, Hucama and the Rocket Model
15+ years building and leading People teams in high-growth startups and scaleups
Startups look different. People problems don't. Spotting patterns became my job.
Before going independent, I led People at Entrepreneurs First - the place where technical founders find co-founders and build companies from scratch. I wasn't supporting tidy teams. I was watching chaos form in real time: brilliant People building fast, breaking faster, and figuring it out as they went.
That's where I started spotting the patterns. How founders' personal habits quietly turn into cultural defaults. How early shortcuts become company folklore. How teams inherit ways of working that no one ever decided on - they just happened.
Different founders, same patterns.
Here's where you come in
These days I run The People Vault, a fractional People consultancy for early-stage startups.
Most founders don't work with me because they want "HR." They work with me because they want a thought partner who actually gets it - someone who's commercially minded enough to prioritise what actually moves retention and performance, and ruthless enough to cut the HR theater that doesn't.
I'm not your investor. I'm not your co-founder. I'm not your team. That's the point. I'm the impartial voice in the room - the person you can tell "I've thought about firing everyone on this team" without judgement, and who can help you figure out what's actually going on beneath the surface.
I blend organisational psychology with startup realism: first principles thinking, pattern recognition, and light systems that actually stick. The goal is to build capability so you don't need me forever - just long enough to get the scaffolding in place.
What founders say
Danielle's breadth of experience supporting startups and scale-ups means she's seen it all
...We benefit heavily from her coaching background. She keeps not only the team healthy, but us as founders too. One of the things everyone who works here talks about is the strength of the team, and I don't that would have been possible without bringing Danielle on.
— Jack Galilee, co-founder, Human Native
I honestly don't know where we'd be without her...
Danielle has been genuinely transformational for Shellworks...As a venture-backed company with a mission to create real impact, we knew the culture we wanted, but we didn't know how to build it. Working with Danielle changed that. She brings clarity to even the most complex situations, breaking them down into simple, actionable steps. She's show us that is is possible to build a high-performing, commercial company grounded in strong values and an ambitious culture.
...With Danielle, we feel in safe hands.
- Insiya Jafferjee, CEO, Shellworks
If something in your team "feels off", don't let it drift.
Start with a People Vault Discovery, and get a clear read on what needs fixing first.
The People patterns that don't show up on an org chart.
Every startup is haunted: past decisions, habits, founding stories and memories that quietly shape how teams work. Some ghosts hold us back. Some keep us grounded.
Organisational Ghosts is where you’ll learn to spot them early, understand the patterns driving your team, and avoid the traps that stall growing startups.