Elevating people, teams and companies to perform better faster.

Meet Phil McCarthy,
Founder of North Star Advisory

PERFORMANCE COACH
ENTREPRENEUR
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR

Phil McCarthy is more than a coach; he's a catalyst for real, impactful change. From Wall Street to business ownership, Phil’s career spans finance, entrepreneurship, and high-level advisory, making him uniquely positioned to guide today’s ambitious leaders. 

A seasoned advisor, Phil founded North Star Advisory in 2018, where he empowers top performers and leadership teams to unlock sustainable growth and resilience.

Phil teams with a variety of businesses to improve performance and drive success:

  • His work with a private equity-sponsored environmental engineering firm led to record-setting EBITDA, free cash generation, and a pivotal refinancing.

  • As a law firm advisor and board member, he helped redesign the firm’s civil department and leadership matrix, proving his skill in driving strategic change within complex organizations.

  • He provides Leadership & Executive Coaching for a venture capital firm, helping to implement additional GTM strategies and working one-on-one with leadership to get there quickly. The firm’s 2024 aggregated investments are up over 80% YOY.

  • He develops and facilitates quarterly offsite meetings for a client’s Business Development & Proposals team, conducting engaging group discussions and insightful breakout sessions.

ABOUT PHIL

After earning his MBA, Phil launched his career as an options and futures trader in NYC and Singapore, mastering the art of strategic, measured decision-making that consistently delivered returns for his firm.

But Phil’s vision was bigger—he left finance to build his own company, Breakaway Sports, from the ground up. Over 20 years, Phil grew Breakaway Sports into a national retail and team sales powerhouse, generating over $100 million in revenue and eventually exiting to a competitor.

His entrepreneurial journey didn’t stop there: he founded and led multiple businesses across apparel, screen printing, and real estate, each culminating in successful exits.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Phil is a five-star-rated business professor at the University of Denver, where he’s taught and mentored over 300 students in entrepreneurship.

He lives in Denver with his wife, Sarah, and their three children, Amelia, Finn, and Rhys, bringing the same dedication to his family that he brings to every team he leads.

“There’s nothing more exciting than being on a great team and celebrating wins together.

Get the culture right and performance follows.”

— Phil McCarthy

Performance matters.

Phil’s approach to coaching is grounded in a deep commitment to people. His philosophy is straightforward yet profound: people are the most valuable asset to any business. His guidance is rooted in cultivating behaviors that unlock potential and fuel growth, helping clients drive results without sacrificing well-being.

Phil’s perspective on leadership is shaped by his experience as a two-sport NCAA athlete and a three-time national championship-winning lacrosse player. He’s learned that the will to win, the dedication to process, and the commitment to team success are fundamental drivers of excellence.

As the founder of Northstar Advisory, Phil has condensed 30 years of expertise in coaching and leadership into a playbook of solutions to help you perform better when it matters most.

“Phil McCarthy makes everyone around him better. Every teammate, every colleague, every team and anyone he engages will tell you that Phil is the best.

He inspires as he challenges, somehow making everyone want to run through a wall for him. Especially me. He embodies the athlete’s mindset and his life is his message. He makes us better.”

— Todd Burnham | Founder, Burnham Law

The Performance Playbook

Leadership Development

Executive Coaching

  • We work with your key people to deliver the priorities of their role, help them stay aligned, and grow their influence.

    • We help leaders become more effective and clear in setting direction.

    • We help leaders align better with their key people. 

    • We discuss leadership challenges, difficult situations, and business dynamics where an unbiased opinion and strategic insights help.

    The typical engagement in this area is a commitment of 6 months, the minimum amount of time to create change.

  • We coach executives one-on-one. This is the fastest way to create change.

    • We soundboard ideas to help leaders make better decisions and motivate key personnel. 

    • We help leaders drive initiatives by coaching their executive leadership teams.

    • We discuss leadership challenges, difficult situations, and business dynamics where an unbiased opinion and strategic insights help.

    The typical engagement in this area is a commitment of 6 months, the minimum amount of time to create change. Every situation is different so we design our time to meet your needs.

Team Performance & Alignment

Business Assessment & Diagnostics

  • We help people perform better quicly.

    • We help teams through difficult or complicated situations.

    • We bring people together to improve performance. 

    • We help make business units more profitable.

    This is a situation based engagement. You communicate the situation, a winning outcome, the people involved and we work with the team to achieve the desired outcome. We will agree on the plan, the timeframe of the solve and the meeting rhythms to fit the situation. 

    We have been contracted for these services after an acquisition, when leadership changes, or after a key hire.

  • We assess the health of the business to co-create the go-forward plan.

    • If the business needs immediate attention in any particular area we move quickly with a strategy. 

    • We diagnose individual business units to create more profit and efficiency.

    • We administer assessments on key people and report key themes and recommendations.


    The typical engagement in this area is a commitment of 6 months, the minimum amount of time to create change. Every situation is different so we work work with you to design a program to suit your needs.

Meeting Facilitation & Workshops

Coaching & Mentoring

  • We work hands-on in person and remotely with your teams.

    • We facilitate training sessions. 

    • We facilitate department meetings to drive priorities and align teams. 

    • We work with you to develop the presentation topics to meet your specific team needs. 

    • We facilitate half or full day engagements. 

    • We design and deliver talks at monthly or quarterly business reviews to support alignment.

    • We design and deliver ongoing leadership training sessions for high potential employees and/or new hires and young professionals. 

  • College Student-Athletes
    Early Career Professionals
    Mid Career Development or Change Coaching     

    • We explore where you are at, what got you here and where you want to go. 

    • We will work through specific situations, challenges or upcoming opportunities. 

    • You will walk away motivated with new perspectives and an actionable plan.

    The typical engagement here is 3-6 one hour sessions. Sessions are $200 each. The initial 15 minute assessment session is free. 

“Phil McCarthy is an outstanding executive coach and tremendous sounding board that the executive team (myself included) uses on a frequent basis (often weekly).

We openly discuss leadership challenges, difficult situations, and company dynamics where his unbiased opinion and strategic insight is extremely helpful.”

— Bill Deane, Senior Vice President, APTIM | Resilient Solutions

Thanks for your interest.
Let’s team up!

philmccarthy@northstaradvisoryllc.com
(303) 229-0837‬

  • “His coaching isn’t about surface-level change; it’s about transformative, sustainable success. Phil puts himself on your team to help drive success. He works on real issues that serve leadership and team needs.”

    — Joe McGowan | Founder, IDFund

  • “I've had the privilege of working with Phil McCarthy this last year and I can confidently say that he has been impactful during my leadership journey. From our very first session, it was clear that Phil possesses a unique blend of expertise, empathy, and insight that makes him successful as a coach. He genuinely cares about the success of his clients and offers sound reasoning delivered with positivity and enthusiasm. I wholeheartedly recommend Phil to anyone looking to elevate their leadership skills.”

    Dr. Gina Quintanilla | Aptim, VP Business Development & Proposals

  • "Having Phil as a mentor is incredibly engaging, insightful, and beneficial for anyone with new goals in sight. Across four sessions, he helped me pivot my mindset and reframe my goals to get more intentional with the moves I’m making in my career. Phil also helped me overcome athletic challenges when I was in college. He believes in those he mentors especially when they’re having trouble believing in themselves.”

    Jake Sawyer | Early Career Professional & Former D1 Lacrosse Player

  • “Phil facilitated two meetings for me this year and he was definitely a value add. He helped me to focus during the preparation and delivery of the agenda. He asked engaging questions, offered a unique perspective on topics based on his sports background, and encouraged participation from everyone. Phil skillfully navigated differing opinions, ensuring that all voices were heard and valued. He had break-out sessions that were insightful and helped to make the most of our time. Overall, I left the meeting feeling energized and aligned with our goals.”

    Dr. Gina Quintanilla | Aptim, VP Business Development & Proposals