Career coaching for nerds · As seen at MCM Comic Con

Work is the hardest campaign you'll ever play.Don't grind it solo.

Real skills. Bigger opportunities. A brighter you.

Torchwood Coaching helps nerds, geeks, gamers and otaku navigate the workplace more confidently, more productively and come out the other side happier and more fulfilled. It's career coaching for the nerd, from a nerd who is also a Master Coach Certified by the International Coaching Federation.

Sign up See the workshops
Comic-style illustration: a rocket blasting off past a ringed blue planet, with Level Up! and Nerds Welcome starbursts
Comic-style poster: We have coached people from Google, Warner Bros Discovery, Disney, BBC, Paramount, Epic Games, LEGO, United States Space Force, NASA and you!

Laurence has coached people from some of the most famous names in tech, entertainment, media, space and time. From fresher engineers to CTOs, from junior designers to Heads of Design, Laurence has coached hundreds of people from 40 countries. Next up: you.

Starting out

New player

"I want to get in, get noticed and get going."

Students, graduates and anyone in their first few years. The skills that pay off fastest now: turning what you've already done (the guild, the mod, the server) into a CV and an interview story that lands; walking into a new job knowing how to read the room and who to ask; finding your voice in meetings; and asking for the pay and title you're worth. Learn these early and the whole campaign gets easier.

Moving up

Mid-campaign

"I'm good at this. Now I want it to count."

Five to twenty years in, with real expertise to your name. The skills that turn that into the next level: influence, so the right idea gets heard as well as being right; executive presence, so you're taken seriously in the rooms that matter; leading a team without losing what made you good; navigating politics with your values intact; and making a clear, confident case for promotion. You've done the hard part. This is the multiplier.

Three ways to play

2 hours · live

Workshops

A two-hour session on one specific problem: the interview, the pay rise, office politics, confidence. Short, funny, honest framing of the pain, one core model, a proper break, then pairs and threes working on your own real situation. You leave with a plan, a script and a date.

  • £200 £100 Comicon price
  • 12–30 people
  • At the con & online
See the six workshops ➜
4 sessions · party of 6

Group Coaching

Think of it as forming an adventuring party. Up to six nerds, four live remote sessions, one campaign goal, and a coach who is basically your guild leader. Side quests between sessions (short videos, podcasts, exercises), never homework essays. Trust builds fast because the party stays the same.

  • £500 £250 Comicon price
  • Remote
  • Split into 2 payments
See the six cohorts ➜
Just you · your quest

1 to 1 Coaching

You and Laurence, and nothing on the agenda except your situation: the boss who will not listen, the promotion you have been next in line for twice, the career you are no longer sure you want. Starts with a free intro chat, so you can find out whether it is a fit before anyone talks about money.

  • £1,200 £900 6 sessions
  • Free intro chat
  • Remote or in person
How it works ➜

Meet your NerdCoach

Hi, I'm Laurence.

Laurence Hewitt in a tweed jacket and red bow tie, sonic screwdriver raised, under a giant spider decoration Laurence. Sonic. Ready. Whovian
confirmed
Character sheet
Credential
ICF Master Coach
Years coaching
18
Hours coached
20,000+
Saw Star Wars at cinema
25×
Slept on pavement for Empire opening
Yes
Trekker since
Kirk
Otaku since
Doraemon
Tribe
Whovian
Doctor
11

A qualified coach with a corporate executive background. And a nerd since before it was cool.

The grown-up version: I'm a Master Certified Coach with 18 years and more than 20,000 hours of coaching behind me, and before that a 30-year corporate career including senior and executive roles at IBM, Paramount and Time Warner. I've coached leaders at more than 400 companies in 40 countries and 16 industries. I also sit on the board of ICF UK as Director of Coaching Credentials and Standards.

Why Nerd Coach? I have been going to conventions since the 70s. When Star Wars came out I saw it in the cinema 25 times. I slept on the sidewalk to get into Empire. I was a Trekker when there was only the classic series to be a Trekker about. When the visa form for India asked for my religion, I wrote "Whovian" (true story). And when I set up my coaching company, I registered it, officially, with the HMRC as a Ltd company called Torchwood Coaching. Complete nerd. Nerd Coach.

So I know what it's like to be in a meeting and have the answer but not speak up, or know I deserve the promotion but keep talking myself out of putting myself forward, or just not get (and hate) the office politics.

Qualifications
  • ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC), the International Coaching Federation's highest credential, plus Senior Practitioner with the European Mentoring & Coaching Council and Senior Fellow of the Association for Coaching.
  • 18+ years and 20,000+ hours of coaching with leaders from more than 400 companies across 40 countries and 16 industries.
  • Board Director, ICF UK, responsible for the Credentialing & Standards directorate of the UK chapter of the International Coaching Federation.
  • 30-year corporate career, including 15 years in senior management and executive roles at IBM, Paramount and Time Warner, leading large-scale transformation, Agile enterprise programmes and global leadership development.
  • Trained in the science behind it: Master of Professional Studies (New York University), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy certificate (Harvard Medical School), Positive Psychology (University of Pennsylvania), Organisational Psychology (University of South Wales) and Vertical Leadership Development (Harvard Institute of Coaching).

Workshops & Group Coaching

Coaching that takes you further

Choose from six two-hour online workshops, or go more in depth with four-session 1 hour online group cohorts to really dive into a topic. For more personalised coaching on topics of your choice, there are several one to one coaching packages to choose from.

Comic-style poster: Coaching that takes you further. Workshops: Find Your Dream Career, Laser Focused Job Search, Nail the Job Interview, Pay Rise and Promotion, Confidence and Assertiveness, Navigating Office Politics. Group Coaching: New Manager Toolkit, Executive Presence, Imposter Syndrome, Less Difficult Conversations, Changing Careers, Beating Burnout.

Workshops

2 hours · £200 · Comicon price: £100

  • Being a Successful Nerd in the Workplace

    You already have the superpowers: deep thinking, a unique perspective, creativity & analytic skills that would give The Doctor a run for his money. Learn to speak up and present with confidence in meetings, get real buy-in for your ideas, and navigate office politics without losing yourself.

    Book now ➜

  • Laser Focused Job Search

    Instead of just endlessly checking job boards, have a plan of attack! Identify your target companies, reach out to the people that matter and leave the workshop with a custom AI prompt that does the heavy lifting for you.

    Book now ➜

  • Nail the Job Interview

    Don't answer questions. Learn how to tell the story of you, your achievements and your victories in a way that resonates with hiring managers.

    Book now ➜

  • Pay Rise & Promotion

    How promotions are actually decided: performance, visibility and sponsorship, and why performance alone is the smallest side of the triangle. Leave with a one-page promotion case and the confidence to make it happen.

    Book now ➜

  • Confidence & Assertiveness

    Understand your ANTS: the Automatic Negative Thoughts that eat away at your confidence, and how to stamp them out. Create the boundaries that will build and maintain how you show up with assertiveness.

    Book now ➜

  • Navigating Office Politics

    Imagine you're playing Roblox or Fortnite or Minecraft and you do nothing. Either you'll get nowhere or get blown away. It's the same at work. Learn how to play the game without selling your soul, and maybe level up.

    Book now ➜

Group Coaching

4 sessions · £500 · Comicon price: £250

  • New Manager Toolkit

    You were promoted for being the best player and now the game has changed. What got you here won't get you to where you need to be. From doing to enabling: Defining team goals and holding people to achieving them, delegating authority rather than tasks, giving & receiving feedback & more.

    Book now ➜

  • Executive Presence

    Time to shift from manager to leader. Develop the confidence & skills that demonstrate leadership presence: strategic thinking & planning, executive-level communicating & presenting, influencing & navigating company politics.

    Book now ➜

  • Imposter Syndrome & ANTs

    Yes, you do deserve to be in the room. Stomp out the Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) that are holding you back and develop the confidence that will move you forward.

    Book now ➜

  • Less Difficult Conversations

    The ask, the no, the feedback you owe someone, and the repair after the one that went wrong. Every session, every person works on a real conversation, with five sparring partners and a coach in their corner.

    Book now ➜

  • Changing Careers

    At your level, it's not job hunting, it's a career move. Build & leverage your network, create & convey your Unique Value Prop (UVP), create a next-level CV & LinkedIn profile and interview like a leader.

    Book now ➜

  • Beating Burnout

    Relentless amounts of work with completely unrealistic deadlines. Learn how to set boundaries and push back without being pushed out. Set priorities, align the work and focus on what's important. Plus exercises to decompress and let go of the stress.

    Book now ➜

Other Quests: How to Be the Hero in Real Life · Finding Your Soulnerd. New quests unlock regularly. If your boss fight isn't listed, ask; we'll probably build it.

How It Works

Workshops

  • 2hours
  • 30people, broken into landing parties of 5
  • 20mins of pre-work
  • £200£100Comicon price, materials included. Pay in full or split into 2 payments
  • 100%refund on any unused sessions if you need to leave the party. No guilt trips, no fine print
How It Works

Group Coaching

  • 4live remote sessions
  • ≤6people per cohort, small enough that everyone's voice matters
  • £500£250Comicon price for the whole arc, materials included. Pay in full or split into two payments
  • 0homework essays. Side quests between sessions are short videos, podcasts and exercises
  • 100%refund on any unused sessions if you need to leave the party. No guilt trips, no fine print
House rules

How we play

  • No forced sharing, ever. Opt-in only, with a written alternative for every exercise.
  • Neuro-inclusive by default. Visible agenda, written and spoken instructions, a real break, no surprise role-play.
  • Zero corporate speak. No synergy, no stakeholder journeys, no stock-photo slides.
  • Evidence before belief. You get a reason the model works before you're asked to try it.
  • Coaching, not therapy. It's about where you want to go, not where you've been.
  • Cosplay is welcome. Not required. Definitely encouraged.

1 to 1 Coaching

Your own campaign. Your own coach.

Workshops and cohorts are brilliant when the problem is common. One-to-one is for when the problem is yours: the interview next Tuesday, the manager who will not listen, the promotion you have been "next in line" for twice, the career you're quietly not sure you want any more.

It is you and Laurence, working on your actual situation, at your pace. The same coaching that senior leaders at global companies pay for, pointed entirely at your problem, in language that doesn't make you want to leave the room. Sessions are remote by video, or in person by arrangement.

  1. Free intro chat

    Thirty minutes, no charge, no pitch. You describe the boss fight; Laurence tells you honestly whether coaching will help and what it would look like. If it isn't a fit, you'll hear that too.

  2. Agree on the quest

    You decide the goals for the campaign, in your words, with a way to know when you've got there.

  3. Run the sessions

    Regular one-hour sessions, remote or in person, applied to what is actually happening at work that week.

  4. Side quests between

    Small, specific things to try before next time. A conversation, an experiment, exercises, podcasts, articles & videos.

6 sessions · £1,200 · Comicon price: £900

Book a free intro chat
Laurence Hewitt in a pinstripe suit, bow tie and red trainers, holding a sonic screwdriver Suit. Tie. Sonic screwdriver. Trainers.

Start a quest

Tell us what you're interested in and Laurence will reply personally, usually within 24 hours. No mailing-list spam, no automated funnel, no Daleks.

Open a hailing frequency

Questions? Want to know whether your cohort has a fellow Trekker in it, or whether "much more" includes your exact life crisis? Ask. You'll hear back from an actual human, who owns a sonic screwdriver.

Email

Send a signal

The fastest way to reach Laurence, for anything from "which workshop?" to "can you run this for my team?"

hewitt@torchwoodcoaching.com
At the con

Find the stand

Torchwood Coaching exhibits at MCM Comic Con. Come and say hello, tell us your fandom, and ask about the con-only offers for anyone who signs up before the show closes. Cosplay compliments are free.

Can't find us? Email and we'll tell you where we are.

The grown-up site

Torchwood Coaching

Executive and team coaching for organisations, credentials, the corporate CV and the full biography live on the main site.

torchwoodcoaching.com ➜

Torchwood Coaching, Ltd. is a UK registered company.