Krish Coughran is Co-Founder and CEO of Ignite Visibility, the San Diego performance-marketing agency he launched with John Lincoln in 2013. A former practicing lawyer with a UC San Diego bachelor's degree and a University of San Diego law degree, he spent more than a decade as president building operations, sales, and people systems before becoming CEO in January 2026.
From Law to Digital Marketing
Coughran earned a B.A. from UC San Diego in 1996 and a J.D. from the University of San Diego in 2001, then practiced law for about six years before moving into digital marketing. Public bios place him later in sales and business-development seats at SEO Inc. and related internet firms before the Ignite chapter.
He talks about client work in terms of promises made in the sales process, long-term stakeholder benefit over short-term profit, and ethics as a practical operating rule.
Co-founding Ignite Visibility
In 2013 Coughran co-founded Ignite Visibility with John Lincoln. Company materials credit him with standing up departments across business development, HR, accounting, Amazon, earned media, omnichannel work, an international outsourcing division, and SEO forecasting while the firm grew into Inc. 5000 and San Diego Business Journal fast-growth lists.
His own team page says he has built initial online marketing strategies for more than 500 companies, from startups to large corporations, with a focus on measurable return. He also helped launch Ignite Charitability, the firm's philanthropic arm supporting groups such as Reality Changers and Charity: Water.
Becoming CEO of Ignite Visibility
In January 2026 a company announcement named Coughran CEO and Lincoln Executive Chairman after Coughran's long run as president. In that release he called the move "a natural next chapter in a journey John and I have shared since 2013," and said the firm would keep investing in clients, team, and community under the Relationships, Responsiveness, and Results promise.
Lincoln, in the same announcement, said Coughran had been "deeply involved in the company's evolution" as co-founder and was "the perfect fit" for the CEO role while Lincoln shifted to board and long-term strategy. The same leadership evolution promoted Adam Hutcheson to president and elevated several other executives across marketing, media, operations, and franchise growth.