Peak Pioneers Program

Wellbeing, Performance and Leadership Program for VC-backed Founders

“65% of startups fail due to avoidable people problems”

– Noam Wasserman, Harvard Business School

From overworked
to vibrant leader

The Peak Pioneers Program offers a co-financed 6-month wellbeing, performance, and leadership program to support startup founders working under intense conditions, building companies that may one day change the world.

Each founder's journey is unique, so we believe in offering access to different kinds of support for anyone looking to turn their health and leadership into a core asset without burdening already bustling agendas.

Key components:

  1. Holistic Health & Performance Program: A science-based health & fitness program that targets the distinct requirements of founders and CEOs, fostering physical vitality, emotional maturity, and mental peak performance.

  2. Founder Forums: Intimate peer groups of 5-8 founders who meet regularly to discuss the business issues and overall life challenges they face as leaders of fast-growing tech businesses.

  3. Executive Coaching: Whether at the beginning of your leadership journey or working through a challenging growth period, our bespoke executive coaches are available to support founders and CEOs one-on-one.

A >15,000€ worth leadership training co-financed by your VC

👩‍💻 Join from anywhere

Only kick-off and closing are mandatory 2-day in-person events hosted in Berlin. The rest of the program is accessible online.

🗓 Made for busy schedules

With only two monthly online sessions, the rest being self-paced and self-organized, the average weekly workload is limited to 1-2 hours.

🥼Science-based

The program is based on cutting-edge medical expertise, positive psychology, and behavioral science. It is run by a team of expert coaches, clinicians, and therapists.

Next Cohort starting Fall 2024

The Program

  • It all begins with trust. You will spend two exciting days in a wonderful location in Berlin to get to know and trust yourself, and everyone in the cohort. You will assess your personal strengths and weaknesses as a leader, reflect on the relationship between your mental health, performance, leadership skills and your desired impact in the world and create your personal leadership development plan for the program.

  • The science-based physical health and performance program is designed to cater to the specific needs of founders and CEOs. The six-month program is run by a team of experts and is based on cutting-edge medical expertise, positive psychology, and behavioral science – with the objective of helping participants better understand their body and mind and ultimately unlock the best version of themselves.

    We take founders and leaders in any state of health and wellness, measure your current medical state in an initial assessment, set clear goals and only rest when those goals are reached. Sleep, Physiological Fitness, Biological Age, Cognitive Performance, State of Mind, Relationships and Metabolic Health are typical areas of focus for those on the Peak Pioneer Program. It includes:

    1. In-depth analysis of health and performance data including bloodwork, physiology, fitness, nutrition, sleep and mindset.

    2. A personalized plan from a multidisciplinary team (physicians, pharmacists, sleep experts, psychologists, nutritionists, health and performance coaches).

    3. Health consultations and performance coaching sessions throughout the program to help founders achieve their goals.

  • Peer groups of 5-8 founders who meet regularly, (in person) to discuss the business issues and overall life challenges they face as leaders of fast-growing tech businesses.

    Sessions are run by a peer moderator, and designed to allow each member to share their most significant professional or personal updates in a confidential format and setting.

  • Whether founders are working through a challenging growth period or need orientation at the beginning of their leadership journey, our bespoke executive coaches are available to support founders and CEOs 1:1 anytime.

    For anyone who already has a Coach that is a match made in heaven, we'll onboard them and integrate them into the program.

  • The mandatory in-person closing event marks the culmination of an inspiring and transformative journey of health, self-discovery and leadership development. It is a celebration of the growth, connections, and shared experiences that have shaped each participant's path towards becoming a healthy, vibrant and impactful leader.

    In this final gathering, you will come together with your cohort to reflect on the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the personal and professional breakthroughs achieved. You will celebrate the bonds forged and the collective impact you are poised to make in the world by discussing your insights with leading experts from the industry.

“Organizations with a healthy organizational culture deliver up to 3x the returns.”

– McKinsey & Company

Pricing Methodology

The Peak Pioneer Program is priced between €6,000 and €12,000 (excluding VAT) for a duration of 6 months, with costs varying based on cohort size and tailored program elements. This investment is typically fully tax-deductible. For individuals participating independently from their organizations, opting for the program as a private medical service may exempt them from VAT charges.

A significant insight gained during the development of the Peak Pioneer Program was the importance of empowering founders of 'lean' start-ups to prioritize their health and performance. We have identified an optimal sponsorship model to enhance program uptake and adherence:

  • Venture Capital (VC) contributes 50% of the total program cost (e.g., €3,000 per person), covering setup, launch, and essential operational expenses.

  • Portfolio Companies cover the remaining 50% (e.g., €3,000 per person) over the course of 6 months from the start of onboarding. This contribution ensures access to expert consultations, coaching sessions, devices, and laboratory services tailored to their needs.

  • Founders have the flexibility to extend the program's benefits to other team members at a maximum discounted rate (e.g., €6,000), fostering a culture of holistic health and performance within the organization.

Meet the Team

We are a team of founders and professional psychologists who have experienced the chronic stress, anxiety and life-impacts of entrepreneurship first hand. Our mission is to make your journey easier.

  • Natascha started promoting health in multiple settings and levels from the very first moment in her career. Being trained in business and health psychology (M.Sc.), she supported healthy school environments, coached future executives, and worked as an advisor to improve working conditions for corporate businesses. As an active member of the Berlin based startup ecosystem with specific focus on digital health innovation, Natascha closely works together with visionary founders and ambitious change makers to drive next generation healthcare. Having struggled with challenging health conditions herself, to date Natascha continuously combines and applies the latest scientific knowledge, practical tools and interdisciplinary treatment methods. She personally experiences the huge positive impact of health promoting thoughts and behaviors on a daily level.


  • After a masters degree in corporate management and economics, Gerjet worked for NGOs, a development bank and for 5 years as a product manager and UX Designer in various health and sports tech startups in Berlin. In 2018 Gerjet founded his own startup Skill Yoga with the mission to make yoga more accessible to a masculine identifying audience. After growing it to 15 employees, more than 1mn€ revenue and raising 1.8mn€ in a seed round, he experienced firsthand the loneliness, isolation, stress, financial hardship, and burnout associated with building a startup. His empathy for the founder journey and his training in yoga, meditation, mindfulness coaching and breath work led him to create support systems around the thesis that healthy founders equal successful founders and healthy returns.

Next Cohort starting Fall 2024

Created for smart founders and health-conscious investors

Benefits for VCs

The program is designed to help VCs take a leading role in the health of their most valuable investments - their founders and leaders across their whole portfolio. Peak Pioneer Program is a philosophy of holistic investment. To show your founders you truly care by not only investing in their company but in them as humans is invaluable and attractive to those in the hopes of joining your portfolio.

Benefits for Portfolio Founders

Your physical and mental health is vital for your company’s health. Peak Pioneer Program will help you to lead a functional, successful start-up, giving you access to top-tier trainers, coaches and therapists. We not only analyze your health data, we analyze your leadership style and relationships with others within your leadership team and company. We want you to be the best founder, and human, you can be.

Interested?

If you’re interested in your investors sponsoring the Peak Pioneer Program for you, or if you’re a forward-thinking investor keen to join the first wave of WellFounded partners, please get in touch.

“The return on investment of workplace mental health interventions is overwhelmingly positive, with an ROI of 5:1”

– Deloitte

Sound familiar?

Do you feel isolated?

Is stress causing physical illness and emotional distress?

Do you sometimes feel fear, shame, or doubt about your ability as a leader?

Are you experiencing lost productivity and approaching burnout?

 FAQs

  • The weekly sessions will take place Monday 19:00 - 20:30 CET

  • The program is designed to integrate perfectly into your busy work week. Only 1 weekly after-work call (duration 90 min), the rest is self-paced and doable in less than 4h per week.

  • When you have other obligations on the dates of the kick-off event, apply anyway. We will to create a great team building experience on those dates, but you will have opportunity to connect to the other participants afterward.

  • You can apply as long as you are in a leadership position in a social business whose primary objective is to achieve social impact rather than generating profit. The business must have at least 3 employees.

  • The online program is a >5,000€ worth leadership training fully funded by the EU (excl. accommodation and transport to the kick-off und closing event).

  • No. Unfortunately, the grant only funds small and medium-sized companies, not non-profit organizations.

  • No, only small and medium-sized companies.

Next Cohort starting Fall 2024