Leading from True Self

Founder Intensive

5 Days in the Alps August 9-13, 2026

This retreat works beneath the surface – updating the inner operating system that drives everything else.

* Spaces are limited to 8 people per retreat

One of the most formativegroundingsignificantclarifying experiences a founder can have.

This is not another leadership training. Not a networking event. Not a framework you will read about and forget.

At a certain stage of building, the external challenges of growth are surpassed by an internal one: the patterns that once drove your success start to limit it. Overdrive, control, reactivity, isolation – these are not character flaws. They are protective strategies, wired into your nervous system, that once helped you move fast and survive uncertainty. But they now shape your culture, your decisions, and your relationships in ways you may not yet fully see.

Our founders are backed by top investors and have stellar experience at leading organizations:

World Class Retreat Leaders Committed to Your Success

Alexander Volz

Founder/CEO Coach · Investor

Alexander coaches CEOs and founders at the highest levels of ambition and complexity – from first VC funding through $10B+ valuations. His clients include Europe’s fastest-growing AI companies and CEOs of companies with thousands of employees. As founder of a B2B startup he built and sold, a Strategy Consultant at McKinsey, and leader of the CEO office of a unicorn, he has lived every stage of the journey himself. He is trained in ontological coaching and is a IFS therapy, working at the intersection of trauma-informed therapy, leadership transformation, and spirituality. He has led multiple founder retreats in the Alps. His work rests on a single conviction: that the next generation of world-changing companies will be built by leaders who learn to lead from love, not fear.

Dr Jens Riese

Leadership Coach ·Therapist & Meditation Teacher

Former Senior Partner at McKinsey (Munich and Silicon Valley), where he co-led the Innovation and Sustainability practices and served as global Dean for Leadership Development. After McKinsey, Jens co-founded and invested in several startups. Today he works as a therapist, executive coach, and leadership guide – supporting founders, investors, and leadership teams in deep transformation journeys. He brings together leadership science, Internal Family Systems (IFS) and trauma-informed therapy, somatic practice, and nature-based wisdom – all grounded in his own experience of building, leading, and making the inner journey himself. He holds a PhD from Cambridge and has worked with leaders across 25+ countries.

Small & carefully selected

8 founders maximum. Intimate enough for genuine psychological safety.Diverse enough to expose blind spots and challenge one another.

Evidence-based deep work

We use Internal Family Systems (IFS) – one of the most powerful evidence-based therapeutic models – applied specifically to the inner life of founders and the challenges of scaling under tremendous uncertainty and the highest levels of expectations for results.

Outdoors, in the Alps

A significant part of the work happens in nature — hiking, silence, somatic practice in the mountains. The environment is not incidental. It is one of the teachers.

Friendships that lasts

A small cohort of founders navigating similar thresholds. The trust built in four days typically becomes a peer group that continues long after the retreat ends.

The core premise

The method

What you will work on

The setting

Who this is for

What Others Say

"Every minute and every hour matters. As a founder, you must spend time on what is most important. Spending a weekend in nature, planning for the future in an environment where your best ideas are flourishing was such a good investment."

Hasan Sukkar, Founder & CEO · 11x.ai, Forbes 30 under 30

| x-McKinsey | funding by Project A Ventures, Benchmark, etc. |

"Jens stands out amongst Executive Coaches in that he combines his own experience as senior leader and as a family man with great therapeutic skills and warm empathy"

Sebastian Wieser, Founder & CEO · Unite ·

"Alex is by far the strongest coach I have ever worked with. Perhaps most importantly, working with Alex has made me realise that being a founder of a fast growing company does not need to be a chaotic and overwhelming endeavour, and that actually, by bringing the level of reflection and rigour to my thinking that Alex's coaching promotes, I can massively accelerate my company's progress whilst in parallel cultivate a healthy, balanced life that I rarely see other founders attaining."

Reece Griffiths, Founder & CEO (YC S23) · Deasy Labs ·

xMcKinsey

" Working with Jens has deeply changed me as a person and as a founder. I am incredibly grateful"

Marius Hepp, Founder & CEO · Junto

"From our first conversation, Alexander brought a calm clarity that cut through the noise. As a strategic thinking partner, he combined business insight with a depth of spiritual growth that helped me become a better leader and person. That inner growth translated directly into sharper decisions, faster execution, and the confidence to scale from €1M ARR to €10M ARR while hitting every major milestone along the way."

Alexander Kübel, Founder & CEO · Kombo (YC S23) | +10mARR

”Jens can seamlessly pull from a broad range of practices from the fields of coaching, developmental learning, therapy, consulting, to meet the unique needs of individuals or groups”

Johanne Lavoie, Author of the Bestseller "Centered Leadership”

Coaching has long been a secret superpower in the start-up world that is now becoming increasingly popular among entrepreneurs as a tool for personal and professional development. Coaching demonstrates a leader's dedication to growth and can fast-track progress while also providing emotional resilience in tough times. When it comes to your business, you’re the leading expert; however, if you’re running a successful, rapidly growing startup, new challenges will inevitably arise with greater frequency, requiring ever-expanding skills.

Read the full article on forbes.com

Join us in Schliersee

August 9–13, 2026 · 8 founders maximum Spaces are filled by conversation — apply to begin.

To apply or enquire, contact Dr. Jens Riese or Alexander Volz directly. Scholarships available for early-stage founders on request.

How to join

1. Apply – short form, takes 2 minutes

2. Talk to us – a brief 1:1 call to explore fit and answer your questions

3. Get your spot – if it's the right fit, we will invite you in

4. Join the cohort – and begin your deep work journey in Schliersee