Furnas · São Miguel · Azores
You’ve hit success.
What’s next?
A private five-day reset for founders and executives. Eight guests. One decision you’ve been avoiding.
Pressure doesn’t cost you one bad call. It costs you a slow drift of slightly worse ones. The place that made the problem cannot solve it.
The reset
Clarity isn’t random. It is designed.
A retreat sends you home relaxed. A mastermind sends you home with notes. You leave knowing exactly what to do next — and fully behind it.
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01with Samir Javed
Breathe
Wim Hof Method breathwork and cold exposure. You can’t think your way to clarity in a stressed body.
Five minutes of structured breathing a day lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation. Balban et al., 2023
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02with Carolina Lino
Move
Somatic movement, yoga and raw nature. Your best decision will not happen at your desk.
Walking raised creative output by around sixty per cent compared with sitting. Oppezzo & Schwartz, 2014
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03with Rob Paynter
Connect
Eight people, guided sessions and decision councils. Your next decision is only as good as the room you make it in.
Across 1,000+ business decisions, process mattered roughly six times more than analysis. Lovallo & Sibony, 2010
It begins before you arrive — and continues after you leave.
- TodayThe conversationRead by the founders and Rob. A personal reply within 48 hours.
- 7–14 days before you arriveCalibrationA private session with Rob to name the decision you’re carrying.
- Five days in FurnasThe resetThe coach brings the method. The room pressure-tests it. You decide.
- After you leaveIntegrationA second private session with Rob, so the clarity survives your calendar.
Why Furnas
A place that has been doing this for centuries.
A geothermal valley on São Miguel, mid-Atlantic — and our hometown. Remote enough to force a genuine break.
- StayPrivate cabins in the forest. No lobbies, no corridors.
- WaterThermal springs, warm from deep below the earth.
- ForestTerra Nostra: thermal pools in a subtropical garden.
- TableCozido das Furnas, cooked underground for six hours.
Fly into Ponta Delgada (PDL); Furnas is about 45 minutes east.
The people
Every facilitator holds a specialism.
- Samir JavedBreath & ColdWim Hof Method Level 3; with Wim Hof since 2010
- Rob PaynterDecision & IntegrationExecutive coach; twenty years inside C‑suites
- Carolina LinoMovementSomatic practice for high-performance professionals
- Jorge ValerioSound in NatureHandpan in the landscape — the bridge to stillness
- Nuno AmendoeiraSoundTibetan bowls since 2005; closes each day
Founded by Miguel Pestana (London, ex‑Google) and Tiago Cordeiro (Sydney, ex‑Burton), both from São Miguel. “Success was supposed to answer the question. It didn’t.”
In partnership with the Wim Hof Method and Furnas Lake Forest Living. The October 2026 cohort was featured by c0founders.
Is this for you?
For those who know something is slightly off.
For you if
- A founder or senior leader making six-figure decisions
- Performing well, but mentally saturated
- Aware your decision quality has quietly slipped
- Willing to step away from control for all five days
Not for you if
- Looking for rest or a holiday
- Avoiding a decision rather than facing it
- Unwilling to do the physical work
No cameras. No audience. No record.
Privacy is not a courtesy here. It is the condition that makes the work possible.
Questions
The short answers.
Who else will be in the room?
Seven other founders and senior leaders, each chosen through the same conversation as you. We curate every cohort so the eight people in it belong in the same room.
What does it cost?
We share pricing personally, once we’ve spoken and confirmed fit.
When is the next cohort?
October 2026 is full. We run one cohort a season — enquire and we’ll share the next dates personally.
Do I need experience with breathwork or cold?
No. Every session is guided. These practices aren’t suitable for everyone, so we ask about relevant health information before you take part.
Can you design one for my team?
Yes — private experiences for leadership teams, boards and peer groups, at the same standard. Choose “Custom private or executive team retreat” below, or email us.
Enquiries open
Let’s have a conversation.
This is not a booking form. Every enquiry is read by the founders and Rob, and answered personally within 48 hours.