Our retreat NPS is 92, but that number doesn't tell the whole story. In our own member's words, The Grand makes them feel:
“Warm. Empowered. Seen. Connected. Inspired.”
“Capable of authentically pursuing my dreams.”
“You gave me one of the most powerful moments I’ve ever had with myself.”
In October, 70 ambitious mothers gathered for our inaugural Grand Pursuit retreat as our first official cohort of Grand Pursuit members. They arrived with questions many of us carry quietly:
- Can I grow professionally without losing myself?
- Can I build something meaningful and still be present at home?
- Am I alone in this tension?
We had an 8% acceptance rate with over 600 applications and were really intentional about who we were going to have in the room at the retreat and in our inaugural membership community. We designed the retreat to be catalytic, emotionally expansive and practically grounded. From the very first night, with curated seating and connection prompts, members were dropping into real conversations, not résumé exchanges. Across three days, the experience unfolded intentionally.
We had fireside chats with leaders Dr. Becky Kennedy, Eve Rodsky, Neha Ruch, and Sheila Lirio Marcelo. But what members talked about most wasn’t just the stage it was proximity, "The speakers didn’t just talk and leave. They stayed and engaged. They signed books. They had real conversations, that access was remarkable."
One woman shared that Dr. Becky’s reframing of putting ideas, not yourself, out into the world changed how she’ll handle criticism forever.
Another realized, during Amanda Goetz’s round-table session, that she was exhausted because she was trying to be every character at the same time instead of intentionally letting one lead.
We didn’t want inspiration without integration alongside firesides, members moved through structured exercises.
“Much of my ambition was shaped by external validation. I’m redefining ambition through a feminine lens.”
Just like the coaching content and fireside chats, Rest & Wellness were not an afterthought, they were intentionally designed. Sound baths, yoga, journaling and coloring by candlelight, unstructured meals, cocktail hours that turned into meaningful conversations, hikes, luxury beds and beautiful spaces. But the point wasn’t pampering for the sake of it, it was intentionally sharing with our members that they are allowed to be taken care of.
One member said she didn’t even realize how depleted she was until she returned home and noticed how full her cup felt. Another wrote in her retreat feedback,
“I felt very spoiled and allowed to take time for me. The 100% focus on women being authentic was incredible.”
When we asked if our members experienced a breakthrough, most said yes. What was most amazing about them was that they beautifully embodied the pillars we designed into The Grand Pursuit.
The themes that emerged from our Grand Pursuit Retreat breakthroughs:
1. Clarity & Vision for the Future
“I gained a lot of clarity on my future goals- both personally and professionally. And was incredibly inspired by the group of women I met and how much you can learn about someone in such a short amount of time.”
“Two: my values feel super crystalized to me now. And one thing Dr Becky said about anxiety in our kids changed the way I'll manage my kids anxiety moving forward.”
“Omg! Yes!!! Vision - honestly, I learned that I’m someone who if I have a vision I stick with it and do it everything in my power to attain it. I’m now determined to create a vision board to help me narrow down what I want and focus on how to get there!”
“I enjoyed the exercise where I envisioned my future self and felt she was wise, kind, achieved success on the global stage and was surrounded by the love of her children, husband and family. This is what I strive for!”
“I had the realization that by investing in and attending the retreat, I was taking care of myself. This led me to a realization of my priority in my own life (reinforced by the future self visualization)”
2. Restored Confidence & Forward Momentum
“confidence restoring, and centering - a way back to myself, but better!”
“I can do what I’ve been telling myself I can’t”
“I got this sense of ‘I can do this’. I was worried before attending that I would come away feeling defeated or like I have a massive hill to climb to get to where I want to go. And in fact it was the opposite - there was a nice little fire in my belly that said ‘yep, keep going!’”
“Feeling confident in my life pivot. A fellow participant listened to ‘my career pitch’ and said ‘you got this. you’re going to be good.’”
“My breakthrough was that I feel supported in whatever it is I choose to do next. And another one is that I don’t have to have all the answers but just make little ‘baby’ steps forward in a direction to move the ball in some way forward.”
“It was more of confirmation that I desperately needed”
3. Identity Integration: Ambition & Motherhood
“There was something very special about being able to show up as full versions of both sides of yourself -- connecting in community with both of your primary identities as a mom and an ambitious builder. No code switching, no context switching, no hedging one identity or the other. I've done so many other professional development experiences but dropping into this fully with connection, vulnerability, and just a feeling of incredible support with women living the same tensions as you -- it left me feeling like this path is hard but do'able, and most importantly, worth it.”
“We’re all in similar journeys as moms and entrepreneurs”
“It hit me in such a huge way what a beautiful, supportive network of working moms exist -- i feel so inspired to plug into this world.”
“I need to focus more on showing up fully as CEO, mom, etc...”
“I realized that I already had my core value established, which is a loving family. It is about setting the right boundaries around my business so I can spend more time with my family”
4. Redefining Ambition & Work on Your Own Terms
“I’m not willing to lose freedom and the space I’ve built for myself in this 8 months, to work. So my goal is to find a way to create meaningful work that is financially rewarding without losing myself in the process.”
“I decided to move forward with a self employment endeavor. A personal brand! First offering a financial coaching program”
“Realizing that much of my ambition was shaped by external validation and patriarchal conditioning. I’m now redefining ambition through a feminine lens: one that feels internally aligned, self-owned, and deeply personal. It's not easy but I am working through this.”
“Due to my job (particularly at the moment), I am mostly surrounded by people who never think or speak like the retreat attendees… This retreat felt like my Prune-brain got reconstituted with the finest Bubbly wine! I felt amazing after. I was renewed in my conviction that I can move above what I am doing now and put more of my skills/talents to use.”
5. The Power of Community & Reflection
“The energy, the environment, and the company, created a vortex and a synergy of creativity and limitless possibilities I saw in so many women it reflected back on me.”
“I'm not alone, what I'm going through is quite normal actually.”
“No specific breakthrough but lovely to see and hear of others’”
“(1) I acknowledged a very significant (serious?) need for control and how it's showing up across my life. (2) The visualization at the end will probably stick with me FOREVER… You gave me one of the most powerful moments I've ever had with MYSELF.”
“I was chatting with Misa during cocktail hour… And she asked me if I were talking to my friend right now, what would I say to her… And it made me tear up just saying that… All makes me realize that I"m where I"m supposed to be in this amazing group of women!”
6. Practical Shifts & Tactical Breakthroughs
“Dr. Becky's reframing of putting your ideas, not yourself, out there – and reminding us that our self-worth is not tied to that – was a huge lightbulb moment for me.”
“Another breakthrough came during Amanda Goetz's session, where I realized that I was exhausted because I was trying to be all the characters at the same time, all the time – vs. creating intentional imbalance and allowing each character the spotlight and attention deserved.”
“Discussing different characters and the need to transition and focus on one particular character at a time really spoke to me and highlighted some significant changes I need to make”
“I can build community, the power pause could be possible, I value joy”
“I felt inspired by Amanda Goetz's content around shifting our ‘lead character’ during different moments in life to make more holistic balance.”
“I'm also re-decorating my office with a new organization system and podcast studio based on the Grand Retro exercise!”
After the October retreat, members entered their year-long coaching journey as part of The Grand Pursuit, organized across three tracks: Career Transitions & Identity Exploration, Founders & Scaling Leaders, Senior Leadership & Sustainable Growth. Across 12 sessions, they are moving through a coaching arc:
Know Yourself
Focus on understanding your core: what drives you, what shapes your mindset, and where your unique brilliance lies.
Ground Yourself
Establish practices that keep you steady and energized.
Beyond Yourself
Connection and contribution bring meaning to ambition.
What’s Next
The 2025 cohort was our inaugural cohort. It was proof of concept, not of demand (we knew that was there). We are building something that didn’t exist when we needed it.And if the words that keep echoing back to us are any indication:
Connected.
Empowered.
Seen.
Ready to take on the world.
— then this is just the beginning.
