Founders Taboo Decelerator

A collaboration between operators, researchers and coaches - it gives experienced and second-time founders a direct path to sustainable performance, and the evidence to prove it works. Founders Taboo is one of the world's first decelerators for founders. It combines SuperCharger Ventures' accelerator expertise, evidence-based wellbeing science, and a research partnership.

Our Alumni

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The program structure

01

An 8-Week Decelerator Journey

A focused programme built to run around your company - structured into two phases and anchored by two in-person retreats. Most accelerators speed you up; this one slows you down strategically, so you can perform sustainably.

02

Two Immersive Retreats

Step out of the day-to-day for two in-person retreats in Malta and Austria. The first builds vulnerability, trust and your core toolkit; the second cements accountability, legacy and transition - deep work, real rest, and a room of founders who understand.

03

Measure What Matters

Receive a Whoop band and structured diagnostics that set your baseline before the programme, track your stress and recovery throughout, and show the change at the end. You leave with hard data on your own performance - not just a feeling.

04

A Weekly Operating System

Three sessions a week - performance on Mondays, wellbeing on Wednesdays, peer-support on Fridays — combining executive coaching, evidence-based wellbeing science and founder-specific frameworks into a rhythm you can actually keep.

05

A Peer Circle That Gets It

Join a select cohort of experienced founders, paired with an accountability buddy and mid-week check-ins. Build the honest support network that fewer than 10% of founders ever have — even with their own investors.

06

Backed by World-Class Research

Contribute to, and benefit from, a research partnership that will be testing a single thesis: healthier founders create healthier returns. Your experience helps prove it - and you get the insights first.

In numbers

75%
It's the norm,
not the exception
Three in four founders report experiencing a mental health challenge. If you've felt it, you're in the majority - not the minority.
65%
Avoidable failure
65% of startups fail due to avoidable conflict — not product, not market, not cash. The human factor is the biggest risk on the cap table.
$3.5T
At stake
The startup economy is a $3.5 trillion asset class built entirely on founders' minds. Protect the founder, and you protect the asset.
1%
Perform like the best
 The highest performers don't push harder - they recover smarter. Join the rare group of founders who run their mind like a professional athlete runs their body.

Key Benefits

The science

Built to improve research, the programme tests one thesis: healthier founders create healthier returns. You contribute to — and benefit from — world-class research on founder wellbeing and business outcomes.

The retreat

Two immersive in-person retreats in Malta and Austria. The first builds vulnerability, trust and skills; the second cements accountability, legacy and transition. Deep work, real rest, a room of founders who understand.

The measurement

What gets measured gets managed. A Whoop band and structured diagnostics set your baseline before the programme, track you through it, and show the change at the end. You leave with data on your own performance — not just a feeling.

The community

A circle of trust. A peer network of Series A and second-time founders, an accountability buddy, and a community that keeps going long after the eight weeks. Less than 10% of founders talk to their investors about stress — here you talk to people who get it.

The method

A weekly operating system for performance and wellbeing: executive coaching, evidence-based wellbeing science and founder-specific frameworks - delivered in a rhythm you can keep while running a company.

A global Perspective

Plugged into the SuperCharger Ventures ecosystem: 175+ alumni, 90+ mentors and investors, and a global network that backs you well beyond the programme.

FAQ

01
Who is eligible to apply for this programme?

It is designed exclusively for Series A+ or Serial Founders who want to optimize their personal resilience, cognitive capacity, and leadership stamina. This program does not focus on company logistics, but rather on the leader behind the numbers, and each cohort is strictly restricted to ten founders to ensure absolute peer confidentiality.

02
What is the application timeline and process?

This program operates on a single seasonal cycle with applications opening between May and June, closing officially on June fifth. Because of the highly sensitive nature of the cohort, the selection process is completely confidential and is streamlined into a simple Typeform application followed by a direct 1:1 vetting conversation with our founder, Janos Barberis.

03
What are the terms for participation?

This is a founder-funded program where participants pay an executive commercial fee that is detailed during the onboarding process. This specific financial structure is intentionally designed to guarantee absolute boardroom independence, complete confidentiality, and uncompromised alignment among the selected peers.

04
What is the format, time commitment, and structure?

This is a 5 month hybrid journey designed to protect your calendar by completely avoiding heavy weekly meeting commitments. The structure leverages continuous background biometric tracking through Whoop alongside short peer check-ins, requiring only two dedicated one-week in-person residencies hosted in Malta and the Austrian Alps.

05
What happens after the program ends?

After the program, you permanently transition into an elite, highly confidential alumni circle of international scale-up leaders. You will continue to receive ongoing peer-accountability support and retain direct, long-term access to Janos Barberis' specialized performance network and strategic resources.