Pausa is a performance wellbeing company for modern leaders — delivering science-backed programs offline, in nature, with the quality of hospitality that makes people return.
Pausa exists to keep leaders at their best — so the systems they build can be too.
Our values
We do what we say. Every time.
One clear sentence over three impressive ones.
We name our limitations before anyone else does.
We measure by what changes in the world.
We don't optimise for money when it costs people.
Our vision · 2031
Pausa hubs within 90 minutes of Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, London. A community of 10,000+ leaders who return throughout their careers.
Permanently steward-owned. Not for sale.
The Problem
Problem 1
The higher you build, the fewer people can see what you carry. Founders and senior leaders often lack a peer group that truly understands the weight of the role — and the honest conversation that comes from it.
Problem 2
A leader's internal state — their energy, clarity, and judgment — is the primary driver of company outcomes. It is rarely measured and almost never maintained. The cost is invisible until it isn't.
of founders report mental health struggles during their journey
Startup Snapshot, 2023 · Freeman et al.experience regular burnout, directly affecting decision-making quality
Balderton Capital Health SurveyIn the age of AI, raw productivity is a commodity. The new competitive advantage is judgment under pressure, clear decisions, and the taste to know what matters — and those only come from a leader who is genuinely well.
The Solution
Pausa is a performance wellbeing company built as a complete ecosystem: physical infrastructure, expert guides and facilitators, a curated community of participants, and a scientific methodology that ties it together. Not a coaching platform. Not a retreat spa. The place where leaders go to maintain peak performance through rest — not despite it.
Venues
Physical infrastructure in nature, designed for depth
Guides
Expert facilitators, somatic practitioners, coaches
Community
Curated peers — the circle that holds the work
Methodology
Science-backed frameworks — WHO, WPA, behaviour science, meta-analysis, etc.
The three-layer model: Pausa Lab (clinical biomarkers, standalone or pre-Reset) · Pausa Vitality Check + Sprint (behavioural design, B2B) · Pausa Reset (immersive experience, B2C). Lab is both a standalone entry product and the physical dimension layer of the Reset. → ongoing annual membership. One touchpoint becomes a years-long relationship.
Pausa Open
1.5 days in nature, 30 min from Lisbon. Non-commercial. A curated taste of Pausa for ~30 founders — not a conference, not a retreat.
First edition: July 2–3, 2026 · DOMA Portugal open.pausa.pt →Pausa Sprint
Three live sessions for 8–12 people. Science-backed behavioural design. Produces a shared energy map and co-designed micro-habits tied to real outcomes.
Pausa Reset
3 days offline at Melides. Before arrival: every participant completes Pausa Lab (100+ biomarkers) and the Pausa Vitality Check (40 questions across emotional, mental, relational dimensions). Facilitators have a complete profile from Day 1.
Pausa Circle
Where the work continues between Resets. Curated peer circles by stage, monthly expert sessions, honest conversation that is hard to find inside a company.
Traction
Infrastructure, methodology, and team are in place. The first programs are live. The pipeline is active.
Next Milestone
Flagship community gathering at DOMA Portugal. Up to 50 founders and leaders. Planning underway, venue confirmed.
6-week Sprint actively running with the UFL (Unicorn Factory Lisboa) leadership team.
Operating from Unicorn Factory Lisboa's HealthHub — accessing mentorship and a founder community.
3 founders from Casa do Impacto confirmed in the Pausa program pipeline.
351 will promote Pausa Open July 2–3 across their founder community — Slack and newsletter blast reaching 500+ Lisbon-based founders and operators.
Active conversations with 3xP Global, Semapa Next (co-designing an October founder event), Shilling VC, and Iberis Capital Partners. 2 VC funds have featured Pausa in their founder newsletters.
Market Opportunity
Pausa is in active market discovery across five ICP channels. All use the same core methodology. All target the same underlying need: leaders in high-performance environments who carry invisible depletion. The question we're answering: which channel reaches paid scale fastest?
H1 · Primary
Fund pays for Sprints across portfolio. 26 PT funds, 12 Tier 1 mapped.
~€15K/company
TAM: €39M (2,600 PT startups × €15K)
SAM: €6M (400 reachable × €15K)
SOM: €225K (Y1 target)
H2 · Active
HR leads at Lisbon tech companies. 26 named leads mapped. Shorter sales cycle.
€10–20K/cohort
TAM: €80M (4,000 cos × €20K)
SAM: €10M (500 reachable)
SOM: €200K (Y1 target)
H3 · Testing
Studios and agencies where creative output depends directly on team energy. Pain: depletion = output drop.
€5–10K/sprint
TAM: €20M (2,000 agencies × €10K)
SAM: €3M (300 Lisbon-based)
SOM: €100K (Y1 target)
H4 · Testing
English-speaking founders in Lisbon. Pre-qualified by income, seeking community. 16,000+ digital nomads in Lisbon.
€500–2K/person
TAM: €8M (16K nomads × 5% × €1K)
SAM: €2M (active founder subset)
SOM: €80K (Y1 target)
H5 · Exploring
Consultants, lawyers, insurance executives — long hours, high stakes, often overlooked by wellness brands.
€3–8K/sprint
TAM: €60M (6,000 firms × €10K)
SAM: €6M (Lisbon + Porto)
SOM: €120K (Y1 target)
Founder-specific data
Our approach at this stage
We are not yet projecting a combined market size — because we have not yet found the one ICP we will go deep on.
Five hypotheses. One methodology. The goal right now is to test, learn, and find the channel where Pausa creates the strongest pull. Each ICP above shows its own market potential. When we find the one that converts, we attack it. That is what this raise funds.
Year 1 goal: 3–6 paid pilots across multiple channels → one clear winner identified by Month 12.
Business Model
100+ biomarkers via certified clinical lab. Standalone recurring revenue. Integral layer of the Reset experience.
Non-commercial. Builds brand credibility, community, and funnel into paid programs. First edition July 2026.
Entry point for corporate teams. Individual leaders who experience a Sprint are the natural pipeline into Reset and Circle — the long-term relationship begins here.
Entry point for individual leaders. 3 days offline in nature. Biomarker testing, depth work, personalised protocol. Circle membership included. The first step into the annual relationship.
The core recurring revenue product. Not recovery — a preventive practice. Leaders who return to Pausa 4× a year stay ahead of depletion rather than responding to it. Circle included.
The gap
Existing wellbeing providers are online-first, individual-only, or clinical. None deliver in-person in Iberia. None combine a rigorous science-backed methodology with the quality of experience we hold. Pausa is the only in-person performance wellbeing company in Portugal.
The Team
A founding team with lived startup experience, deep expertise in somatic and nature-based practices, and strategic support from the highest levels of European sports and wellbeing leadership.
Strategic Partners
AI-powered mental health platform delivering post-program support to every Pausa participant.
Pillow ↗
Pausa's incubator — UFL HealthHub, Lisbon's leading innovation ecosystem for founders.
unicornfactorylisboa.com ↗Our Philosophy
Pausa is built to last — not to exit. Two commitments shape everything we build and every decision we make.
Pausa's ownership is enshrined in governance. It cannot be acquired, cannot be taken off mission. Profit enables purpose — it does not replace it.
By 2031: hubs within 90 minutes of Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, London. A community of 10,000+ leaders who return throughout their careers.
Roadmap
From proof-of-concept to category-defining European platform.
Framework built. Team assembled. Venue partnerships signed.
Sprint live with UFL. Open July 2026. Casa do Impacto confirmed.
Reset launches. Circle goes live. Sprint scales to 3+ cohorts/year.
Permanent hubs within 90 min of Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, London. 10,000+ leaders in community. Steward-owned for life.
The Raise
Why invest in Pausa now? (RBF · no equity · 2× return)
How RBF works
Revenue-Based Financing means investors receive a fixed percentage of Pausa's monthly revenue (5–8%) until they have received 2× their investment back (€100,000 on a €50K cheque). No equity. No dilution. No exit required. Once the return cap is reached, the obligation ends — Pausa remains fully independent and steward-owned. Estimated repayment: 24–36 months once paid programs begin.
RBF Investment
€50,000Revenue-Based Financing · 2× return cap · no equity
Get In Touch
Ready to explore? Reach out directly — we're happy to share the full RBF term sheet or schedule a call.
Yaro & Albert · Co-founders, Pausa · Lisbon, Portugal · 2026
