Breakouts: the room where you stop carrying it alone
Small, confidential groups of CEOs and founders at your stage, guided by an expert Moderator, meeting in person four times a year. New groups start in November 2026 so register your interest now!
Complete the form and the Programme team will talk you through the best group near where you're based.
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Autumn groups are forming now. Register your interest now.
This isn't an application, it's the first step. Tell us a little about you and your company, and a member of the Breakout Programme team will get in touch to talk through where you are, what you're facing, and which group would suit you best.
Breakouts are for Boardwave members - register first for Breakouts if you're interested then get set up as a member later - all for free . Places are limited to keep every group small, trusted and well matched, and each cohort is curated for the right mix of stage and perspective.
Register your interest
Free to join. We review every registration and match you to a group by hand, so keep an eye out for an email from the Programme team.
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Your request is in.
Thanks, we've sent you a confimation message to your inbox. Kath and the team read every request by hand, so you'll usually hear back the same working day.
Not sure which group is right for you?
Drop us a note. JL and the Programme team are happy to talk it through before you register, and you'll also find the Breakout stand at Boardwave Live on 17 September.
Breakout Groups at a Glance
Small groups, held in confidence
Eight to ten CEOs and founders. A group small enough that everyone contributes, confidential enough that you can say what you really think.
4x half-day sessions, in person
Dedicated time, four times a year. Long enough to properly work through a challenge, frequent enough to follow each other's progress along the scaleup journey.
Exclusively for tech companies
Focus on tech and AI peers with annual recurring revenue from €1 to 100M ARR, matched by stage. Real challenges, not theory.
How Breakouts work
A rhythm built around the scaleup journey. Two carefully curated intakes a year, Autumn and Spring, each running four quarterly half-day sessions over the course of a year.
Half a day, four times a year
Dedicated time away from the day-to-day. Long enough to properly work through a challenge, frequent enough to follow each other's progress.
A cohort that gets where you are
Similar revenue stage, no direct competitors. You bring your toughest challenges, and help others navigate theirs. Places are not guaranteed.
Led by people who've been there
Every session is guided by an expert Boardwave Moderator: former operators and executive coaches who get a room past small talk and into the real problem.
Real challenges, not theory
No fixed curriculum. Each session is shaped by what the group is facing that quarter: product-market fit, sales scaling, board dynamics, hiring, personal challenges and more.
Built for the people carrying the whole thing
Every Breakout is curated by hand, so we're honest about who it suits. If you recognise yourself below, register and we'll find your group.
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A Breakout is for you if
You're the CEO or a Founder of a tech or AI company, and the final call sits with you.
Your company is between €1M and €100M+ ARR. Groups are matched by stage, so you'll sit with peers facing the same decisions.
You're based in Europe and can get to one of the eight cities for two to four in-person sessions a year.
You can commit to every session. Half a day, four times a year, in person. The group only works if the seats are filled.
You have something real to work through. A first outside board member, a sales team that isn't scaling, a co-founder relationship under strain, a decision you can't put on the agenda.
You'll give as much as you take. Breakouts are peer coaching. You bring your challenges, and help others navigate theirs.
It's probably not the right fit if
You're the CEO or a Founder of a tech or AI company, and the final call sits with you.
You're an investor, adviser or NED rather than the operator running the company. Our Mentoring and Connection Centre are built for you instead.
You're looking for a course. There's no curriculum. Each session is shaped by what the group is facing that quarter.
You can only join remotely or now and then. The trust in the room depends on everyone turning up, in person.
Not a Boardwave member yet? Membership is free too. Register anyway and we'll walk you through both.
What members say once they're in the room
Breakout alumni include more than 300 CEOs and founders from across Europe, from fast-growing startups to scale-ups preparing for exit, spanning fintech, healthtech, enterprise SaaS, developer tools and more.
Who's in the room
CEOs and founders of European tech and AI businesses, from €1M to €100M+ ARR, matched by stage.
Guided by people who've sat in your seat
Former operators and executive coaches who create the conditions for candour, so leaders can truly hear themselves think and learn from one another. Each Breakout takes on its own culture from the group and the Moderator in the room.
Mark Farrer-Brown
Katie Ireland
Marie-Pierre Rogers
William Alexander
Sara Thomas
The Breakout programme was conceived and developed in partnership with Esther Kerstholt, an executive coach and consultant on board dynamics and leadership, with more than 20 years' experience supporting CEOs, founders and senior leaders. Esther co-built the leadership boutique Aberkyn, now part of McKinsey & Company with 350 leadership facilitators and coaches worldwide, and is a Patron of Boardwave. We are deeply grateful to Esther and to the other coaches who have supported this programme to date.
Built for likeminded CEOs
When you're the CEO, it can be hard to find people who really understand the world you're operating in. Not just the highs and the wins, but the messy realities of building and scaling a business.
The Breakout Programme gives you a trusted circle of peers who understand because they're living it too. CEOs and founders at a similar stage, with different perspectives, experiences and ways of seeing the world. A place to step back, think differently and get an outside perspective from people who have no agenda other than helping each other move forward. And, over time, a group of people you know you can turn to when you need them.
Free to join, made possible by Boardwave's Partners and Moderators.
The busier you are, the more you probably need this
When the pace of change is this fast, it is crucial for leaders to make space for thinking well, in relationship with others, free from distractions.
Like many CEOs and founders, you may feel that you can't take time out for this type of leadership development when your business is moving so quickly. That may be a signal that it is exactly what you need.
The founder who's just hired their first outside board member. The CEO three years in, feeling a co-founder relationship strain under the business. Different problems, same instinct: you can't say this out loud at your own company. Breakouts are where you can.