Investment Opportunity · 2026

The wellbeing
infrastructure
Europe needs.

Building the first pan-European network of founder & team wellbeing hubs — starting in Lisbon.

SAFE · €50,000 · €1M post-money cap
pausa.pt  ·  yaro@pausa.pt
🌿
Melides · Portugal
"72 hours off-grid changes how a founder thinks for months."
The Problem

Founders build companies.
Who builds the founders?

VC funds invest in team quality, product-market fit, and runway. Almost none invest in the physical, emotional, mental, and purpose & values capacity of the founders deploying that capital — four dimensions that directly determine whether the company succeeds or fails. An unpriced risk with measurable portfolio consequences.

54%
of VC-backed founders burned out in the past 12 months
83% high stress 75% anxiety 6% no issues
Sifted · 138 VC-backed founders, 2025
82%
of founders actively hide mental health struggles from investors
88% say stress degrades decisions
Balderton Capital · 230 European founders
71%
of European VC funds offer nothing structured for founder wellbeing
3% have a formal programme £4.70 ROI per £1 invested
Sifted VC Survey 2025 · Deloitte 26-study meta-analysis
"

The current lack of investment in founder wellbeing could directly damage the chances for companies to succeed. — Suranga Chandratillake, Partner, Balderton Capital

The Solution

Pausa — a movement, not a product.

Four interlocking programs — each one builds the trust and readiness for the next. The journey goes deeper with every step.

Entry · Quarterly
Pausa Open
  • ·Introduce founders & leaders to Pausa framework offline
  • ·DOMA Portugal · up to 50 leaders · near Lisbon
  • ·Non-profit · entry ticket covers operational costs
  • ·Next: July 2–3, 2026
→
Team · 6 weeks
Pausa Sprint
  • ·6-week wellbeing program for leadership teams
  • ·4-dimension energy diagnostics (physical, emotional, mental, purpose)
  • ·Habit design · somatic practices · purpose alignment
  • ·Pilot live with UFL · €750 / person
→
Core · Q4 2026
Pausa Reset
  • ·3-day off-grid digital detox · Melides · up to 6 founders
  • ·Biomarker diagnostics at partnered lab
  • ·No phones · breathwork · somatic · purpose clarity
  • ·€2,500 / person (beta, all-inclusive)
→
Integration · 3 months
Pausa Circle
  • ·Peer accountability circles of 8–15 (Dunbar)
  • ·Habit integration via BJ Fogg method
  • ·The forest transformation continues in daily life
  • ·Bundled with Reset · recurring revenue

"The deeper you go, the more transformative. Open creates the first contact. Sprint proves the value with the team. Reset delivers the breakthrough. Circle keeps it alive. Each step earns the next."

Traction

The foundation is set. The pipeline is active.

⚙️
Infrastructure & framework — complete

4-dimension methodology designed and tested. Venue partnerships confirmed: DOMA Portugal (Open, 50 leaders) + Melides (Reset, 6 founders). Research paper published March 2026. LinkedIn brand active.

🌿
Pausa Sprint — live with UFL team

First 6-week Pausa Sprint pilot currently live with the leadership team at Unicorn Factory Lisboa — Pausa's incubator. Real program, real people, real data being collected for validation and testimonials.

🏛
Casa do Impacto — 3 founders confirmed

3 founders from the Casa do Impacto ecosystem have confirmed participation in Pausa. Social Innovation Hub, Lisbon. Community alignment confirmed — Pausa is already embedded in the ecosystem fabric.

🤝
VC fund pipeline — active phase

Portuguese and Iberian VC funds in active dialogue about bringing Pausa Sprint to their portfolio leadership teams. VC funds are the primary B2B distribution channel for Pausa Reset — these are the future partnerships.

📅
Pausa Open — July 2–3, 2026 · Confirmed

First Pausa Open is live. Held at DOMA Portugal, Serra de Sintra. Up to 50 founders and leaders from the Lisbon ecosystem. Entry ticket covers operational costs. This is the public proof-of-concept for the community and the model — happening now.

"

Founder wellbeing is not a welfare concern. It is a portfolio risk variable — and an unpriced one.

— Pausa Founder Wellbeing Research Paper, March 2026  ·  Citing: Balderton, Sifted, Oxford, Deloitte

Market Opportunity

Lisbon First.
Europe Next.

Portugal is the ideal entry point: a fast-growing startup hub with record founder burnout and no structured wellbeing infrastructure in sight.

54%
of VC-backed founders experienced burnout in the past 12 months. 83% report high stress. 75% anxiety. Only 6% no issues. (Sifted, 138 VC-backed founders, 2025)
650+
VC-funded startups in Portugal, with Lisbon ranked top-10 European startup hub. Primary Pausa addressable market.
88%
of founders confirm chronic stress directly degrades their decision-making — the core investor risk Pausa mitigates. (Balderton, 230 European founders)
3%
of European VC funds have a formal wellbeing programme. 71% offer nothing. The infrastructure gap is wide open. (Sifted VC Survey 2025)
TAM · SAM · SOM in Euro · €10K revenue / founder / year
€1B+
TAM · 100,000+ VC-backed founders in Europe × €10,000 annual revenue = €1B+ addressable market (Dealroom, 2024)
€65M+
SAM · 6,500+ VC-backed founders in Portugal & Iberia × €10,000 = €65M+ serviceable market. Pausa's near-term geography.
€6.5M
SOM · 650+ funded founders in Lisbon ecosystem × €10,000 = €6.5M initial beachhead. Year 1–2 target market.
£4.70 ROI · +18% equity outperformance
Per £1 invested in founder wellbeing (Deloitte). Wellbeing-indexed companies outperform S&P 500 by 18% over 26 months (Oxford, 2024). The investment case is peer-reviewed.
Business Model

Two revenue products. One community engine.

🌲
Pausa Reset — Core Product
  • 3-day digital detox at Melides retreat — off-grid, no phones
  • Intimate cohorts of up to 6 founders in nature
  • Includes: biomarker diagnostics at partnered lab
  • Includes: breathwork, somatic practices, purpose clarity
  • Includes: 3-month Pausa Circle membership post-retreat
€2,500 / person (beta rate)  ·  all-inclusive
🔄
Pausa Circle (Bundled)
  • 3-month peer-led integration community post-Reset
  • Accountability circles of 8–15 (Dunbar's depth layer)
  • Tiny habit formation via BJ Fogg behaviour design
  • Grounded in McMillan & Chavis belonging science
  • Bundled with Reset or as standalone cohort renewal
Bundled with Reset  ·  recurring cohort renewal
🏃
Pausa Sprint — Team Product
  • 6-week wellbeing program for leadership teams
  • Energy diagnostics, habit design, somatic practices
  • Purpose alignment and sustainable performance systems
  • VC funds sponsor their portfolio leadership teams
  • Pilot: Unicorn Factory Lisboa · 3 VC funds in dialogue
€750 / person (pilot)  ·  B2B team channel
📐
Unit Economics
  • Reset: 6 founders × €2,500 = €15,000 / cohort
  • Target: 2 Reset cohorts / month = €30,000 MRR
  • Sprint: €750/person × team of 6 = €4,500 / team
  • Market context: comparable executive retreats €3,000–5,000/person — Pausa beta rate is conservative
  • Post-beta target: €3,500–4,500 / Reset participant
Reset beta €2,500 · Market rate €3,500–4,500 · Upside confirmed
🎯

First Pausa Reset: Q4 2026 · Melides · 6 founders · €2,500 all-in (beta). Includes biomarker lab diagnostics, 3-day off-grid nature immersion, and 3-month Pausa Circle. Sprint pilot running now at €750/person. Executive wellness market comps run €3,000–5,000/person — Pausa's beta rate is strategically conservative. VC funds sponsor their founders. Pausa earns per seat, not per retainer.

At a Glance

What Pausa is, who it's for, and how it works.

Who it's for
Founders & operators

VC-backed founders, startup CEOs, and high-performance operators. Anyone building something that matters and feeling the invisible cost of it. Primary market: Lisbon professionals, 28–42, €45K+ income.

The core product
Reset + Circle
Pausa Open — Quarterly, free, community funnel
Pausa Sprint — 6-week program for leadership teams, €750/person
Pausa Reset — 3-day digital detox, €2,500/person (beta)
Pausa Circle — 3-month integration, bundled
How we reach them
Trust, not ads

Open builds community trust. Sprint builds testimonials. VC funds sponsor portfolio founders into Reset. Word of mouth from people who did the 3 days. Pull, not push — the product sells itself through results.

Pricing
Per seat, not retainer
Sprint — €750 / person (6 weeks, pilot)
Reset — €2,500 / person (beta, all-inclusive)
Circle — Bundled with Reset · 3 months
Post-beta — €3,500–4,500 / Reset participant
The team · Co-designers
Yaro
Yaro
Co-founder & CEO
Marco Moutinho
Marco Moutinho
Strategic Mentor & Co-designer
Wellbeing & Sports Director, JM
Zuzanna
Zuzanna
Facilitator & Co-designer
Organisational psychologist & Wellbeing Consultant
Steven
Steven
Facilitator & Co-designer
ICF-accredited Coach & Breathwork Facilitator and Cranio-sacral Therapist
Key partners
Ecosystem & venue allies

DOMA Portugal (Pausa Open venue, Serra de Sintra). Melides retreat (Pausa Reset venue, up to 6 founders). Unicorn Factory Lisboa (Sprint pilot & incubation). Casa do Impacto (community access). Portuguese and Iberian VC funds (distribution into portfolio).

Main costs
Lean by design

Founder living costs (primary). Per-Reset venue + facilitator fees. Community event costs. No office. No tech platform. Offline-first = low fixed cost structure.

Why it works
You can't describe it. You have to do it.

72 hours off-grid changes how a founder thinks for months. Circle keeps that change alive. Word of mouth is structurally built in. The results are personal, visible, and hard to ignore.

pausa.pt  ·  sprint.pausa.pt  ·  yaro@pausa.pt
Our Philosophy

Built to Last.
Not to Flip.

Steward Ownership
1
Mission-first governance

The company cannot be sold for extraction. Control remains with those who serve the mission — not those with the most capital.

2
Profits reinvested in purpose

Profit distributions are capped. Surplus flows back into Pausa's mission, community, and facilitator network.

3
Inspired by enduring companies

Patagonia, Bosch, Carl Zeiss, Mondragon — companies that outlasted their founders because their purpose was the product.

4
Evolving toward Purpose Foundation model

We are on a path to formal steward ownership structures as we scale — guided by the Purpose Foundation framework.

Teal Management

How we build the company
reflects what we teach.

Self-management

No hierarchy of control. Distributed authority, distributed accountability. People closest to the work make the calls.

Wholeness

Bring your full self to work — not a professional mask. This is the product. It cannot be authentic if we don't live it first.

Evolutionary purpose

The organisation listens to what wants to emerge — not just the founder's vision. Pausa adapts as its community evolves.

Based on Laloux's Reinventing Organizations

The same frameworks we explore in Sprint and Reset are operational principles here — making us practitioners, not preachers.

"The alignment this creates: our investors, our team, and our community all win when Pausa fulfils its purpose — not when someone exits it."

Expansion Roadmap

Validate first.
Then expand.

1 Now
2025–2026
Validation
Phase

Open quarterly · Sprint pilot running with UFL team · DOMA (Open) + Melides (Reset) secured · VC fund pipeline active · Research paper published · LinkedIn brand building · First Pausa Reset launching Q4 2026

2
End of 2027
Pausa Hub
Validated

Fully operational Pausa Hub in Lisbon · Reset running at scale · Circle program embedded · Team built for expansion · Unit economics proven

3
2028
Porto + Spain

Porto · Bilbao · Madrid · Barcelona · Reset + Circle replicated · Facilitator certification model → no dependency on Yaro's presence

4
2029+
European
Network

France · Netherlands · Germany · Pausa becomes the wellbeing standard for European startup ecosystems. A movement, not a company.

The expansion model: Each new city follows the same playbook — Open builds trust, Sprint validates the team format, Reset generates revenue, Circle creates recurring community. The model is designed to be facilitated and replicated without Yaro in every room.

Yaroslav Derevianko
Yaroslav
Derevianko
Co-founder · Pausa
The Founder

This is not Yaro's
first company.

Three companies built and wound down. One company scaled to €350K ARR, 45 people, 2 locations in 3 years. Now building the company that will outlast him.

€350K ARR · 45 team · 2 locations · 3 years

Previous company scaled from zero to meaningful revenue with a full team and multi-city presence — built without external capital.

3 additional companies — built & concluded

Each one taught a different lesson. Together they built the operational instinct, resilience, and self-awareness that Pausa is built on.

7+ years of personal practice

Meditation, psychotherapy, coaching, ceremonies, and sports as daily infrastructure — not wellness trends. Pausa is the integration of a lived path, not a curriculum.

Marco Moutinho — Strategic mentor, practitioner & co-designer

Wellbeing & Sports Director at Jerónimo Martins (one of Europe's largest retail groups). Co-designs Pausa's programs as strategic mentor and practitioner. His active senior role bridges corporate credibility with lived wellbeing practice — making Pausa's methodology credible to enterprise buyers and VC funds alike.

Based in Lisbon · Deeply ecosystem-embedded

Casa do Impacto, Unicorn Factory Lisboa, Lisbon startup community. Sprint pilot underway with UFL. VC fund dialogues active. Trust built over years — Pausa is a natural extension of how Yaro already shows up in the world.

The Investment Case

Why now. Why Pausa. Why you.

01
Category before it exists — and competitors confirm it

Balderton's WellFounded is individual-clinical. Cherry's Copilot is 1:1 coaching. AENU's retreats lack a behavioral framework. None operate in Iberia. None address team-level energy dynamics. None have built a post-experience community. Pausa is the category they can't reach.

02
Research-backed infrastructure, not wellness theatre

Pausa's research paper (March 2026) synthesises peer-reviewed studies on founder burnout and portfolio ROI. Methodology rooted in BJ Fogg (habit design), Laloux Teal (self-management), and somatic science. Ananda Impact Ventures has run a founder health clause since 2018 — the institutional precedent exists. Pausa delivers what they can't: team-level, offline, behaviorally designed.

03
Founder with operator DNA

€350K ARR, 45 people, 4 companies. The risk is not execution capacity — it's runway. This round solves that.

04
The founder IS the product

Pausa's most critical asset is Yaro. Financial anxiety degrades the capacity to build. This round is preventive mental health investment — applied to the founder himself.

05
Smart money, not just money

Seeking investors with wellness, healthcare, or Iberian ecosystem networks. VC funds like Balderton, Cherry, and Ananda have already proven willingness to fund founder wellbeing infrastructure — we want an investor who opens the doors capital alone cannot. Mission-aligned, steward-owned — not extractive.

SAFE Terms
Instrument Y Combinator SAFE
Amount €50,000
Valuation cap €1,000,000 post-money
Discount rate 20% on next priced round
MFN clause Included
Pro-rata rights Included
Implied ownership at cap ~5%
At €1M post-money cap, €50K converts to ~5% on next priced round. 20% discount protects further if next round values Pausa below €1.25M. MFN ensures best terms if additional SAFEs are issued.
The Ask
€50,000
SAFE · €1M post-money cap · 20% discount
~85%
Founder safety net — 18 months of focused execution without financial anxiety
~10%
Pausa Open venue, logistics & preparation works (July 2026 & onwards)
~5%
Ecosystem & community presence — events, partnerships, brand

Sprints delivered. Venue secured. Research published. VC pipeline active. The validation is real — what stands between now and the first Pausa Reset is runway. This round buys the time and stability to do this right. Pausa's own research shows founder financial anxiety directly degrades decision quality. This round is exactly what Pausa sells — applied to its own founder.

Yaroslav Derevianko  ·  Co-founder
✉ yaro@pausa.pt 🌐 pausa.pt 🏃 sprint.pausa.pt in /yaroslav-derevianko
Lisbon, Portugal  ·  Unicorn Factory Lisboa  ·  pausa.pt
Pausa · 2026