A 7-week immersive experience where ambitous professionals transform their relationship with achievement and uncover their next evolution

Journey Inward and Forward, Together

Applications for our Spring ‘25 Decelerator are now open!

Our Transformational Promise

We help ambitious professionals recalibrate their inner compass to create a relationship with work that feels intentional, authentic, and energizing.

Decelerate with Intention

In a world that rewards relentless momentum—particularly for high achievers conditioned to equate stillness with stagnation—Downshift becomes your compass. We craft intentional spaces where professional reinvention meets purposeful pause, helping you navigate transitions with strategic clarity and renewed authenticity.

Where You Might Find Yourself Now

Perhaps you are:

  • Navigating quiet exhaustion, where even accomplishments feel weightless

  • Sensing the tools that built your success now limit your evolution

  • Longing to contribute from your core values rather than conditioned habits

Curated for leaders who’ve mastered achievement but hunger for alignment, our community includes:

  • Founders emerging from the intensity of creation, ready to build with deeper resonance

  • Executives redefining legacy beyond corner offices and accolades

  • Creators tapping into fresh wells of inspiration through deliberate reflection

  • Investors aligning capital with conscious impact that transcends returns

Our Curated Community & Approach

We integrate proven frameworks and ancestral wisdom to help you release outdated patterns, reconnect with your inner compass, and rebuild confidence in your next chapter.

This journey unfolds within a curated cohort of just 20 peers—a container where belonging becomes momentum. Unlike conventional networks, we foster professional kinship that transforms isolation into insight, meeting you precisely where conventional paths feel misaligned.

Upcoming Events

  • Alumni Panel #1

    February 10th 12:00-1:00pm EST

    Join the Spring '24 alumni who have charted their own course of intentional transition. Learn about their Decelerator experience and their journey to find new meaning and ambition in their next season of life.

    RSVP

  • Meet the Downshift Team

    February 14th 2:00-3:00pm EST

    Meet the guides who understand both professional mastery and personal evolution. Connect with our team and explore how we create space for your next chapter to emerge and insights into the Decelerator experience.

    RSVP

  • Alumni Panel #2

    February 21st 2:00-3:00PM

    Connect with Fall '24 alumni who transformed their relationship with achievement through Downshift. It’s another opportunity to hear authentic stories of how ambitious professionals uncovered their next evolution.

    RSVP

Britt Gage, Fall ‘24

“Downshift was a personal and professionally transformative experience for me, especially at the retreat. The connections that I made and the structure of the program that supported those connections helped me really make progress and learn to expertly manage uncertainty and change.”

Nate Aune, Spring ‘24

“Downshift arrived at just the right moment after I exited the company I spent over a decade building. The program gave me the space and guidance to pause, reflect, and realign my path during a time of deep transition. I learned to slow down and truly embrace the liminal space.”

Faith McCoy Scriven, Spring ‘24

Downshift has positively evolved my perspective on work, achievement, and life. I now prioritize my well-being and alignment with my values over merely achieving goals.”

Rachel Ford, Spring ‘24

“I am finding that I am way more capable of accessing my intuition and tapping into feeling what is right. This has not only been helpful in my day-to-day commitments and how I'm spending my time, but is also proving to be very helpful as I evaluate what comes next.”

Our Program

Through thoughtfully curated experiences, we create space for your next chapter to emerge through community, reflection, and intentional practices.

4-Day Kick-Off Retreat
Your journey begins in the Hudson Valley, where nature's rhythms guide us through rituals, deep dialogue, and intentional practices that awaken new possibilities.

Individualized Work
Carefully selected readings, reflections, and practices that invite you to explore the intersection of your professional mastery and personal truth.

Weekly Workshops
2-hour virtual sessions each Tuesday at 1pm ET where wisdom meets practice. Together we explore the territory of transformation through guided inquiry, somatic work, and shared learning.

Closing Ceremony & Ritual
A day-long virtual gathering to honor our journey, crystallize insights, and step intentionally into your next chapter with clarity and purpose.

Weekly Pod Meetings
1.5-hour virtual gatherings each Thursday at 1pm ET in intimate pods. A dedicated space to integrate insights, share emerging wisdom, and witness each other's evolution.

1:1 Coaching
Optional four sessions with guides who understand both professional excellence and personal evolution, supporting your unique path of transformation.

Jonathan Murray, Fall ‘24

“A key breakthrough came when I realized that transitions don't require a perfectly mapped-out plan—they require alignment with values, an appetite for experimentation, a reframing of 'failing' as learning, and trust in myself and the process.”

Astrid Scholz, Fall ‘24

“I have been recommending Downshift to other founders and leaders who could benefit from its unique blend of coaching, meditation, and bodywork facilitated by a team that’s been there, done that in the corporate and startup world”

Igor Sereda, Spring ‘24

“Downshift influenced my trajectory and my transition in a major way. I’m still working on piecing everything together, but I’m certain that a few years later, when I look back, I would call Downshift an inflection point on my lifeline.”

Lola Wajskop, Spring ‘24

“As a society, we've created rituals around important moments of transition: getting married, having a child, moving to a new home. However, we haven't created rituals around professional transitions. Until Downshift.”

4-day kick-off at Menla retreat center and spa

Menla is a 330-acre private nature reserve. Sitting at the head of a breathtaking glacial valley, it’s one of the most beautiful parts of the Catskills in upstate New York.

A sanctuary to slow down, connect, and reflect

  • Nature immersion

  • Breathwork ceremony spaces

  • Nearby wildlife

  • Healthy prepared meals

  • Quiet contemplation

  • Bonfire ceremonies

  • Tranquil setting

  • Zen-rustic accommodations

Here are the topics we’ll be covering during the program:

  • Endings & Death: Develop a wiser relationship with life's completions, learning to recognize and honor when chapters of your life are naturally concluding.

  • Lostness & Uncertainty: Transform periods of "not knowing" from something to fear into a profound source of insight, creativity, and renewal.

  • Embodied Presence: Develop a deeper connection with your body's wisdom, moving from perpetual doing into a more grounded state of being.

  • Productivity & Busyness: Explore your relationship with time and activity, shifting from compulsive doing to intentional, meaningful engagement.

  • Ambition & Achievement: Discover what genuine success means for you beyond inherited definitions and external metrics of accomplishment.

  • Money & Security: Explore how your beliefs about security and resources influence your choices, fears, and sense of possibility.

  • Core Values: Distinguish your authentic principles from those absorbed through professional culture and other external influences.

  • Zone of Genius: Discover where your natural abilities, accumulated wisdom, and genuine interests converge to create unique value.

  • Possible Selves & Experimentation: Create space to imagine and experiment with different versions of your future, embracing an attitude of playful curiosity.

Your Facilitation Team

  • Steve Schlafman

    Founder & Coach

  • Tracy Lawrence

    Coach & Facilitator

  • David Spinks

    Coach & Facilitator

  • Matt Yao

    Coach & Operations

Join Our Community

Our vibrant community brings together accomplished professionals with diverse backgrounds, including founders, investors, and tech leaders, who sense they're ready for something more meaningful. This thoughtful gathering of experience and wisdom creates a transformative space where each person can discover their next season of impact and purpose.

Anne Lebleu, Spring ‘24

“Downshift not only provided the time but also the space to reflect on my deepest desires and to learn from others’ experiences. Being able to brainstorm, share personal stories, and connect with other likeminded individuals, I began to open up to many more career possibilities than I ever anticipated.”

Riggs Kubiak, Spring ‘24

“After weeks of deep reflection on who I am, what truly matters, and what drives me, I emerged with a simple view of my future self without the noise that I was carrying in my mind about what others thought I should do next.”

Bryan McDonald, Spring ‘24

"Downshift asked the piercing question: Who are you when you're not producing? They guided my successful transition and helped me align my values, desires, and emotions in a way that changed my life."

Charles Chin, Fall ‘24

"Participating in Downshift helped me understand the different phases of transition, and it helped me look at things that I was not aware of, that were holding me back, preventing me from becoming the next version of myself. More importantly, I learned about enjoying the process and also embracing the discomfort that comes from transitions."

Financial Investment

Core Experience: $6,500

  • Your investment includes the transformative 4-day Hudson Valley retreat experience with accommodations, 6 weeks of facilitator-led virtual workshops, intimate pod discussions, personalized learning materials, and ongoing access to our vibrant alumni community of purpose-driven professionals.

  • Payable upfront or in 4 installments throughout the program.

    An early bird discount of $500 will be available until the end of the day on February 14th.

Scholarship

At Downshift, we’re committed to making our program accessible to those seeking support during pivotal transitions. We offer scholarships to ensure that anyone who feels called to this journey and is a good fit for the cohort can participate—regardless of financial constraints. We're also willing to work alongside you to find a payment solution that makes your participation possible.

 FAQs

  • Downshift is the first decelerator, designed to help professionals slow down, reflect, and realign with their deeper values and desires. Unlike accelerators that focus on rapid growth and scaling, decelerators emphasize introspection, self-discovery, and intentional living to foster personal and professional transformation. Slowing down doesn’t mean stopping indefinitely, giving up your ambition or losing out on opportunities. Downshift is designed to help you take a pause to gain clarity and realign your life.

  • Downshift is unique because it brings together high performers in transition, consciously opting to slow down instead of remaining in high gear. We provide a blend of in-person retreats, personalized coaching, educational content, group discussion, practical exercises, and community support. Our comprehensive approach, developed from coaching countless high performers in transition, years of study, and personal experience, specifically addresses the intricate challenges of navigating work-life transitions for individuals facing significant questions about their career, life, and selfhood.

  • The kick-off retreat will take place at Menla Retreat in the Hudson Valley. Our carefully selected location offers the ideal blend of comfort and serenity, setting the stage for our time together. The retreat is not just a getaway but a foundational step in our program —designed to establish our community container, introduce Downshift fundamentals, assist in setting intentions, and provide a space to release anything that needs to be let go. Attendees can look forward to nourishing meals made from fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and a carefully curated mix of group activities, personal reflection, meditation, and opportunities for solo connection with nature. All retreat expenses are included in the tuition, aside from transportation to the retreat location. We are eager to share this enriching experience with you.

  • Downshift primarily accommodates participants from North America and Europe based on programming times. However, we welcome participants from all over the world, provided they commit to full participation in the programming, including the in-person retreat. Virtual gatherings, workshops, and Q&A sessions are scheduled to maximize engagement, with specific timings provided for planning. These typically take place at 1pm EST.

  • Absolutely. While Downshift welcomes professionals from these fields, the program is beneficial for any high performer seeking meaningful change and alignment with their deeper values, regardless of their industry background.

  • The time commitment is 6 hours per week, though those who feel called may choose to engage more deeply with the practices, materials, and exercises. This is a highly involved program that requires full participation in all sessions, deep work between them, and active engagement with your cohort. Your commitment to fully immerse yourself in this experience is key to gaining the most from the journey.

  • The ideal Downshifter is someone ready to embrace change, with the ability to fully commit at least 6 hours a week to fully engage with our program. You are keen on self-exploration, willing to examine your behaviors, habits, and thought patterns, and open to integrating daily practices like journaling or meditation into your routine. A strong sense of community is important; we look for individuals eager to both contribute to and learn from our supportive group environment. Additionally, an innate curiosity about yourself, your life, and the broader world, combined with a genuine empathy for others, are essential. This combination of qualities ensures a meaningful and enriching experience with Downshift, fostering both personal growth and deep connections within our community.

  • While Downshift is designed for drivne professionals in transition, it also benefits anyone feeling stuck, questioning their life trajectory, experiencing burnout, seeking more alignment and intentionality, or longing for a deeper connection to their work and life. Every participant in our first two cohorts were either ending a chapter or navigating a liminal space. If you're contemplating significant changes or seeking clarity and purpose, Downshift can provide valuable perspectives, insights, and tools.

  • Participants are encouraged to carefully consider their commitment prior to applying due to the transformative and intensive nature of Downshift. If you decide to leave the program or are asked to leave for any reason, we will work with you to find a solution that suits both you and Downshift.