Bessemer Venture Partners launches STRIVE: A holistic wellness program for high-performance leadership

There’s no disputing that scaling a company is challenging. For founders, it can come with intense pressure and is often at the expense of personal health and wellness. At Bessemer, we recognize that a CEO’s well-being directly influences business outcomes and company culture, which is why we are unveiling STRIVE, a holistic wellness program to support entrepreneurs, CEOs, and founders in achieving high-performance leadership. Developed with the elite coaching company, Exos, STRIVE empowers leaders to enhance both personal well-being and professional success.

We built STRIVE around six fundamental pillars—Sleep, Training, Regimen, Intake, Vision, and Emotional Health—that together form the foundation of a game plan customized for the goals and challenges CEOs face. The STRIVE program offers expert insights, research-based practices, community forums, one-to-one coaching, tailored wellness plans, and personalized guidance across these key areas, drawing from Exos’ extensive experience working with elite athletes and Fortune 500 executives. We’ve also brought on our first STRIVE-focused Operating Advisor—NFL athlete Arik Armstead—to advise and motivate Bessemer founders with best practices for peak performance, wellness, and operating with an athlete’s mindset.

"Building a business is the ultimate endurance sport." 

“We are constantly reminded of how essential personal health and wellness is for operators to achieve a state of peak performance. Unfortunately, not nearly enough is said or done about this in our industry,” said Byron Deeter, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “As a former entrepreneur, I experienced firsthand the physical and emotional toll it takes, and now as a VC, I see it from a different lens. We built STRIVE to offer a holistic approach that not only improves health, but also boosts decision-making, resilience, teamwork, and ultimately, overall company performance.”

“Building a business is the ultimate endurance sport,” said Elliott Robinson, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “STRIVE is more than just a program; it is a platform that deepens Bessemer's commitment to the leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and broadens our ability to support founders at every stage of their growth.”

Addressing the challenges of modern leadership

The pressures of running a high-growth startup have undoubtedly put mounting stress on today’s operators and leaders. In the spring of 2024, we conducted a comprehensive survey of our portfolio founders and CEOs on the state of founder wellness.

• 70% of participating CEOs reported struggling with anxiety, sleeplessness, and burnout with many contemplating stepping down due to the intense pressures of their roles;
• 57% of executives tell us they are doing 60-80 hour work weeks and a majority of CEOs work on weekends;
• 70% do not currently engage with a coach or therapist for support, despite these challenges.

Insights from the survey gave us further conviction to build STRIVE and provide entrepreneurs with the content, coaching, and community to address their personal goals and integrate sustainable, consistent habits that support their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing as they lead and serve their growing companies.

“The demands of leadership today are similar to those faced by high-performance athletes,” said Amanda Carlson-Phillips, chief performance innovation officer at Exos. “Leaders are expected to perform at their best under immense stress, and just like athletes, they need tailored strategies to reach peak performance and recover effectively. Our partnership with Bessemer and the development of STRIVE provides the tools and insights to make that possible for today’s founders.”

Get started with STRIVE

For CEOs, founders, and operators ready to take their performance to the next level, we’ve opened access to select resources on how to put STRIVE into play.

To get started with STRIVE, learn more at bvp.com/strive.