For every startup closing a round of investment or securing a key partnership, a lot is happening behind the scenes. While deals and targets ultimately move the needle, much of the real growth is happening internally. Founders aren’t just building businesses—they’re also developing their mindsets and fostering resilience so they can go the distance. Supporting founders through that internal growth is exactly what one London-based mastermind community is doing.
Founded in January 2025 by David Seinker and Joe Salmon, Game Changers combines business growth support with mental health-focused programming. Whereas the majority of founder communities focus solely on “outer game” activities—things like networking events, executive coaching and lead or partnership facilitation—Game Changers tackles the “inner game” as well.
From wellness practices like breathwork and guided visualizations to year-end retreats and cold plunge sessions, Game Changers offers members all the tools they need to shift limiting beliefs and achieve sustained growth.
Creating Community
Through a mix of in-person and virtual gatherings, Game Changers creates a supportive environment where entrepreneurs can relate to—and even commiserate with—other founders, rather than feeling alone on their own journeys. And by learning from others’ successes and failures, they can get curious about what may be possible for their own businesses.
Before co-founding Game Changers, Seinker had been part of a global business community with thousands of entrepreneurs. But that group had rigid rules and a strict prohibition on collaboration, and Seinker simply never got the breakthroughs he was looking for in his personal and professional life.
“I had an idea then to start a similar type of community, but bring in coaches, mentors, like-minded business people to support each other, give advice and teach each other from their own journeys and experiences that they had been through,” says Seinker.
Integrating the Mind and Body
To be truly successful, Salmon believes founders should look to “embodied entrepreneurship,” or the practice of tapping into the body for better decision-making. Thoughts alone can only go so far, says Salmon. Real change happens when your mind and body are fully aligned.
“Your conscious mind can try and make something happen, but unless you embody it and feel that everywhere, often that change doesn’t happen,” says Salmon.
At Game Changers, this mind-body integration takes many forms. One of the more impactful practices involves guided visualisations that encourage members to step back into their inner child and confront limiting beliefs or fears that may have lingered for decades. By reconnecting with these parts of themselves, they can then step more fully into the future version of who they want to be.
“One of our members said what we do is therapy for people that don’t want a therapist,” says Salmon.
Building Resilience
When it comes to running a startup, many leaders struggle to remain steady under pressure. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who are just starting out or in the early stages and focused solely on getting new business, clients and winning deals.
“They don’t know what they don’t know,” says Seinker, adding that this often creates a kind of tunnel vision that makes it difficult to zoom out and problem-solve after setbacks.
This is where resilience comes in. Seinker believes resilience is an entrepreneur’s most valuable trait, and the best way to strengthen it is through repetition and immersion in a supportive environment. When a Game Changers member shows up consistently over time—whether to an expert-led mastermind or guided breathwork sessions—results follow, he says.
Learning to Let Go
For many founders scaling fast, giving up feels like failure—except, sometimes, loosening your grip actually gets you to the finish line more quickly.
“We’ve definitely observed it a lot, especially in that kind of scale period where the founders are holding on tight, there’s a lot of control, maybe micromanagement, and there’s like this bottleneck to growth,” says Salmon.
Although pausing might feel like a step backward, Salmon believes it often leads to increased clarity on the best next step forward—whether that’s a key hire, a new offering or a full pivot. Momentum requires a whole lot of energy, and conserving that energy by focusing on top priorities is what drives sustainable growth, he says.
“Inner Game” Tools and Techniques to Drive Change
Founders who consistently invest in mindset and mental resilience often feel shifts in how they think, move and make decisions for their companies. Here are some of the “inner game” techniques Seinker and Salmon encourage their members to practice.
Breath of Fire: This rapid breathing technique can help calm the nervous system, reduce stress and boost energy.
Cold plunges: While not for the faint of heart, cold plunges can help enhance mental clarity, build resilience and reduce cortisol.
Guided visualizations: In a relaxed and safe space, guided visualizations can promote cognitive reframing around self-identity and rewire limiting beliefs for a more positive world view.
Peer masterminds: Whether in-person or virtual, small group masterminds help keep founders accountable for their goals, while also creating a feeling of community and collective “wins.”
Featured image provided by David Seinker and Joe Salmon, Game Changers
