The Top 7 Business and Entrepreneur Retreats in 2022
For professionals and makers of all kinds, retreats are the most important way to catalyze change and supercharge progress. That’s all helped by adventuring into new places and being in a group.
These programs make sure that high performance entrepreneurs are meeting their peers and building off of one another. It also keeps people moving forward in their development, rather than becoming stagnant thanks to all the day-to-day tasks.
For all of these reasons and more, the business and entrepreneur retreat is on the rise. And with it, there are a lot of companies in the space offering their own spin on this idea.
With this huge wave, some are really good and some are not so helpful. That’s to be expected, but with the time commitment and cost that come with these, you want to know a retreat will be worth it before buying plane tickets.
So what’s going on in the business and entrepreneur retreat field? Who are the big players, and what do they offer that no one else does? Let’s take a look.
EO Annual Retreat
Cost: $2470 per year for membership plus accommodations
Types of Attendees: EO Members
Focus: Celebration
Entrepreneurs’ Organization (or EO) is one of the largest groups for self-starters, and their San Diego annual retreat is always a big event for their members. The retreat focuses on bringing together people for a hybrid experience of networking, professional development, and connectedness.
EO is a fairly exclusive group, requiring members to have started businesses that make over $1 million a year. That can bring the overall purpose of the group out of alignment with many people’s vision of success and development. Nevertheless, their understanding of the importance of retreats as a place to forge bonds and make memories shows why they are such a valuable resource for entrepreneurs.
EPX
Cost: Thousands per experience plus around $1,000 a year for membership
Types of Attendees: High Performance People
Focus: Adventure
EPX provides its members with group adventures that are aimed at getting people to rapidly develop. As a networking group, it strives to unite all kinds of thought leaders, athletes, and even former astronauts in energetic, exciting settings. That means a lot of travel, but also intense programming.
The obsession with rapid growth through their retreats is part of what makes the optimism at EPX so contagious. It’s a high RPM version of many other corporate retreats — but if you like that kind of thing, then it really works.
The Big Possible
Cost: $5,000
Types of Attendees: Creatives and Leaders
Focus: Community Building
Obviously, we were going to put our retreat on this list! What sets the Big Possible retreats apart from any other is the holistic view of building real connection between people. While professional development, amazing food, and stunning locale are all part of the package, the biggest impact in your life will always be the connections you make. And the curation process is all about real human connection.
That’s why these retreats take an in-depth approach to the alchemy of building groups. The end result is a diverse group of people in meaningful dialogue, pursuing our curiosity in a luxury setting where we are safe to explore and empowered to dream big.
Experience House
Cost: $7,000
Types of Attendees: Experience Designers
Focus: Professional Development
Experience House sets itself apart by focusing on entrepreneurs who bring other people experiences, rather than material things. That makes its appeal much more narrow, but it also means the connections and idea sharing are much more potent. As the attendees are all community builders and experience designers, this kind of immersive adventure is the perfect way to learn about their art.
Each retreat has a roster of 30 members, and they stay for 30 days, making it a particularly large entrepreneur retreat — both in number of people and time. The success they’ve had navigating that scale comes down to great locations and famous attention to detail.
Paragon by Modern Adventure
Cost: $65,000
Types of Attendees: Elite
Focus: Epicureanism
Paragon is an interesting oddity. It isn’t explicitly for networking with interesting and high achieving people — but with a $65,000 price tag, one can imagine there will be some business savvy in the crowd! (For a less pricey retreat, Modern Adventure has plenty outside the Paragon label.)
Each retreat is curated by a specific designer who blends food, culture, accommodations, and wellness into a single package. The result is community building and expanded horizons, always with a focus on the positive side of human life. The massive price tag reflects the stellar level of experience you’ll have, but it’s important to remember — money isn’t everything with retreats.
Hatch Tribe
Cost: $1,500 (plus accommodations)
Types of Attendees: Women Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
Focus: Empowerment
Hatch Tribe is part of a growing wave of women-only entrepreneur networks. This gives women a chance to grow their connections and thrive in curated retreats. It strives to take a much more balanced approach to membership than some of the other options out there, with plenty of solopreneurs and start-up mavens alongside more established achievers.
Being women-only, it is not for everyone by design. But it serves a need that up until now has largely been left unmet. And the Hatch Tribe retreats go well beyond professional development, making sure to pack in plenty of enriching experiences of all kinds.
Summit Series
Cost: $3,000 to $5,500
Types of Attendees: High Achievers
Focus: Learning
The Summit Series is a highly curated group of makers and doers from around the world. The membership is made up of academics, scientists, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. It’s all kinds of people who are making big contributions and want to link up with like-minded people. The selection process ensures that the attendees are truly qualified while also being in line with the greater set of principles.
Their retreats include visits to a Utah ski resort, a Palm Springs getaway, and a massive cruise. All of these strive to program in a mixture of health and wellness, new thinking, and professional development — and, of course, some fun.
