For founders · Led by Alkesh Agarwal · Hosted at Invana
Three days away from the business.
Not to escape it. To see it better.
Next Big Leap is a three-day retreat for founders who run established businesses. You spend it on reflection, working sessions and honest conversation with 24 other founders. You also spend it on early mornings in the hills of North Bengal. You go home clearer about the decisions in front of you and what comes next.
- Next edition
- 16 to 18 Dec 2026
- Days
- Wed, Thu, Fri
- Cohort
- 22 founders
- Length
- 3 days, 2 nights
- Where
- Invana, Siliguri
- Nearest airport
- Bagdogra · 40 min
Why founders come
The things founders rarely get enough distance to see.
You can't see these from inside the week. Three days away gives you the distance.
- 01The relationship that needs a conversation.
- 02The decision you have thought about many times but still haven't acted on.
- 03The problem the organisation has learnt to work around instead of solving.
- 04The change you can already see coming but may not be preparing for.
- 05Whether your key people agree on where the business is headed.
- 06Whether you have enough people who can think, own and solve without waiting for you.
Before you apply
What this is not.
Not a holiday.
You will work hard on yourself and your business.
Not a pitching forum.
Nobody sells anything to anyone.
Not a conference.
22 founders, one room, first names.
Not a set of ready answers.
You leave with your own answers, worked out in the room.
The approach
Look back. Look straight. Look forward.
The story that shaped you.
The retreat opens with your own story, not your business plan.
What needs you today.
The business, the people and the decisions you have been putting off.
What comes next.
What the next chapter will ask of you, and what you will do about it on Monday.
The three days
Three days. Reflect. Realign. Rise.
Every day follows the same rhythm. What follows is indicative. Timings are shared on arrival.
Reflect
You arrive by mid-morning and settle in. The first session starts with your own story. You map the life and the choices that brought you here. Founders often call this the part that stays with them longest. In the evening there is a guided meditation, then dinner together.
Realign
You're up at 5:30 and out into the hills before the day starts. You're back on campus for breakfast. Then come the working sessions: real questions about your business, your people and the decisions you have been carrying. The evening closes with sound healing.
Rise
An early walk in the forest, then back for the final working session. The retreat closes with the Founder Circle, where each founder says out loud what they are taking home and what they will do first. You're done by mid-afternoon, with drops to Bagdogra airport.
The hill morning is a sunrise walk through the tea gardens or a cold-water dip at Shivkhola. The hike is an easy to moderate walk of about 3.4 km. Mornings are cold, so bring warm layers.
Inside the room
Inside the room.
- Your story
- You look back at the life you have built. You see where you have come from and what you have already overcome. It changes how you look at what's next.
- Working sessions
- Structured sessions on the business itself: direction, structure, alignment, people and the decisions you have been postponing. Expect hard questions and exercises that show you your blind spots.
- Founder conversations
- You don't just listen to the others. You hear what they are going through, and it becomes useful to you. One founder's story often turns out to be another's mirror.
- Founder Circle
- The close. Each founder commits out loud to what they will act on first.
Outside the room
Outside the room.
- Mornings in the hills
- Two early starts in the hills around Siliguri. The walk does its own work. Some of the best conversations of the retreat happen on the trail.
- Meditation and sound healing
- Guided evening practices led by Invana's practitioners. Most founders have never tried sound healing. Many single it out afterwards.
- The food
- Every meal is cooked on campus. Vegetarian, Jain and other dietary needs are planned for before you arrive.
- The stay
- You stay at Invana. It has twelve rooms, all built for proper sleep, inside the Inspiria Knowledge Campus.
- Your phone
- You keep it. We only ask you to set it aside during sessions and practices.
What founders said · September 2026
“The past few days weren't just a retreat. They were a hard reset.”
Abhay Goel · Urvashi Steel Industries
“Being here I realised that I lacked the vision to grow. I was facing a lot of challenges of alignment and decision making. After three days here I can go back and work out what it takes to resolve them.”
“Attended many scaling business workshops but this was completely different. It was so thoughtfully curated keeping in mind every aspect of learning.”
“Reached Kolkata carrying much more than luggage. A grateful heart, a clearer mind, beautiful memories and many meaningful learnings.”
“Coming from an unorganised business background, understanding what it really means to organise, and how to bring that discipline into our lives and business, was extremely valuable.”
“I came back with a list of thoughts, a few questions, some new perspectives and a very full heart.”
“The last three days will change the direction for the future.”
What starts after you go back matters more.
In the weeks after September, founders wrote in.
Had the conversation with my brother on the alignment of vision yesterday. Healthy conversation.
A conversation that had been waiting.
Also I have started thinking of 3X from here and started planning.
The horizon got bigger.
The 3 days at the retreat… woken me from a slumber. Goal setting, planning and most of all start execution ASAP.
Woken from a slumber.
Who leads it
Who leads it.
[Bio from Alkesh, 60 to 80 words, plus a portrait]
Founder, Inspiria Knowledge Campus and Invana. Atul built Inspiria and Invana, and runs APPSeCONNECT. He hosts every edition and joins the conversations as a founder, not as a speaker.
Who it is for
Who it is for.
Founders and owners of established businesses. Growth has slowed, or the next stage needs something different from you.
Founders carrying a decision they have put off for too long.
Founders who want to think in a room of peers who understand the weight of running a company.
Every cohort is curated. We keep it to 22 so the room stays honest and everyone is heard.
The September 2026 cohort brought together 22 founders from steel, manufacturing, jewellery, edible oils, furniture, design and financial services.
Editions
Editions.
Practical
The details.
- Dates
- Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 December 2026
- Length
- 3 days, 2 nights
- Cohort
- 22 founders
- Fee
- ₹60,000 plus GST per person
- Includes
- Your room, all meals, airport transfers, all sessions, practices and hill mornings
- Where
- Invana, Inspiria Knowledge Campus, Siliguri, West Bengal
- Getting here
- Fly into Bagdogra (IXB). We collect you and drop you back.
- Fitness
- Easy to moderate walking. Covered, broken-in shoes and warm layers.
Frequently asked
The questions founders ask.
16 to 18 December 2026
Same founder. Clearer view.
Sometimes distance changes what you are able to see.
Or message @invanaindia on Instagram, or write to [email protected]
Reflect · Realign · Rise
Next Big Leap is a programme by Alkesh Agarwal, hosted at Invana, Inspiria Knowledge Campus, Siliguri.