The Resilient Founders Lab

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Your Business Grows When You Do.

 

Behind every thriving business is a founder operating at their peak. The Resilient Founders Lab is a 3-month, individualized program that optimizes both your business and your body—because your capacity is your company's greatest asset.

This isn't another productivity course or generic business coaching. It's an integrated approach to performance that addresses what most programs miss: you can't separate the founder from the business. When your energy crashes at 2pm, your strategic decisions suffer. When business chaos prevents quality sleep, your leadership capacity diminishes. When stress compounds without recovery, everything breaks down.

We help you optimize the entire system—your business operations AND your physiological performance—so you can lead with clarity, sustain your energy, and build the company you envisioned without burning out in the process.

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Why it matters

 

You already know your business inside and out. You can articulate your strategy,

your value proposition, your growth goals

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You've seen your business grow, but now you're stuck...and 

your personal performance has become the bottleneck.

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You're working harder than ever, but your energy isn't keeping pace.

You're making critical decisions while running on empty.

You know you need to change something about how you're operating

but you're not sure where to start, and you don't have time

to figure it out through trial and error.

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The truth is: optimizing your business requires optimizing the human running it.

And optimizing your performance requires understanding

how your business demands are impacting your body and mind.

 

That's exactly what we do.​

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What You'll Gain

 

This isn’t just information. It’s a performance upgrade—from the inside out.

 

At OPTImind, we take a body-first approach to sustainable success.

You’ll learn how to train your body so your mind can perform at its peak.

This isn’t just self-care—it’s foundational performance training through movement,

nutrition, sleep, and stress resilience.

 

By the end of the 3-month intensive, you'll have:
Clarity on what's actually constraining your growth —whether it's business operations,

your physical capacity, cognitive performance, or the interactions between them
A personalized performance system built for your body, your business, and your goals,

not generic advice from someone who's never run a company
Sustainable practices for energy, focus, and decision-making that you can maintain long-term
Business optimizations that reduce friction and free up your capacity for high-value work
The tools and knowledge to continue optimizing as your business scales
Most importantly: You'll be equipped to lead your business from a place of strength, clarity, and sustainable energy—not constant depletion

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This is where science meets strategy—to help you go further, with more clarity and control.

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How it works:

 

The Foundation: A Comprehensive Assessment

Everything starts with understanding where you are and where you want to go.

In Month 1, we conduct parallel assessments of your business and your personal performance:

 

Business Assessment (led by Terry)

• Business model, strategy, and operations

• Leadership, team structure, and systems

• Sales, marketing, and growth opportunities

• Financial systems and cash flow

• Current sources of business stress and friction

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Founder Performance Assessment (led by Helen)

• Physical capacity, movement patterns, and workspace ergonomics

• Energy systems: sleep, nutrition, recovery patterns

• Cognitive performance and mental clarity throughout your day

• Lifestyle demands and time allocation

• Stress physiology and how your body responds to pressure

• Current performance practices and barriers to change

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The Critical Integration

Here's what sets this apart: we don't just look at your business OR your performance in isolation. We map how they interact.

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Where are your peak cognitive hours being consumed by low-value tasks? When does business travel destroy your recovery routines? Which business stressors are creating physical breakdown? What performance upgrades would have the biggest impact on your business outcomes?

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This assessment isn't about overhauling everything—it's about finding the highest-leverage changes that serve YOUR vision for your business and your life.

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You'll receive a comprehensive report that identifies:

• Key strengths in both your business and your personal performance

• Specific gaps and misalignments that are limiting growth

• Prioritized opportunities for optimization

• A clear path forward tailored to your unique situation​​

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Individualized Coaching: Months 1-3

 

After the assessment, we move into focused 1:1 coaching sessions—approximately 7-8 sessions over the 3-month intensive, customized to what you need most.

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Some founders need deep work on business systems and delegation. Others need to rebuild their physical capacity and energy systems. Most need both, in the right sequence.

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Your coaching sessions might focus on:

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• Restructuring your day to align business demands with your peak performance windows

• Building sustainable energy through sleep optimization, nutrition strategy, and recovery practices

• Implementing business operations changes that free up your capacity

• Developing movement and strength practices that support long-term performance

• Creating systems that reduce decision fatigue and cognitive load

• Managing stress physiology and building resilience under pressure

• Strategic planning that accounts for your actual capacity, not fantasy capacity

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This is deeply personalized work. We adapt to your learning style, your constraints, your goals. No cookie-cutter programs.

No one-size-fits-all advice.
 

Ongoing Support

Throughout the 3 months, you also receive:

• Access to The Performance Lab in Yarmouth, Maine—our specialized facility focused on strength training and longevity science

• Direct access to both Helen and Terry between sessions for questions and support

• Tools and frameworks for tracking your progress

• Accountability tailored to how you actually work

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Meet Your Facilitators

The Resilient Founders Lab is led by two professionals who bridge the gap between science and entrepreneurship:

 

Dr. Helen Harrod Clark

Helen brings deep expertise in human performance, physiology, and behavior change.

As a PT and performance specialist, she understands how your body works as a system

and how to translate complex science into practical strategies.

Helen is also an endurance athlete who transformed from finishing last

in high school cross-country to competing in ultramarathons and triathlons—

she knows what it takes to build sustainable performance from the ground up.

 

She owns The Performance Lab, a specialized gym in Yarmouth, Maine

focused on strength training and longevity science.

Her body-first approach helps founders understand that peak cognitive performance,

sustained energy, and business success all start with optimizing your physiology.
 

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Terry Johnson

Terry brings decades of experience across startups and Fortune 500 companies,

with deep expertise in business optimization, operations, and strategic planning.

He knows how to cut through complexity, identify constraints, and implement changes that

actually move the needle.

Terry understands that sustainable business growth requires sustainable founder

performance—which is why he partners with Helen to address both simultaneously.
 

 

 

Together, Helen and Terry guide each founder with a shared belief: your business grows when you do.

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Who's it for:

 

The Founder Performance Intensive is designed for established founders who are ready

to scale—without sacrificing themselves in the process.

 

This is for you if:

• You're generating meaningful revenue and growth is creating new demands
  on your capacity

• You recognize that your personal bandwidth has become a bottleneck
  for your business

• You're tired of choosing between business growth and personal health

• You want science-backed, practical tools—not generic wellness advice
  or business theory

• You're ready to invest in comprehensive optimization, not quick fixes

• You understand that your health, energy, and clarity are foundational to
  your company's success

• You're coachable and willing to examine both your business operations and
  your personal habits honestly
   

This is NOT for you if:

• You're looking for a quick fix or magic solution

• You're not ready to make real changes to how you operate

• You want someone to just tell you what to do without partnership and collaboration

• You're not willing to invest significantly in yourself and your business
   

We work with a limited number of founders at a time to ensure the depth and quality of our engagement. This is selective, intensive work.

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Creating something meaningful starts with one thing: supporting the system that powers it—you.

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Why It’s Different:

 

Most programs address either business strategy OR personal health. We integrate both—because they're inseparable.

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You get two expert perspectives working in concert:

 

Dr. Helen Harrod Clark

Doctor of Physical Therapy and human performance specialist. She understands how your body works as a system—how sleep affects decision-making, how stress physiology impacts focus, how movement influences energy. Helen's body-first approach translates complex science into practical tools you can actually implement.

 

Terry Johnson

Brings decades of strategic business experience across startups and Fortune 500 companies. He knows how to simplify operations, reduce friction, and identify the highest-leverage improvements in your business model, systems, and strategy.
 

Together, we assess both your business AND your performance, then create an individualized plan that addresses the real constraints holding you back—whether that's a business operations issue draining your time, a sleep pattern killing your cognitive performance, or a misalignment between your peak hours and your most demanding work.

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We're one of the only programs that addresses both dimensions of founder performance in service of your goals.

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What Happens Next:

 

Step 1: Discovery Call

We start with a conversation to determine if this is a mutual fit. We'll explore:

• What you're looking for and what you're struggling with

• Your goals for both your business and your personal performance

• Whether our approach aligns with what you need

• If we believe we can deliver meaningful value

This isn't a sales call—it's a genuine assessment of fit. If we're not the right match, we'll tell you and suggest alternative approaches.

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Step 2: Commitment & Assessment

If we both agree this is a good fit, you'll commit to the 3-month intensive and we'll schedule your comprehensive assessment.

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Step 3: Your Transformation Begins

Month 1 focuses on deep assessment and creating your individualized plan. Months 2-3 are intensive coaching, implementation, and optimization.

 

By the end, you'll have a clear, proven system for sustainable high performance—and the capacity to execute on your vision.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the program located?

The program is based in Southern Maine. Your on-site assessment happens at your place of business (within reasonable travel range) and at The Performance Lab. Coaching sessions can be conducted in-person or virtually depending on your location and preferences.

What if I'm not local to Maine?

We can work with select founders outside of Maine. The assessment may require travel, and we'll configure the program format based on your location. We'll discuss logistics during the discovery call.

How much time will this require?

Expect approximately 10-12 hours of structured time over 3 months (assessment + coaching sessions), plus implementation time for the changes we identify. This is an intensive that requires real commitment, but we design it to fit within your actual capacity.

Do I need to be in great shape to start?

Absolutely not. We meet you where you are. Whether you're currently sedentary or actively training, we assess your current state and build from there. The goal is optimization for YOUR body and YOUR goals—not comparison to anyone else.

What if I've tried business coaching or personal training before and it didn't work?

Most founders have tried something before—whether it's generic business coaching that ignores your human limitations, or fitness programs that don't account for the chaotic demands of entrepreneurship. Our integrated approach addresses why those attempts fell short: they treated business and personal performance as separate, when they're fundamentally connected.

Can I extend beyond 3 months?

Yes. Many founders continue with ongoing coaching after the initial intensive. We can discuss options for continued support based on your needs and goals.

What's included in the investment?

The comprehensive business and founder performance assessments, individualized coaching sessions throughout the 3 months, access to The Performance Lab, and direct support from both Helen and Terry. We discuss the specific investment during your discovery call.
 

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Ready to Optimize the Whole System?

If you're a founder who's ready to stop choosing between business growth and personal health—and start optimizing both—let's talk.
 

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We work with a limited number of founders at a time. Spots are filled through our selective discovery process on a rolling basis.

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Your business is only as strong as the system that runs it. Invest in both.