An M5 Entrepreneurs Gathering  ·  Wickenburg, Arizona
the

FoundersRound Up

January 14 to 17, 2027

A next level gathering of small business owners who want to talk shop, compare notes and find ways to level up in today’s climate and economy.

Hosted by Mary Heffernan with guest speakers

Apply to Attend
A next level gathering

Talk shop with people at your level

The Founders Round Up is a next level gathering of small business owners who want to talk shop, compare notes and find ways to level up as entrepreneurs in today’s climate and economy.

We’ll be at Rancho de los Caballeros, an authentic western guest ranch in Wickenburg, about an hour north of Phoenix. We’ll spend time around tables talking, learning, bringing up our biggest obstacles and talking through solutions, learning new tips and tricks to use AI tools in your business, and bringing in some inspirational speakers on branding, growth and exit strategies.

You’ll have your own bed and share a room with another attendee. Private rooms are available for $950 additional. Every meal and every drink is covered, and we’ll spend time at Five Marys Hidden Hacienda, our team roping facility just up the road.

Some of it is deep roundtable discussion, where everybody at the table has been where you are. Some of it is workshops, and we’ll poll the group beforehand so we build the sessions around what you’re actually stuck on instead of what we guessed. Some of it is speakers we’ve brought in because they changed how we think. And a good chunk of it is group laptop work, because the ideas you don’t build before you leave tend to never get built, and we want to make these things happen while we’re all together!

All inclusive

What the retreat includes

Lodging

4 days, 3 nights at the iconic Rancho de los Caballeros in Wickenburg, Arizona. Your own bed, shared room. Private rooms available for $950 additional.

All Meals & Beverages

Every meal and every drink, start to finish. Nothing to think about once you're here.

Roundtable Sessions

Small group, honest, founder to founder. The part everybody says was worth the trip.

Workshops Built From Your Answers

We poll the group ahead of time and build the sessions around what this room needs.

Guest Speakers

People we've learned from, brought in to work with a room this size.

Work Time

Group laptop work, hours with your laptop open to build the thing and not just plan it.

Five Marys Hidden Hacienda

Time at our team roping facility with Mary.

The Room

12 to 15 founders at your level. Some of the best thinking you take home will come from the person sitting next to you at dinner.

Thursday 4pm to Sunday 2pm

The shape of the days

Thursday

Arrive

Check in from 4pm, settle into the ranch, and a welcome dinner together so the room knows each other before we start working.

Friday

Dig In

Roundtables and workshops built from the group poll, plus a session on the AI tools worth your time. Long lunch, then group work with laptops open.

Saturday

Build

Guest speakers on branding, growth and exit strategies. Time at Five Marys Hidden Hacienda, time around the pool, and a night that runs long.

Sunday

Land It

Close out what you built, set what happens next, and head out by 2pm.

Who this is for

Past the scrappy stage

Founders running a business at $1M to $10M a year in sales, or close enough that you can see it from here. What you sell matters less than where you are: past the scrappy stage, into the part where your own time is the constraint.

RanchersFarmersMakers RetailersManufacturersService businesses
The place

Rancho de los Caballeros

Wickenburg, Arizona

An authentic western guest ranch about an hour north of Phoenix, in the high Sonoran desert. Adobe walls, copper, big fireplaces, and a whole lot of sky. January is the best month to be there.

  • 4 days, 3 nights. Your own bed in a shared room, or a private room for $950 additional
  • Every meal and every drink included
  • Time around the pool between sessions, and a horseback ride if the group wants one
  • Five Marys Hidden Hacienda, our team roping facility, is just up the road
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor is about an hour and fifteen minutes away
Investment

Everything is included

$5,500
All inclusive
5 monthly payments of $1,100
The first is due when you register in September, and the last one bills before we start.
Private room upgrade available for $950 additional.
Apply to Attend

Arrive Thursday by 4pm, depart Sunday at 2pm.

Travel to and from Wickenburg is not included.

Deposits are non-refundable. If something comes up and you can't make it, you can transfer your spot to another founder who's a good fit for the group, or put your deposit toward a future retreat with us. Special circumstances will always be considered.

Limited to 12 to 15 founders

Come sit at the table

Attendance is by application. We keep it small so every person gets plenty of time at the table.

Apply to Attend
The Founders Round Up  ·  An M5 Entrepreneurs gathering  ·  Five Marys Ranch