Founders77 · Mentorship
From founder to CEO — without losing yourself on the way
Founders77 is the X77 group's mentorship programme for founders and CEOs of growing companies: seminars, a membership community and one-to-one mentoring led by AJ Smith, who took a start-up from zero to a dual listing on the NZX and ASX and learned what it costs to do it badly and how to do it well.
The blueprint
Eight pillars, one operating system for the founder-CEO
01
Your digital CEO clone
Delegate the CEO workload to AI the right way: what to hand off, what to keep, how to keep control.
02
Operating model
The weekly, monthly and quarterly cadence that runs a company without the founder in every meeting.
03
Real-time metrics
The handful of numbers that matter in your industry, on a dashboard you read every morning.
04
Capital & board readiness
How boards, investors and listed markets think, from someone who has reported to them every quarter.
05
Personal brand
Being known for something, in your own words, without turning into a content machine.
06
Family balance
Building the company and the family at the same time — the trade-offs nobody writes down.
07
Health & performance
Sleep, training, energy and recovery treated as business inputs, with the numbers to match.
08
Mental wellbeing & peers
The CEO job is lonely. A room of people in the same seat changes that.
How it works
Three ways in
Seminars
One- and two-day working sessions in small rooms across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Intensive, Deep Dive and Clone Lab formats.
Membership
A monthly cadence, the blueprint tools and a peer network of founders at the same stage.
Mentoring & advisory
One-to-one time with AJ and hands-on advisory pods for founders who want help executing.
Dates, formats and membership details are shared on request — no price list on this site.
FAQ
Founders77: common questions
Who is Founders77 for?
Founders and CEOs of growing companies — from pre-revenue to around USD $50M in revenue — in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the UAE, who want to run their company well and still have a life, a family and their health.
What does a seminar cover?
The Founders77 blueprint: your operating model and metrics, delegating the CEO workload with AI, personal brand, capital and board readiness, family balance, health and mental wellbeing, and a peer network of other founders. One or two days, small rooms, no slides for the sake of slides.
Is this coaching or advisory?
Both, in stages. Seminars are the front door; membership keeps the cadence and the peer group; advisory pods — operating model, capital and strategy, AI, health and performance — are for founders who want hands-on help. Details and dates are shared on request.
Talk to AJ about Founders77
A 20-minute conversation about where you are and whether a seminar, membership or mentoring fits.
Request a meeting