Startup Feature - Midlife Wisdom School

Chip Conley’s story is a powerful thread for the movement we’re building at Sacred Startups. When I came across his journey, it deeply resonated with my own path—navigating midlife while seeking renewed purpose and meaning. His experience gave me a living example of how personal transformation can fuel a bigger vision, and offered a compelling narrative to build the case for Sacred Startups. After building Joie de Vivre into one of the largest boutique hotel chains in the U.S., Chip joined Airbnb as Head of Global Hospitality. Stepping from traditional hospitality into a tech-driven platform with no inventory—yet hailed as the world’s largest hospitality brand—shook everything he thought he knew. That disruption, combined with his own midlife crisis, led him to embrace the role of a “modern elder,” mentoring younger colleagues while staying open to learning himself.

This insight sparked what Chip later called his “Baja aha” moment, inspiring him to found the Modern Elder Academy (MEA)—the world’s first midlife wisdom school. MEA creates space for deep inner work, community, and purpose-driven transitions, helping people reframe midlife as a time of growth, not decline.

Why is this a blueprint for Sacred Startups?

Self-realization is a defining milestone in every life—and it often strikes when least expected. What’s unique about our time is that the internet generation is experiencing this awakening earlier than ever, even sparking what’s now known as the quarter-life crisis movement. While the world has poured immense resources into solving problems of consumption and productivity, it’s startling how little has been built to help people navigate the inner transitions that lead to a better quality of life. After all, isn’t the point of being alive not just to survive, but to feel alive?

When you look at the ecosystem of support for our outer world versus our inner world, the imbalance is glaring. At Sacred Startups, we saw this gap and asked a simple yet bold question: Can entrepreneurship help bridge it? What if people going through deep personal realizations were given the infrastructure to build—not just for themselves, but for the generations to come? What if we could create the foundations of a wisdom economy—one that values inner growth as much as external success? That’s the vision we’re working toward. Chip Conley’s journey shows it’s possible.

For more info: https://www.meawisdom.com/

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