Women playing drums together under purple lighting

Let’s Go Get What’s Next.

Give us six months, and we’ll give you the clarity, the courage, and the crew to go get whatever it is you’re after.

For leaders, founders, and second-act builders with ten-plus years of success behind them.

Group of women standing together outdoors among autumn foliage

Picture This

Six Months From Now

That thing you’ve been turning over at 3 AM is out in the world. Maybe it’s the career pivot, the book drafted, the new business finally getting traction, a second act you’re genuinely excited about, or a side hustle with its doors open.

And you didn’t have to blow up the rest of your life to get there. You had a route, women beside you handing you ideas and connections, and the energy you used to spend on trying to figure it out went into actually doing it.

You carry yourself a little differently, too. Like a woman who learned to shoot a bow this year, and then went and got what she was after.

Start My Six Months

Right Now

That Next Step in Your Head

It’s the idea, the next move, the thing you keep coming back to, and you’re wondering when you’ll actually do it.

Or you’ve built something of your own, and you’re ready for a room full of women who’ll roll up their sleeves and help you make it happen.

You’re the one everyone calls for advice. But there’s almost nowhere to put the messy version of what you want next on the table.

Nothing’s wrong. You’ve just been carrying everything up the mountain on your own. What you could use is a sherpa.

Founded by a former C-level exec who finally took the leap to build something of her own · 55 live events, 4 retreats, 45 virtual events, and 185 women all with a little bit more badassery, and counting.

The Sherpa Program

Every Step of the Way

1. Get real clarity on what you’re after. A call, a short intake, and your Kolbe Index, to show how you’re wired to go get it and the help you’ll need along the way.

2. Get your route mapped for you. Your Navigator, a comprehensive six-month plan built around the hours you actually have, and an actual human (Sarah) who’ll listen for the hidden obstacles.

3. Climb with your crew. Your TRIBE, the Monday Morning Sherpa, monthly connections, and Days of Badassery, for six months.

Book a Call

Get outside and discover what you really want

Days of Badassery throughout your six months: archery, wilderness skills, or chopping wood, alongside women who are after something too. It may sound weird, but it works.

Turn it into a plan you’ll actually follow

You’ll start by taking the Kolbe A Index, a short online assessment that shows how you naturally get things done. Then we build your Navigator around it: steps that fit the time you really have, with the Monday Morning Sherpa keeping you moving every week.

Have somewhere to take it

Fired up about a new idea, or stuck and not sure what’s next? Your TRIBE is four to six women matched to you on what you’re after and how you’re wired, peers with the experience to match yours. Plus the community, and a monthly connection to someone wired differently than you, who’ll see it from an angle you can’t.

Get expert help where you need it

Interviewing for the bigger role? Building a small business? Trying to find your first clients? We bring in people who know that stretch of the mountain.

Someone tracking your whole climb

One-on-one Base Camp Sessions with Sarah, who has stood where you’re standing: she climbed to Chief Revenue Officer, then left to build her own company. She tracks with you along your whole route, hears what you need (including what you haven’t said yet), and brings in the right women and experts from the community to help you get it.

Get back up when it goes sideways

When something doesn’t work, you have a place to say so, and a crew to pick you up and keep you going.

In Her Words

“This is incredible! I was literally about to sit down this morning and plan everything out, and Sherpa's already done it for me.”

— Jennifer C., CEO & Founder

The Secret Ingredient

Why We Add Badassery

Something happens when you put successful women in nature and hand them a bow or an axe, or deal them into their first poker game. Nobody’s performing. Titles disappear. You’re a beginner again, laughing at yourself next to women who are after something too, and the pretense drops.

That’s when the shoulds go quiet and what you actually want gets loud enough to hear. We see it at every Project 1490 event.

The Sherpa Program is for the women who want to keep what they found out there and go do something with it.

Women playing poker around a red felt table

In Her Words

“At a certain level in your career, the people around you either report to you or are your peers. Finding others, especially women who understand that position and can offer honest, supportive coaching, mentorship, and friendship, is rare and deeply needed.”

— Stephanie B., Chief Operating Officer (fractional)

the project 1490 experience

Hear it From the Women of 1490

Hear what the Project 1490 experience is all about from the women who've been on retreats with us.

In Her Words

“Project 1490 led me to my Tribe: three other women who function like a personal board of directors. We listen, support, and push each other.”

— Evgeniia G., Lead, Strategy and Operations

PROJECT 1490 EVENTS

Come Check It Out

If you’d rather get to know us a little first, or just need a little fix of badassery, come to an event. Many are open to women who aren’t members yet, and it’s the easiest way to see what we’re about. (You’ll see we fixed networking.) Community members get discounts on ticketed events, and two Days of Badassery free.

Check Out the Events
Learn to DJ Night
Thursday
19th
November
Experience

Learn to DJ Night

On the Ones and Twos Member request!

View Event
Tequila Tasting & Poker Night
Saturday
5th
December
Experience

Tequila Tasting & Poker Night

Let's raise a shot glass to the holidays and everything you've accomplished this year!

View Event
1490 Guide Talk: "Be Different, Not Better!"
Monday
7th
December
Virtual

1490 Guide Talk: "Be Different, Not Better!"

Be Different, Not Better Learn the go-to brand strategy for standing out in a crowded market.

View Event

In Her Words

“I love reading my Monday Morning Sherpa on my subway commute. Starts my week off doing something for ME!”

— Erin S., Managing Director

And the Full-Meal Deal

Epic Retreats

Three transformative days in nature, bold outdoor firsts, and roll-up-your-sleeves workshops built around what each woman is after. (And we have a seriously good time.) You come in with a question and drive home with a plan and a whole crew who has your back. And if you want to keep climbing after, that’s exactly what Sherpa is for.

2027 dates coming soon.

Start Your Climb
Group of women walking a woodland trail during a Project 1490 retreat

"I wish this existed a long time ago, but I'm so glad it does now."

Portrait of Heather T.

Heather T.

"This was an incredible experience of being able to do things I have never done before and with women who were incredibly helpful to one another."

‍

Portrait of Lisa Z.

Lisa Z.

Managing Partner

"If you’re not a fan of typical, inauthentic networking; want to meet amazing women and more guidance on your career path; all while connecting in nature — this is a must!"

Portrait of Lizzie B., Director of Innovation and AI Strategy

Lizzie B.

Director, Innovation & AI Strategy

"It's unlike anything else I've ever experienced. I'm so grateful and excited to put my thoughts into action! I was surrounded by so many badass women and felt supported and safe."

Portrait of Alissa R., Founder and Entrepreneur

Alissa R.

Founder/Entrepreneur

"I love the immediate connection with strong, direct, and supportive women. I’ve been thrilled by how quickly I have been able to connect to the few women I’ve met."

Portrait of Mary Hope M.

MH M.

Senior Vice President

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Who It’s For

This Is for You If...

You’ve built real success, and there’s a next thing you want. A new job or a new business, a board seat or a book launched, a career change or a great second act. Whether it’s a big leap or a next step, we help you make it real.

You may be tired of working it out alone in the margins of a very full calendar. You’d rather sit with women who tell you the truth than women who are busy being impressive, and you share what you’ve learned the hard way. And you’ll pick up the bow, even if you’re more “indoorsy.”

It’s probably not the right fit if you’re early in your career or not really after anything right now, and that’s totally fine.

See If It’s a Fit
Four women celebrating beside an archery target

FAQs

Good Questions

Project 1490 women are C-levels and founders, managing partners and managing directors, senior vice presidents, fractional COOs, and strategy and product leaders, across finance, media, tech, science, and nonprofits, from their early thirties into their sixties.

What they share isn’t a title. They’re generous, they tell the truth, and they’re done waiting on what’s next. Between them, they’ve started companies, negotiated severance, published books, and built second acts, and they’ll put every bit of that to work for you.

It’s built for full calendars. Your plan is sized to the hours you actually have, your TRIBE meets once a month, and you pick the events that fit. If you’re like the rest of us, you don’t have any more time to waste trying to figure everything out on your own. That’s the point: let’s make your dreams a team sport and get you there way faster.

We know we have to put our oxygen mask on first. This is the oxygen mask.

We’ve been there too. We’ve signed up for programs that handed us a generic plan and left us to it, and joined communities that gave us contacts but not real relationships.

So we built this one around those gaps. Your plan is mapped to what you’re actually after and the time you really have, and you’re never left alone with it: there’s a weekly nudge, one-on-ones along the way, and a TRIBE of women who know your goal and are in your corner every month. And the relationships start shoulder to shoulder, learning to shoot a bow or sitting down to a poker game, where nobody’s performing. That’s why they turn into real friendships, not just contacts.

If you already have a coach or a group you love, keep them. Lots of our members do.

The Sherpa Program is priced for value, not to break the bank. First, we want to make sure it’s a fit for where you are and where you’re headed, so we share all the details, including the price, on your call. (And if you join by December 31, there’s a very special launch rate.)

Many women come in with a feeling more than a goal: a sense that there’s more, or that something’s around the corner and they just can’t see it yet. We help you shake things loose and get clear. Clarity is a peak worth climbing all on its own, so don’t let not being able to name it stop you. That’s exactly what we’re here for.

Plenty of our members would say the same thing. Some of our favorite skills happen under the hood of a car or around a poker table, and nobody’s grading your fire. We’re adventurous, not extreme, and the point is never the activity. It’s who you become doing it.

Not the kind you’re thinking of. Connections are one piece of what makes Sherpa work, right alongside your plan, your TRIBE, the coaching, and the adventures. Nobody’s collecting contacts here. Every introduction is made on purpose, to a woman who can actually help with what you’re after, and the real friendships come from doing bold, new things side by side.

More than you’d think. When you do something you weren’t sure you could, like hitting the target for the first time, your brain files it away as proof that you can figure out hard things. Psychologists have found that this kind of firsthand win builds confidence better than any pep talk or podcast, and it shows up everywhere, from the next big ask at work to the decision you’ve been putting off at home. It does something for friendships too. Research shows that people who take on a challenge together bond faster and have each other’s backs more, which is why the women here get close in months instead of years.

Most of our in-person events are in New York City or an easy drive or train ride from it, from the Hudson Valley to the Catskills and the Berkshires. Plenty of members fly in for the big ones.

And Sherpa works from anywhere. Your plan, the Monday Morning Sherpa, your TRIBE, and your one-on-ones all happen online.

In Her Words

“Sarah, this shit works!”

— Barbara M., Senior Product Manager

Sarah Dale, founder of Project 1490, outdoors at an archery range

Here’s the Story

Hi, I’m Sarah.

I started my career at Fortune, climbed fast, and then took a hard right turn. I left New York for Montana and spent seven years learning to bow hunt, herd cattle, and build my own house. Then I came back and spent a couple of decades in leadership at places like The Wall Street Journal, and ended up as a Chief Revenue Officer. A lot of the confidence I used to climb that ladder? I got it out in Montana.

The idea for Project 1490 knocked around my head for about twenty years before I finally jumped. I wanted other successful women to get what Montana gave me, without the seven years. (Or the cattle.)

It has very little to do with me, though. The women make it work; I mostly build the room and get out of the way. What I kept seeing was women leaving a retreat completely lit up, and then real life showing up. So we built the Sherpa Program, the part that keeps going after the weekend ends, so you can go faster than I did.

And if you’re anything like me, the minute you think about saying yes, the doubts creep in. Will I actually follow through? Is this the right time? Is this my crew?

That’s why we first have a call. It commits you to nothing; you’ll know if it’s a fit before we hang up.

We have a vested interest in making sure we can help everyone who comes into this program. So if there’s not a fit, we’ll say it straight.

If you’re after something, I’d love to hear what it is.

We ride at dawn,
Sarah

Tell Us What You’re After

In Her Words

“The Sherpa Program makes me think that I’m not doing this alone. Filled with gratitude.”

— Eve G., Lead, Strategy and Operations