Trust in the mountains
This is a tale of a man who built a dream life and business in his 30s, got sick, found solace in the mountains, and from there unlocked the next big vision of his life.
Meet Jack Hubbard.
Some know Jack as the co-founder of digital marketing agency Propellernet, who became famous for their ‘dream ball machine’ which kickstarted a happy workplace revolution.
Many in our community know him for his talk bucketlist business planning. One of the most watched Summercamp talks of all time, and one that has led to several people leaving jobs and even more to start things.
Or you might know him as a mountain man, the catalyst for Alptitude back in 2015, our unique gathering of 20 purposemakers in the French Alps, which is back this June.
Even if you don’t know Jack you might relate to his story.
When slowing down is the fastest way forward
After burning out from his entrepreneurial adventures and getting sick with Lyme disease a few years ago, Jack had lost his mojo.
But rather than trying to force the issue, he went into what he calls ‘hermit mode’.
No laptop.
No meetings.
No big plans.
Just trails, mountains, the school run, and eventually a path back to himself.
Jack started capturing his thoughts and ideas as voice notes on his phone mid-walk, which he assembled later with the help of AI into something like a memoir.
He began using technology to liberate himself, not enslave himself. The ideas were still his. But the mountains were doing the heavy lifting.
“The trails became my office. My best thinking gets done when I’m out there, moving, flowing along.”
Bit by bit, Jack’s spark came back.
He calls this his creative comeback.
And with it, a vision he’d first sketched on a map back in 2013: Dream Valley House — a community clubhouse in one of the oldest villages in the French Alps. A mountain base camp for founders, entrepreneurs and creatives. A place to gather, think, make and move.
3 years of French bureaucracy later, Dream Valley House is soon ready to open. Jack and his wife Linda didn’t rush it. They took one hurdle at a time and kept going until, as Jack puts it, the authorities ran out of reasons to say no.
This is a story of resilience.
Jack shared this story on a recent episode of the Fearless Forward podcast which inspired this post. It’s hosted by our mutual friend and leadership coach Sally-Anne Airey, also part of our team at Alptitude.
The human algorithm
What struck me most about Jack’s story in this conversation is his close relationship to both tech and nature.
We’re living through a moment of genuine AI anxiety, fuelled by a real fear of job and budget cuts, and becoming irrelevant.
Jack has a different take, a more optimistic one. He calls it the human algorithm. It’s not about AI replacing us, it’s about freeing us up to use our time and energy more wisely.
He believes AI should buy us more time outside, not more time producing.
Four-day weeks, time with friends, work that fuels life.
Where we shift from filling our time working, to making time for imagining.
“The imagination has to come from us. We’re the human beings imagining our world. AI is making our ideas happen, but the ideas? That’s still ours. And the best place to access that deep intuition, that knowing, that creative spark? It’s not in front of a screen. It’s out in the mountains.”
Why we keep going back
Jack saw something in our community that matched his own vision all those years ago: founders who’d been let down by standard formulas, looking to reinvent the way they work and live.
He invited us out to Dream Valley and soon after Alptitude was born.
Every June since 2015, we’ve run Alptitude in the Alps. It’s so hard to describe what it is. It’s part-retreat, part-unconference, part-vacation.
It’s a week you do more thinking than you’ve done in years, not by trying, but by hitting pause and being in the moment.
Hikes where the real conversations happen.
Poolside conversations where you finally say the thing you’ve been avoiding.
Mornings that start with mountain air instead of a Slack channel.
Evenings around a table with people who are trying to build something meaningful, just like you.
When people come to Dream Valley, they go home changed for the better. We see it again and again. Over 10 Alptitudes now.
“If you’ve forgotten what you’re brilliant at, spend some time with some new people. Tell your stories. Listen to theirs. I came home from Alptitude with a renewed sense of what I bring to the table — feeling replenished, reinvigorated, alive.” — Elena Kerrigan, Think Productive
This year is our 11th edition. Alptitude runs from June 13–20, 2026 in Morillon, France. Just 1 hour from Geneva, but a world away from everything else.
Dreams happen when we make space for them.
If you need space this summer for yourself and your best thinking, apply today and we’ll arrange a chat to see if it’s a good fit.
Come spend time with us, meet Sally-Anne and Jack, and feel the wisdom of these wise mountains. So far we have founders coming from Bali, Canada, the US, Ireland and the UK, with just a few spots left.
We’ll also be the first group to see the new Dream Valley House in all its glory.
Alptitude is always the highlight of my year.
A week to breathe, play and laugh. Oh boy do we laugh.
I can’t wait.
Craft an exciting new vision for your work.
Bring your ideas to life.
Happy MBA is a group coaching program for those at a turning point – solopreneurs, coaches and midlife professionals who have become disillusioned with their old way of working, and are now looking at what’s next.
With our supportive mentorship, powerful curriculum and a tight-knit cohort of like-minded peers, you'll imagine a future for you and your business that excites you – where you work smarter, not harder.
