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Secondary Thoughts by Siena: Interview with Vishen Lakhiani
This is Secondary Thoughts by Siena — an interview series where legendary entrepreneurs and investors reflect on their investments and broader professional journeys, speaking openly about their wins and losses.
Today’s guest is Vishen Lakhiani, a visionary entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author who founded Mindvalley, the #1 platform in the world for Personal Growth with over 12 million students. Through his various platforms and speaking engagements, he helps shape personal transformation and works to evolve education, work culture, and well-being systems worldwide.
The series is produced by Siena, a boutique VC fund focused on secondary investments in high-growth scaleups from the CEE and Nordics. Its portfolio includes success stories such as Bolt, Oura, and Booksy.
Vishen Lakhiani, the founder of Mindvalley
“The desire for human connection is rising at a very, very rapid pace. For example, our event ticket sales are up 500%. Live teaching on Zoom is up 60%. ”
In this episode, Vishen reflects on how the rise of AI is reshaping the world — and why human connection is quietly becoming more valuable than ever. While digital content is declining, he sees explosive growth in live teaching, masterminds, and in-person experiences. “Human connection is rising at a very rapid pace,” he notes, citing a 500% increase in event demand.
Looking back at his early, bootstrapped years, Vishen says the most powerful discipline he gained was mastering marketing and sales — the missing ingredients behind his first two failed ventures. As an engineer, those skills became the reason Mindvalley turned profitable within its first year.
WATCH A SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE INTERVIEW BELOW:
One of the defining lessons of his career came during COVID. After spending millions on world-class offices and company culture rituals, he realized most employees ultimately valued freedom and flexibility far more than perks or architecture. This forced a full transition to remote work and pushed the company to build rigorous, AI-powered operational systems to stay aligned and productive.
On missed opportunities, Vishen is philosophical: there were ideas he wishes he could have pursued, but lacking the right people at the right time meant the trade-offs were necessary.
His biggest investment surprise? AI-focused funds he backed in 2019, long before the boom — in large part due to his computer science background and early conviction about where the world was heading.
Today, he believes the next seismic shift will come from quantum computing, while nuclear energy offers one of the most promising investment opportunities in the near term.
To close the interview, we put Vishen through our signature lightning round — five rapid-fire questions that reveal the quirks, habits, and unexpected sides of the person behind the founder. From what he never travels without to the app he wishes would disappear, the questions open a playful window into his world. See the full interview to discover his answers.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE FULL 10-MINUTE INTERVIEW WITH VISHEN: