Why The Garden?
For years, I helped build other people’s gardens.
Their companies.
Their visions.
Their ambitions.
Along the way, I had neglected my own.
So I returned to the seeds I had planted long ago, my own dreams, values and ambitions and asked myself:
Who am I, and what do I want to create?
That journey brought me back to myself.
Today, I am my Garden.
And The Garden exists to help others reconnect with theirs, before deciding what they build and who they build it with.
The future of venture building
starts before the deal.
Alignment is the soil.
Founders and investors often come together around capital and opportunity.
But strong partnerships need more.
Understanding.
Trust.
Shared direction.
The Garden helps people understand themselves and each other before deciding to build together.
Samson Alex Mlinda
Founder of Balwa Africa & KULOLA Initiative Hub
Jeannette Meier
Chief Being Officer | Intuitive Leadership Guide | Host, Leadership Circle Podcast
Viktor Samoilenko
CEO & Founder, Aspichi | Scalable Mental Health Infrastructure | Immersive Care Platforms
Sulu Denis Boluwaji
Clarity & Ecosystem Architect | Founder, LinkedintoFam
Christian Curteanu
Trust Infrastructure Architect | SaaS Systems Builder | Affiliate Attribution & Fair Growth
Gabrielle Paquette
Reproductive & Women’s Health Researcher
Anne Galloway
Career Coach, Career Story Strategist & Author
Roi Shternin
Educator, Mentor & Systems Humanist
Dr. Dora Carrasco Sabino
Founder & CEO, Blazar | Biomedical AI & HealthTech Innovator
Ludmila Livertovsky
Tech & Venture Strategist | Founder, Ladies in Tech & VC
Patrick Driessen
Healthcare Entrepreneur, Impact Investor & Venture Builder
Dr. Hadas Ziso
Founder & CEO, EndoCure
I don't grow the Garden.
I care for the soil
from which
it grows.
Elmire van Tongeren
Founder. Investor. Gardener.
The hardest part of venture building is rarely the strategy.
They are human.
We analyse markets, products and numbers.
But we rarely ask:
Can we truly build together?
Misalignment is rarely a lack of intelligence.
It is a lack of visibility.
The Garden makes that visible.
Alignment is not the destination. Alignment is the soil.
A garden flourishes when the conditions are right.
So do people and partnerships.
Understand who you are before deciding who you build with.
Alignment creates the conditions to flourish.
What is The Garden?
An ecosystem for human flourishing.
The Garden helps founders and investors understand themselves and each other before deciding to build together.
We create visibility.
We cultivate trust.
We create the conditions to flourish.
How it works
Understand yourself.
Understand each other.
Then decide whether to build together.
The Garden creates visibility before commitment.
From the Garden
Reflections from people who have experienced The Garden.
I’m at a loss for words.
Thank you: for seeing me, for speaking words I couldn’t and for helping me find my center again.
This document is a wonderful start of my recalibration and I’m so happy we have met and you were kind enough to take the time and mirror my world to me.
Roi Sternin
Educator, Mentor & Systems Humanist
Elmire helped us articulate who we are, what we stand for, and how to present our vision with clarity and confidence. She reminded us that it is all about the people, rather than the machine.
Hadas Ziso
Founder & CEO of EndoCure
Ludmila Livertovsky
Founder Ladies in Tech & VC
THANK YOU SO MUCH
I AM SPEACHLESS
Christina Michaelidou
Founder Growth Mentor & Coach | Design Your Wins™
Elmire is deeply insightful and has a rare gift for understanding people at their core.
The way she reflected my motivations and values back to me was both affirming and eye-opening, capturing drivers I hadn’t consciously named but immediately recognized as true.
Working with Elmire is an empowering experience – I couldn’t recommend her more highly to individuals or organizations looking to clearly articulate their purpose, passions and impact.
Gabrielle Paquette
Reproductive & Women’s Health Researcher
After we spoke, and from your website, I instinctively knew you were good at what you do however, from the way in which you have re-crafted my brand, you really are the alchemist!
I was blown away!
Anne Galloway
Career Story Strategist & Author
Thank you for the depth, clarity, and care you put into this. You didn’t just write words, you reflected things back to me in a way that made me pause, think, and even understand myself better. That takes real insight, and I truly appreciate it.
I feel seen, understood, and very well represented through your perspective and philosophy. It’s rare to come across work that is both thoughtful and intentional at this level, and I’m grateful for the experience.
Sulu Denis Boluwaji
Founder, LinkedintoFam | Clarity & Ecosystem Architect
Working with Elmire came at a time when we were navigating one of the most complex periods in our company’s journey.
It helped me cope with pressure, strengthen communication within our team and keep believing in what we were building and in myself.
That clarity has changed how I lead.
Viktor Samoilenko
Founder & CEO, Aspichi
How it works
Cultivating alignment
Discover
Discover your essence
Understand who you are, what drives you and what you want to create.
Understand
Understand how you operate
Know how you lead, decide, communicate and grow.
Create
Create mutual visibility
See and understand each other before deciding to build together.
Build
Build from fertile ground
Understand each other before deciding to build together.
For Founders
Build with people who help your vision flourish.
Capital matters.
But people build companies.
The Garden helps founders understand who they are and who they can build with.
For Investors
Invest in people, not only in opportunities.
Behind every investment are people.
The Garden helps investors understand who they are investing in and whether they can build together.
The Assembly
A place where relationships begin with understanding.
The Assembly brings founders and investors together to explore alignment.
Not only:
Can we build together?
But:
Can we flourish together?
The Vision
The future belongs to ecosystems in which life can flourish.
We envision a world where people understand themselves and each other before deciding to build together.
Where relationships are built on trust.
Capital supports human potential.
And people are free to be themselves.
When the conditions are right, everything can grow.
The Garden
The Garden is for those who believe the future is built through human connection.
For founders.
For investors.
For builders.
Because before we build companies,
we build relationships.
The Garden remains intentionally limited.
The Garden grows through clarity, not scale.
What aligns, grows.
80+
Members
Distinct leaders.
Shared clarity.
2023
Founded in
Built for depth and structure.
Global
Structured in approach.
Independent of borders.
The Garden grows where clarity thrives.