Run a Mastermind on upcoach

What is a Mastermind?

A mastermind is a peer-led program where 6 to 12 people meet regularly to solve each other’s problems. There is no curriculum to speak of. No modules to work through. No lessons to consume. The members ARE the product — their experience, perspective, and willingness to challenge each other is what creates value.

The format revolves around the Hot Seat. One member presents a real challenge they’re facing. The group listens, asks clarifying questions, and offers perspective. The member walks away with clarity and concrete next steps. Rotate through the group over the course of the program, and every person gets multiple rounds of focused attention from a room full of people who genuinely care about their success.

Your role as the facilitator is to curate the room and hold the space. You’re not teaching — you’re orchestrating conversations. You decide who gets in. You set the tone. You keep the Hot Seat structure tight so everyone gets value. The best masterminds feel like a board of advisors, not a classroom.

This format works across verticals. Executive peer groups running at $25,000/year. Entrepreneur masterminds at $5,000 for six months. Wellness practitioners holding space for fellow practitioners. Creative directors sharpening each other’s thinking. The common thread is always the same: a small group of committed people, a structured conversation format, and a facilitator who keeps the room honest.

What upcoach creates for you

When you select Mastermind as your program type, upcoach generates a complete 6-month peer-led program built around connection, not content. The structure is intentionally minimal — masterminds are event-centric, not curriculum-centric.

Here is what gets created:

  • Mastermind Sessions — 12 bi-weekly 90-minute Hot Seat events, each with a sample agenda covering check-in, two Hot Seats, and a commitments round
  • Member Directory — visible to all participants so they can discover each other’s backgrounds, expertise, and superpowers. In a mastermind, peer discovery is essential
  • Lounge channel — a discussion channel for between-session connection, quick questions, and ongoing conversation
  • Wins & Shares channel — a dedicated space for members to celebrate progress and share breakthroughs
  • Members’ Wall — an open feed for member spotlights, updates, and posts that keep the group warm between bi-weekly sessions
  • Resources — a getting started section with a welcome guide, the Hot Seat format explained for participants, and a shared resource library
  • Member Profile & Introduction — a shared worksheet where members introduce themselves and see each other’s responses, building relationships before the first session

The program starts in Draft mode. Your participants cannot see it until you publish.

Set up your Mastermind

Step 1: Create your program

Open your organization dashboard and create a new program. Select Mastermind from the program type picker — you’ll see the “Peer-Led Programs” label and a summary of what gets generated.

The intake form asks you to set:

  • Program name — defaults to “Mastermind Program Layout,” rename it to yours
  • Program duration — fixed at 6 months (you can adjust later by adding or removing sessions)
  • First session date — defaults to two weeks from today. Everything cascades from here: the bi-weekly event schedule, the program end date
  • Session time — the time of day for your recurring Hot Seat sessions (set in 15-minute increments)

Review the summary panel. It confirms what will be built: Resources, 12 bi-weekly Hot Seat sessions, two channels, the Member Directory, the Members’ Wall, and the first session date. Then create. Your program generates in seconds.

Step 2: Review the welcome guide

The Resources section contains a “Your Mastermind Handbook” module with three items written for different audiences:

  1. Welcome & How This Program Works — an admin-only guide written for you, the facilitator. It covers how the program is organized, Hot Seat facilitation notes (timing, facilitation principles, psychological safety), and your first steps. Read it, absorb the facilitation advice, then remove or replace it before you publish.

  2. The Hot Seat Format — a participant-facing guide that explains the 90-minute session structure and the 40-minute Hot Seat format (Presentation, Clarifying Questions, Brainstorm & Feedback, Synthesis & Commitments). Keep this — your members will read it to understand how sessions work.

  3. Member Profile & Introduction — a shared worksheet with six open-ended questions: name and role, background, current projects, mastermind goals, superpower, and a fun fact. Members fill this out and can see each other’s responses. Review the questions and customize them for your group.

There is also a Shared Resources section with a Resource Library — a blank space for books, tools, and frameworks that grows organically as members contribute.

This is intentionally sparse. Resist the urge to fill it with content. The Hot Seat sessions are the product, not the curriculum.

Step 3: Configure your sessions

Your 12 bi-weekly Hot Seat events are already created as a recurring series, starting on the date you chose during setup. Each session is 90 minutes with an online meeting link placeholder.

Every event includes a sample agenda:

  • Check-in Round (15 min) — each member shares a 1-2 minute update
  • Hot Seat 1 (40 min) — full structure: Presentation (10 min), Clarifying Questions (10 min), Brainstorm & Feedback (15 min), Synthesis & Commitments (5 min)
  • Break (5 min) — stretch and reset
  • Hot Seat 2 (25 min) — same structure with condensed timing (7/5/10/3 min)
  • Commitments Round (5 min) — everyone states their intention for the next two weeks

Edit the agenda to match your facilitation style. Some facilitators run three shorter Hot Seats instead of two longer ones. Others skip the break and add a longer check-in. The structure is fully editable.

Add your video conferencing link (Zoom, Google Meet, or whatever you use) to each event’s location field. If you use the same link for every session, set it once on the series and it propagates to all 12 events.

For more on event configuration, see Create and manage events.

Step 4: Customize the Member Profile

The Member Profile & Introduction worksheet is set to “Visible” — meaning members can see each other’s responses. This is by design. In a mastermind, transparency builds trust and accelerates connection.

The default questions work for most groups, but consider tailoring them to your specific audience. A mastermind for SaaS founders might ask “What’s your current ARR?” and “What’s the biggest growth lever you’re exploring?” A mastermind for creative professionals might ask “What’s the project you’re most proud of?” and “What creative skill do you want to develop?”

The goal is to surface information that helps members connect and find shared ground before the first session.

Step 5: Set up payments

Create an offer for your mastermind with pricing that reflects the value of the room you’re curating. Mastermind programs typically range from $5,000 to $100,000 per year depending on the caliber of members, the facilitator’s reputation, and the access level.

For a 6-month program, a one-time payment or a 3-installment plan works well. If you run rolling masterminds with new cohorts every six months, consider creating a separate offer for each cohort with a clear enrollment deadline.

See Create an offer for the full walkthrough.

Step 6: Curate your members

This is where masterminds succeed or fail. The members are the product — every person you add changes the room’s dynamic.

You can bring participants in through:

  • Registration page — share your checkout link and let people apply through the payment flow
  • Direct invite — add members manually from your organization’s user list
  • Application process — use your offer’s registration page as a screening step, then manually approve members before granting access

Cap your mastermind at 6 to 12 members. Fewer than six limits the diversity of perspective. More than twelve means some members rarely get Hot Seat time in a 6-month, bi-weekly cadence. With 12 sessions and two Hot Seats per session, 12 members get exactly two turns each — a clean rotation.

Once members are in, encourage them to fill out the Member Profile immediately. The Member Directory and visible worksheet responses give everyone a head start on building relationships before the first session.

See Manage participants for all enrollment options.

Deliver your Mastermind

The bi-weekly rhythm

A mastermind has a simpler cadence than most programs:

  1. Between sessions — members stay connected through the Lounge channel, share wins in Wins & Shares, and post updates on the Members’ Wall
  2. Session day — the 90-minute Hot Seat session where the real work happens
  3. Post-session — Hot Seat members act on their commitments, which become check-in material at the next session

That’s it. No content releases to schedule. No modules to drip. The rhythm is session, action, session, action — powered by peer accountability.

Facilitation, not teaching

Your job during sessions is to hold the structure:

  • Time boundaries — respect the 10/10/15/5 timing in each Hot Seat. The most common facilitation mistake is letting the Presentation phase run long, which squeezes the Brainstorm phase where the real value lives.
  • Draw out the room — ask “What does everyone think?” instead of giving your own advice first. The group’s collective wisdom is the product.
  • Synthesize — at the end of each Hot Seat, summarize the key insights and confirm the member’s commitments. This creates clarity and accountability.
  • Psychological safety — a mastermind only works if people bring real challenges, not polished highlights. Set this tone in Session 1 and reinforce it relentlessly.

Keep the group warm between sessions

Bi-weekly sessions mean 14 days between touchpoints. The channels and feed exist specifically to bridge that gap:

  • Use the Lounge for quick questions, resource sharing, and casual conversation
  • Encourage members to post in Wins & Shares when something goes right — celebration compounds momentum
  • Post member spotlights or facilitator updates on the Members’ Wall to keep the feed active
  • The Member Directory gives members a reason to reach out to each other directly

A mastermind that only lives during sessions loses energy fast. The between-session connection is what transforms a group of strangers into a genuine peer network.

For more on using channels effectively, see Use channels for discussion. For feed management, see Use the feed for announcements.

Track outcomes

Mastermind outcomes look different from curriculum-based programs. You’re not tracking lesson completion or quiz scores. You’re tracking engagement, presence, and peer connection.

Use Space Reports to monitor:

  • Event attendance — who’s showing up consistently and who’s drifting. In a 12-session mastermind, missing more than two sessions breaks the continuity of peer accountability
  • Channel activity — are members using the Lounge and Wins & Shares between sessions? Low channel activity often signals low group cohesion
  • Feed engagement — Members’ Wall activity tells you whether the group is building real relationships or just showing up for sessions
  • Worksheet completion — did everyone complete their Member Profile? Incomplete profiles mean members are not fully invested in the peer discovery process

Post-event feedback (collected automatically after each session) gives you session-by-session data on how valuable members find the Hot Seat format. If Value or Engagement ratings dip mid-program, that’s a signal to refresh the facilitation approach or address group dynamics.

The strongest outcome signal in a mastermind is renewal. If members re-enroll for the next cohort, the room delivered.

Best practices

Curate ruthlessly. The single most important decision in a mastermind is who gets in. One disengaged member or one person who dominates every conversation can poison the room. Screen applicants for commitment level, communication style, and what they can contribute — not just what they want to get. A great mastermind member gives as much as they take.

Keep content minimal. The Resources section has a getting started guide and a shared resource library. That’s enough. Masterminds that try to add weekly lessons or homework assignments drift toward group coaching territory. The Hot Seat is your core product — protect its centrality by not burying it under content.

Rotate Hot Seats deliberately. With 12 sessions and two Hot Seats per session, you have 24 Hot Seat slots across the program. For a 12-member group, that’s two turns each. Track who has gone and who hasn’t. Some members will volunteer eagerly; others need to be invited. Make sure everyone gets their turn — the quiet members often have the most impactful sessions.

Use the 6-month arc intentionally. Sessions 1-2 are about building trust and establishing norms. Sessions 3-10 are the deep work. Sessions 11-12 should include reflection — what each member accomplished, what changed, what’s next. Consider running a “commitment review” in the final session where everyone revisits their original goals from the Member Profile.

Bi-weekly is sustainable. 90-minute peer sessions are energy-intensive. Weekly cadence leads to burnout and attendance drops by month three. Bi-weekly gives members time to act on their commitments and come back with real progress to report.

Make the directory matter. The Member Directory is not a nice-to-have — it’s core infrastructure. Encourage members to keep their profiles updated. Reference member backgrounds during sessions: “Sarah, you dealt with something similar last quarter — what would you tell James?” This weaves the directory into the lived experience of the group.

What to do next