Selfmastered

Selfmastered is a peak performance academy for entrepreneurs. We exist to help them win in the marketplace. 

We teach the performance skills essential to business success that business schools don't teach - but make all the difference. Skills like stress management, self-awareness, strategic thinking, grit, focus & flow states, emotional management, etc…

Without adequate performance skills, entrepreneurs quickly become overwhelmed, prone to distractions, and battling against negativity & self-doubt. And then, they burn out.

The writing is on the wall: 

> The average entrepreneur can waste up to 50% of the day in distractions.  
> 75% have experienced burnout at least once in their lives. 
> 77% report experiencing work-derived stress that affects their health. 
> 85% of entrepreneurs suffer from low self-esteem or self-doubt. 

No wonder 30% of business projects fail due to unclear direction and goals, and only 6% of entrepreneurs achieve their personal goals.

We train entrepreneurs in 12-week cycles using the most actionable frameworks from behavioral science, complexity science & neuroscience within a data-driven methodology.

The latest survey we did (February 2023) showed that, within 12 weeks, our clients reported: 

> 100% elimination of self-doubt & self-sabotage. 
> +327% more productivity (they get done three times more things done than before). 
> 86% report developing a strong sense of purpose, clarity & direction.
> +280% revenue acceleration (for digital businesses < $20k/month).

Interested? Please apply here: www.selfmastered.com/quiz

Founder & CEO

IE University

Academic Coordinator Master in Real Estate Development (MRED) and Global Master in Real Estate Development (GMRED) at the School of Architecture and Design (IE University).

The Master in Real Estate Development is designed to provide students with an understanding of the breadth and depth of the development process. We pride ourselves on providing a strong foundation in the economic, financial, strategic, and legal aspects of cutting-edge real estate development.

Academic Coordinator (2020-22) | Adjunct Professor (2022-)

Civeta Investment

Early investors in DogBuddy.com (acquired by Rover.com), Alterkeys.com (acquired by BeMate.com), HeyPlease (acquired by Up-Spain.com), Chicfy.com (acquired by Vinted.com), Genial.ly (Series A exit), reclamador.es (Series A exit), Goin.app ($8M raised to date), HitsBook.com, Dietox.com, Joinup.es, Tutellus.com, Frontity.com, Eelp.com, Lamasmona.com, Housers.com...

Civeta Investment is one of the top 10 startup VCs in Spain by activity rate (2015 VC Ranking made by Expansion) and one of the top 25 leading VCs of Spain (2016 Ranking, El Mundo).

Partner | Member of the Investment Committee

Reporting directly to the Board of Directors and CEO, my main functions within this Venture Capital Fund were :
• Day-by-day analysis of new investment opportunities, with a special focus on identifying technological startups with exponential growth capabilities.
• Frequent contact with startups, funds and institutions
• Assistance on the outline of the general strategy and restructuring of Civeta.

Dealflow Manager

Círculo Inmobiliario

Socio

Nova Talent

Nova Talent is an international, member-curated invitation-only community of top talented young professionals and high-achieving organizations with a common desire to inspire and connect with one another.

March 2021: Selected at NOVA111 as one of the top 111 Spaniards below 35 with the most potential. I was specifically selected in the Finance vertical because of my fast-paced career (0 to Investment Director in 30 months) in Private Equity Real Estate & Venture Capital industries between the years 2015-2020.

September 2020: "Programa de Liderazgo Público y Social" Scholarship awarded by NOVA, FUNCIVA & UNIR.

NOVA111 2021 | FUNCIVA Scholarship

Various Companies

Startup Mentor

AREX Real Estate Technologies

Advisor

XENIA Capital

- Co-Direction of the Investment Department. My responsibilities encompassed the full transaction cycle: sourcing of suitable investment opportunities, risk assessment, full due diligence conduction (w/ 3rd parties), financial modeling & presentation to the Investment Committee.

- Total projects originated: 97.

Investment Director

W E L Z

Along with the responsibilities I held as an Investment Manager, my role as Investment Director encompassed the following activities: 

• Direction of the Investment Department. My responsibilities encompassed the full transaction cycle: sourcing of suitable investment opportunities, risk assessment, full due diligence conduction (w/ 3rd parties), financial modelling, presentation to the Investment Committee, assistance to the legal department for the transaction negotiation & closing. Direct contact and reporting to Partners, the Board of Directors and the Advisory Board.

• Full operational organization of the Investment Department (new operational processes, research, scope of analysis, partnerships, HR, etc).

• Institutional representation of WELZ upon financial institutions, industrial & institutional partners & investors: roadshows, internal roll-ups, etc.

• Total projects prospected: 420ish. Total investments managed/underwritten: 15.

• Financial Analysis of residential and commercial real estate projects with a total GDV value of €5Bn, since WELZ (Cogress Spain) started.

Investment Manager

Deloitte

Special projects:
• Coordination of several departments (IT, Marketing, Real Estate) to create a new technological platform for Deloitte Financial Advisory to assist in the transaction process of NPL/REOs. Interfaces that assisted from Pre-NBO phase to transaction closing.
• Integration initiative of two Real Estate Artificial Intelligence startups within Deloitte Financial Advisory. Both contracts were signed.

Deloitte Startup Mentor:
• Research and analysis of with new technological business partners (Real Estate & Artificial Intelligence startups) suitable for Deloitte's FA.

DTTL FA RE Special Projects & Deloitte Startup Mentor

• Fully-bilingual financial advisory in the acquisition of REO and NPL portfolios (secured & unsecured) in Spain on behalf of major international PEREs.
• Participation in more than 15+ portfolios such as: Eloise & Macarena (from SAREB), Buffalo, Boston, Jaipur & Sena (from BBVA), Ocean, Lane, Gold & Tour (from Bankia) and a few others (Goya, Traveller, FAR, TAG...).
• Management, process & operational consulting projects for big clients such as the major real estate servicer platform in Spain. Pre/post NPL/REO. Workout, regional delegations management & internal reporting, etc.
• Financial modelling of real estate investment cashflows, mostly for the development of residential assets.
• Market research for new Real Estate developments in Spain’s main residential hotspots.

Financial Advisory Real Estate

I’m an entrepreneur & investor with 8+ years of experience building, leading & managing high-performance teams. 

For the past decade, I've been obsessed with unlocking & sustaining peak performance in myself & the teams I've led across three industries (consulting, private equity & higher education).

This has allowed me to build the fastest career in the Spanish financial sector (zero to private equity director in 30 months), invest over $100M within 2 years in real estate and venture capital, and train over 200+ founders in peak performance.

I'm currently the founder of Selfmastered, a peak performance academy for founders looking to scale themselves. 

My mission is to help 1M founders unlock peak personal performance through proven systems - so they can dominate their industries while reclaiming time, sanity & freedom.

Why? 

Because founders make the world a better place through their work.

Every founder deserves to succeed.

Yet, few do because most lack the crucial performance skills necessary to succeed. 

Skills like: self-awareness, self-authorship, stress management, emotional management, mental toughness & grit, focus & flow states, strategic thinking, etc...
 
Selfmastered uses a proprietary methodology that blends the most actionable frameworks from behavioral science, neuroscience & complexity science to deliver robust and long-lasting cognitive and behavioral transformation.

We have worked with 200+ clients, 27 of whom said, "Selfmastered feels like having a secret weapon." 

If you want to unlock peak personal performance, APPLY HERE: https://www.selfmastered.com/quiz

Email: leon@selfmastered.com
YouTube: @leoncastillosm
Twitter: @leoncastillosm

In October 2019, I smashed my head against the asphalt in Madrid.

Apparently, it was a bike accident. 

I remember nothing. 

“Episodic amnesia,” doctors called it.

I just remember opening my eyes in a hospital room, pain everywhere, trying to piece together what had happened.

When I got released from the hospital, something had shifted inside of me.

I didn’t want to continue down the same journey I was.

I wasn’t happy building someone else’s business. 

So I walked away from my private equity career. 

Broke the lease of my penthouse.

Packed my life into boxes and moved back into my parents’ basement.

At 31 (not 22).

I had an idea that I’d been toying with for a few years: create the world’s first high-performance center for founders.

Athletes go to high-performance centers to prep for the Olympics.

They train in their sport and a host of performance skills that strengthen their chances.

Founders get fragmented advice (podcasts, books, apps, disconnected coaching sessions), never integrated training that helps them get things done consistently, especially under stress and uncertainty.

So I tried to build the thing I couldn’t find.

No team.

No capital.

No safety net.

In my third language.

And no promise anyone would care.

Six years later, after working with founders ranging from 6-figure solopreneurs to 9-figure CEOs, my intuition was right: the problem is real, and the need is massive.

In business, you don't fail because you don't know what to do. 

You fail because you can't consistently execute on what needs to be done without getting distracted, doubtful, or burned out.

That's the gap I solve.

I train founders to execute like elite operators using neuroscience-based protocols and quantified tracking.

Not cheap self-help. Not motivational fluff. Not random tactics. 

Systematic training in the performance skills business schools ignore:

· How to think clearly when emotions hijack your decisions
· How to focus for hours instead of fracturing attention across 10 tasks
· How to trust yourself after breaking too many internal promises
· How to execute consistently instead of oscillating between "on fire" and "falling apart."

These are the skills that actually build great companies.

Now I’m based in Miami, building the next chapter of Selfmastered.

If you're a founder who knows what to do but can't execute at the level your business demands: that's what I fix.

Let’s connect.

Onwards,

Horacio León

Horacio León Castillo

Professor, IE University | Founder, Selfmastered | I train founders to execute like elite operators using scientific protocols and quantified tracking

The world's most overlooked asset class isn't gold, crypto, or AI.

It's entrepreneurial performance.

We've all read the stats: 90% of businesses fail within 10 years.

Yet, the truth is that entrepreneurs never really fail.

They all quit trying.

Not because they don't know what to do (in this day and age, information is commoditized)

But because they couldn't continue trying.

Not out of personal weakness, of course.

But because they can't sustain their journey.

At some point, they hit a biological ceiling nobody told them was there.

That ceiling that manifests as emotional decision-making, brain fog, procrastination, overwhelm, burnout, and, above all, the execution gap: knowing what to do but not doing it.

The reason is that our brain evolved to survive the savanna, not to be clear, focused, consistent, and happy 24/7 in the modern world.

So when stress spikes, the path blurs, or the mental scar tissue gets too thick, we crumble.

And we quit trying.

We've worked with 400ish founders doing 6 to 9 figures in revenue.

Nearly all of them knew they were leaving massive potential on the table by failing to execute on what they already knew.

Yet the standard advice they were given was to "just keep hustling."

To "just push through."

As if execution failure was a character flaw.

It isn't.

It's a performance problem.

Solved through performance training.

Think about it: why does the average police officer last 2 minutes in combat, while the average Navy SEAL can go days without food until the mission's done?

The difference isn't IQ, talent, or motivation.

It's systematic training that rewires the brain for consistency, clarity, focus, and execution.

Yet entrepreneurs, who are under more pressure than anybody else, have been sold the lie that the solution to their performance problems is more courses or masterminds.

It isn't.

Every founder has 47 unfinished courses.

Knowledge is never the bottleneck, remember.

Your ability to use it (consistently, under pressure, when you're tired, unclear, or terrified)... that's your bottleneck.

And it's completely trainable.

So if you find yourself executing way below your potential, realize the solution is not to push, hustle, or pray harder.

The solution is to train yourself.

Just like all elite operators do.

What would change in your business if you could execute consistently for 90 days straight?

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