Idea to Venture
Founded by Cleo Shortland, the Wā Programme is a four-month one-to-one guided journey. Bringing your emerging idea into its first form and gifting it to the world.
Idea to Venture
Founded by Cleo Shortland, the Wā Programme is a four-month one-to-one guided journey. Bringing your emerging idea into its first form and gifting it to the world.
Wā
(noun) time, season, period of time, interval, term, duration.
The Wā Programme
This is for you if you:
Have an emerging idea that you know will expand you.
Need a devoted space to nurture what feels creative and alive.
No longer want to mute elements of yourself out of fear of judgement.
Feel a pressing urgency that now is the time to bring your idea into form.
Want to ground your brilliance in action that follows your curiosity.
And you know the old way won't work this time.
The Wā Programme is a four-month one-to-one container to create something new.
Working at the intersection of ritual intelligence & venture leadership
Designed to:
Move you from thinking about your idea to having it in hand.
Help you change, as your environment shifts and you’re invited to adapt.
Widen your capacity, as you focus on what’s important to you.
Build courage, as you stand in new territory.
Leave you with something finished, and still open to grow further.
"My time working with Cleo was alchemical. I had never felt so deeply held and understood, a natural gift Cleo holds.
Through ritual, contemplation, and a focus on creating the future, Cleo sped up my personal evolution in a way only very few people can.
I learned that freedom, adventure, and contribution were what I valued most. With imagination and creation, I've made changes in the way I work to match those values.”
— Rhea James FoxWhat is yearning to come through you, and into the world?
Kia ora, I'm Cleo Shortland, founder of The Wā Programme.
I left a stable career to bet my last savings on my own business. It worked, and along the way, I found myself drawn not to the businesses I was helping to build, but to the people leading them. Rooted in te ao Māori, that pull became Wā.
My work will witness you as you look into what is yearning to come through you. To bring it into its first form. To gift it into the world.
This four month experience gives you 8 x 120 minute bi-weekly video calls with Cleo, each building on the last, unlimited communication line between calls, and a bespoke Trello board as you move through the journey
What you receive
❋ Programme start date and durationBegins 24 August through to 20 December 2026 (4 months)
❋ FormatOne-to-one video calls in real time
❋ Your GuideCleo Shortland works with you to build a journey moving in purpose
❋ Pay as you journeyUSD $2,500 per month (cancel anytime)
“I needed someone who understood people, business, and also law.
Cleo is a great thinker because of her innate ability to get deep into people’s psyche and personality in order to understand them. To my mind, she has a special sense of spirituality about her that enables her to have these special traits."
— Nick KearneyFrequently Asked Questions
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No. You don't need a guide, just as you don't need a personal trainer or an interior designer.
You already have the capacity to shape the quality of your work and bring your idea into form.
Here is a ritual to help guide you in understanding if working with Cleo on the 1:1 Wā Programme is the right fit for you.
Find a quiet space and ask yourself:
What is this emerging idea costing me by staying unformed?
What would change if I had someone walking this threshold with me?
Can I meet the cost, the time, and the discomfort this would ask of me right now?
Sit with the answers and feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss further.
If the cost would place a burden on your family or your venture, don't. If you don't have the time to commit right now, don't.
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Rather than watching the time, we are moving through it, and with that, sessions tend to range between 90 minutes and 2 hours long.
This is deep work that requires space for reflection, ideation, and then determining experiments and aligned action for between sessions.
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I have the capacity to sit with the weight of what you're carrying. Your emerging idea, calling to come into creation, and into the world.
The frameworks I'll bring to help you make sense of it, and the rituals that will add depth and beauty as you journey through and beyond the programme.
You will be held with care, whatever you're moving through. And we will get to work on your idea even in those moments where things feel unclear.
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No.
No framework. No pre-recorded sessions.
Each session is your private one-to-one video call with me. Your journey is tailored to your vision, goals, and desired outcomes, each building on the last.
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It’s important for me to note that I am not a specialist in neurodivergent care.
What I can offer is an expansive container that promotes curiosity and thinking, independent experiments and aligned action. The video calls are the ritual and the unlimited communication line gives you the freedom to link in when its most aligned for you.
Logging on to 20 messages and voice notes from a client mid-epiphany is not uncommon, and I love it. All thoughts, half-made and whole, are welcome on the Wā Programme.
Get in touch and we can talk about my approach further and whether it is a fit.
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I’m based in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, working locally and abroad with clients in Australia, North America, UK and Europe.
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I’m taking a break from standard social media channels and using events, meetings and the Wā Podcast as my mediums to connect with you outside of the programme.
You can watch or listen to the Wā Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. I film the podcast on my travels across New Zealand and globally with an intention of capturing the personal stories behind the brand.
Get in touch if you have ideas for guests or if you are interested in being a guest on the podcast.