Private cohorts for the next generation

Raised to build, not only to inherit.

A private development programme for the children of global families, ages 16 to 25. We build what school can’t teach: character, judgement and the agency to act and create.

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See how a year works
By introduction only Three to five students per cohort Led personally by the founder Students now at MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Brown

The moment

Wealth transfers with a signature. Readiness takes years.

“The kids are not ready.”

The worry we hear most from parents. Not the portfolio, but whether heirs can steward, build and lead.

School teaches what to think.

Not how to operate: take initiative, lead others, decide under uncertainty, create value without permission.

The window is short.

From 16 to 25, habits, networks and ambition set. This decade decides whether a child builds or inherits.

Wealth can buy access. It cannot buy agency. The families we work with want children who think for themselves, build something real, and are ready to carry the family forward on their own terms.

JOSH NEWALL, FOUNDER

Who we are

High Agency turns heirs into builders.

A private mentoring community. Students earn their way up five ranks, from learning the work to multiplying it.

  1. Rank I

    Analyst

    Learning the work.

  2. Rank II

    Operator

    Doing the work.

  3. Rank III

    Builder

    Owning the work.

  4. Rank IV

    Founder

    Selling the work.

  5. Rank V

    Principal

    Multiplying the work.

How it works

The architecture around every student

The infrastructure a CEO has, built around the student in month one. Theirs to keep.

What it builds: judgement, influence, systems literacy, value creation and leadership.

Read from the foundation up.

A builder, not an heir

VIDossier

Proof no transcript can match

VThe Arena

Real missions, real stakes, real judges

IVOpportunity Desk

Our private network, constantly surfacing opportunities few ever see

IIIOperating System

Habits, performance and an AI OS: a method for operating at the highest level

IIIntelligence

A feed built for young minds: how the world works, where it’s heading, and where they fit

IPersonal Board

The circle that sees them through their hardest moments

The Foundation

Virtue, integrity and family, beneath everything else

The year

From a plan to proof, in four movements.

  1. Month 1

    Discover

    Family onboarding, student interviews and a personal development plan for each child.

  2. Months 2 to 5

    Foundations

    Core tracks, monthly missions and a first look inside the family enterprise, where there is one.

  3. Months 5 to 10

    Build

    Real projects, placements and rotations, with an optional intensive in Boston.

  4. Months 11 to 12 and ongoing

    Present

    Each student presents their work to the family, and we set the plan for year two.

Alongside the whole year: career exploration and university guidance.

The week

What a week looks like.

Three sample weeks from one quarter. About two to three hours a week, with room for more. Masterclasses are optional; showing up is part of how students earn their next rank.

Week
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

Start of the month

Week 1

Mon:

Monthly mission

Monthly · by email

Development report

Monthly · to parents

Tue:

Cohort session

Cohort · weekly · 75 min

Wed:

How next-gen businesses run

VP Business Operations, SpaceX
Open to all · 75 min · optional

Thu:

Masterclass: Negotiation

Open to all · every other week · 60 min · optional

Fri:

1:1 with mentor

Every other week · 30 min

Sat:
Sun:

The Agency Brief

Weekly · read at their own pace

Mid-month

Week 2

Mon:

Intro to private equity

Managing Director, Norland Capital
Open to all · 75 min · optional

Tue:

Cohort session

Cohort · weekly · 75 min

Wed:

The Mind of a CEO

Former CEO, Carbon Black
Open to all · 45 min · optional

Thu:

Foundations: character and judgement

With Deniz · open to all · monthly · 60 min

Fri:

Opportunity Desk: reviewing a hotel investment

Open to all · 45 min · optional

Sat:
Sun:

The Agency Brief

Weekly · read at their own pace

End of the quarter

Week 13

Mon:

The Reading Room: Extreme Ownership

Open to all · every other week · 60 min · optional

Tue:

Cohort session

Cohort · weekly · 75 min

Wed:

1:1 with mentor

Every other week · 30 min

The Arena: Public Speaking

Open to all · monthly · 60 min · optional

Thu:

Masterclass: Problem Solving

Open to all · every other week · 60 min · optional

Fri:

Quarterly presentation

With families · quarterly · 2 hrs

Sat:
Sun:

The Agency Brief

Weekly · read at their own pace

Live, scheduled Live, optional In their own time For the family

The network

Real operators, not lecturers.

Who mentors our students

  • Start-up founders and operators
  • Y Combinator alumni
  • Fortune 500 leaders
  • Family office principals
  • Frontier tech builders
  • Engineers
  • VC and PE investors
  • Big Four consultants
  • GTM leaders
  • Family business leaders
  • Researchers
  • Alumni who made it

Where it leads

  • Internships and jobs
  • Career exploration
  • Warm introductions
  • Founder and investor access
  • Live competitions
  • References from real operators
  • Hands-on at the frontier
  • A university application nobody else has
  • A network for life

Real work, real stakes: work a real operator will actually judge.

The proof

What our students are doing

Selected dossiers. Our students now study at MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Brown.

Built a global olympiad

Created a global math olympiad platform that now spans 2,000 students across the world.

SWATANTRA J.

Hired by the CEO

Spotted a gap in a top Y Combinator AI startup’s product, built the fix himself and shipped it in public. The CEO reached out and offered him a paid internship.

SAI A.

Built Stanford’s climate venture hub

Founded University Climate Ventures, connecting campus climate founders with leading investors.

CAROLYN H.

Built a tool we now use

Launched Skilliby at MIT, an app that turns short practical tasks into a measurable profile across 1,600+ skills. High Agency now uses it with our students.

ALISA R.

Chief Growth Officer at 17

Leads growth at Project Q2, a research nonprofit backed by Microsoft. Also co-founded Noura, featured live on NBC News.

EVELYN Q.

Top 18 Under 18

Co-founded an AI tool that protects families from scams, started in a High Agency cohort. Top 3 in Microsoft’s founder pitch, 2nd in the Congressional App Challenge.

HARISH R.

Why High Agency

Families have tried the alternatives. None of them do all of this.

What the family gets Tutors Internships Summer programmes High Agency
Builds character and reliabilityRarelyRarelyRarelyYes
Real work, judged by operatorsRarelyRarelySometimesYes
A year-round, personal relationshipYesSometimesRarelyYes
A private network that opens doorsRarelyRarelySometimesYes
Involves and reports to the familySometimesSometimesRarelyYes
Stays with them as they growRarelyRarelyRarelyYes

Yes Sometimes Rarely

At a glance

A small, private circle of families, built around each child.

3–5

students per cohort

Small by design, so every student gets real attention.

16–25

two age cohorts

Pre-college, 16 to 18. College and beyond, 18 to 25. Siblings welcome.

12+

months

A 12-month commitment. Many students stay on well beyond it.

1:1

founder-led

Every family is led personally by Josh, with Deniz as their day-to-day partner.

Who your family works with

Two people, close to every family.

Josh Newall

Founder

Leads every family personally. Built his career selling to the C-level at the Fortune 500 and leading global sales teams. Has lived in nine cities on five continents.

Deniz Aydin

Partner, Family Experience

The family’s day-to-day partner: onboarding, reporting and parent relations. An MBA with a career in biotech, running complex programmes.

Small by design. Every family gets the founder, not a programme manager. We work alongside the family’s advisers, so the child’s development and the family’s plans move together.

For private banks and family offices

You steward the wealth. We ready the people who will carry it.

Offer High Agency to your client families as a private next-generation cohort. Pilots start with three to five families.

Discuss a partnership

For the family

Children who lead, decide and build, with a trusted mentor for as long as they want one.

For the institution

  • A relationship with the next generation, early
  • Timely, consented moments for planning conversations
  • A distinctive offer few private banks can match

Confidential by design: what a student shares with their mentor stays private, and parents approve what the bank sees.

Next steps

How a family joins a cohort.

  1. 1

    Introduction

    Through a trusted adviser, a private bank or an existing family.

  2. 2

    Family conversation

    A private call with Josh and Deniz about goals for each child.

  3. 3

    Student meeting

    We meet each young person to confirm fit and appetite.

  4. 4

    Cohort begins

    Onboarding and a personal plan for each child.

Developing heirs into builders.

We take on a limited number of families each year, most by introduction from a trusted adviser or an existing family.

Request an introduction