Sandra Dias Da Cunha is the Owner of Sundance Ranch Portugal, a unique retreat near Lisbon offering immersive riding courses that blend horsemanship, personal growth, and harmony with nature. Previously, Sandra ran one of Portugal's largest urban riding schools, delivering up to 1,400 lessons per month, before founding Sundance Ranch to align her business with her values — prioritizing horse welfare and authentic human connection. An INSEAD graduate, Sandra is known for creating a safe, restorative environment where guests and volunteers from around the world can learn, connect, and return year after year.

Some businesses feel less like enterprises and more like breathing ecosystems — places where people slow down, reconnect, and remember how they actually want to live. But what does it take to build something that honors well-being and genuine connection rather than speed, pressure, and profit at all costs? And what happens when you let those values lead?

For Sandra Dias Da Cunha, the answer begins with flipping the traditional hierarchy of business priorities. According to Sandra, an equine educator who has spent years observing how humans and horses learn from one another, everything works better when you honor the well-being of the beings at the center — equine and human — before you ever think about money. She describes how, after running a packed riding school that left her depleted and her horses constrained, she rebuilt her work around freedom, presence, and emotional safety. At her ranch, people learn by slowing down, syncing their breath and movement with the horses, and rediscovering a more grounded version of themselves. The result is a business that not only functions but also transforms everyone who engages with it.

In this episode of The Soul Soothing Podcast, Christiane Witt is joined by Sandra Dias Da Cunha, Owner of Sundance Ranch Portugal, to discuss building a values-driven business rooted in connection and well-being. You'll hear how Sandra created a unique teaching experience that attracts deeply aligned clients, why her natural horsemanship programs inspire lasting community, and how slowing down becomes a strategy for success.

Michelle McKenzie is the Founder and Chief Insights Officer at Empowering Insights, a leadership development firm that helps entrepreneurs strengthen their inner capacity to lead and scale. She is a purpose-driven strategist who has moved more than $120 million in catalytic capital to support founder growth around the world. Drawing on her background in international development, angel investing, and coaching, she teaches leaders how to build trust, communicate clearly, and evolve with their businesses. Michelle is also the creator of The Unbreakable Founder and host of the WHERE'S THE FUNDING? (WTF) podcast.

Growing a business often feels like trying to steer a ship while building it at the same time. The pressures to perform, lead, and stay resilient can stack up fast, especially when you're scaling beyond your first wins. But what really makes a founder unbreakable, and how do you know when it's time to shift from doing the work to actually leading the people behind it?

According to Michelle McKenzie, a seasoned global development strategist and leadership coach, the answer starts with the founder's inner evolution. As she explains, most accelerators teach entrepreneurs how to build companies, not how to build themselves, which is why so many hit a wall when they begin hiring and scaling. Michelle views leadership as an "inner game" that requires trust, clarity, and the courage to let go of old ways of operating. For her, real scale only happens when leaders grow at the same pace as their business, becoming steady, trustworthy anchors for their teams and investors.

In this episode of The Soul Soothing Podcast, Cerice Berndsen is joined by Michelle McKenzie, Founder and Chief Insights Officer at Empowering Insights, to discuss the shift from doer to leader. They explore why trust is the foundation of sustainable growth, how clarity strengthens team culture, and the role of community in building resilient founders. Michelle also shares advice on cultivating emotional agility during times of change.

Christiane Witt is the Founder of Soul Soothing Co., a company that helps women entrepreneurs build AI-enhanced systems and self-managing teams that restore spaciousness, flow, and creative freedom. She focuses on the mental, emotional, and spiritual side of entrepreneurship — guiding clients to regulate their nervous systems, find peace, and redefine success beyond constant hustle.

Cerice Berndsen is the COO and Systems Architect at Soul Soothing Co. She helps clients design streamlined processes and implement automation so they can delegate effectively, reclaim their time, and lead their businesses with clarity and calm.

Leah Hielsberg is the Chief Implementation Officer and Co-founder at Soul Soothing Co. She teaches women entrepreneurs how to organize their operations, manage their tech stacks, and leverage automation to eliminate redundant tasks.

Women entrepreneurs often find themselves trapped in a cycle of overwork, self-doubt, and the belief that their value is tied to constant productivity. This mindset fuels burnout, erodes joy, and creates pressure to meet impossible standards. What happens when leaders finally pause long enough to ask whether relentless effort is truly the path to success?

Christiane Witt, Cerice Berndsen, and Leah Hielsberg, experts in transformational leadership, explain how rest, enoughness, and self-compassion help break this cycle. It's about recognizing internalized pressure and redefining worth beyond usefulness. By practicing small moments of ease, expanding the capacity to rest, and understanding the root causes of overwhelm, leaders can calm their nervous system and return to their work with clarity. This shift replaces constant striving with grounded confidence, allowing women to lead with more intention, spaciousness, and self-trust.

In this episode of The Soul Soothing Podcast, Christiane Witt, Cerice Berndsen, and Leah Hielsberg of Soul Soothing Co. are interviewed by Chad Franzen of Rise25 to discuss breaking the burnout cycle for women leaders. They delve into the power of rest, redefining enoughness, and leading from emotional spaciousness. The conversation also demystifies nervous-system thresholds, cultivating safety in leadership, and building a supportive company culture.