The 300km Mindset 

What Ultra-Marathons Teach Us About Building Companies

Every founder knows the feeling. The market shifts, the runway shrinks, a key hire falls through - and the only option is to keep going. Resilience isn't a buzzword. It's the difference between companies that survive and companies that don't.

We're proud to welcome Salomon Wettstein, Co-CEO of Synpulse8 and Managing Partner of Synpulse, to this Startup Grind Hong Kong event in collaboration with Startup Grind Zurich. 

Salomon has spent 15 years building Synpulse from a Swiss boutique consultancy into a 1,300-person global firm — growing the Hong Kong office from zero to over 60 people — while completing some of the world's toughest ultra-running challenges, including Hong Kong's legendary Four Trails Ultra (298km, 15,000m of elevation gain, unsupported, in under 60 hours).

In this fireside chat, Salomon will share how the mindset that gets you through 300km of trails is the same as the one that fuels the daily grind of building something that lasts. 

He'll break down his approach to resilience and how to find your "why" - and why no challenge is too big if you know how to keep moving forward.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
⏰ Time: 7:00 PM HKT / 1:00 PM CET
📍 Location: Online (Virtual Event)

🎤 Meet the Speaker

Salomon Wettstein is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur who has built his career at the intersection of technology, consulting, and financial services. After studying engineering at ETH Zurich and cutting his teeth in web development during the '90s, he joined Synpulse and helped transform it from a 100-person Swiss boutique into a global firm spanning every major financial hub. He moved from Zurich to Singapore to Hong Kong — where he's now been for 10 years — growing the Hong Kong office to over 60 consultants and engineers.

Today, Salomon serves as Co-CEO of Synpulse8, the firm's engineering and digital product arm, and Managing Partner of the broader Synpulse group. He champions Agentic AI and drives growth strategies across APAC, Greater China, and global markets. Synpulse8 has earned recognition for its fintech solutions — operating, as Salomon puts it, "like a fintech inside a bigger company."

Off the clock, Salomon is one of Hong Kong's most committed ultra-runners. He has completed the Four Trails Ultra — 298km across all four of Hong Kong's major trails with nearly 15,000m of elevation gain.

💡 What You'll Learn

✅ How the mental frameworks behind ultra-running - apply to building a company
✅ Why resilience is a skill you build - and how challenges train you for the hardest moments in business
✅ What it takes to grow a financial services firm to 1,300 people across global markets
✅ How to find your "why" — the purpose that keeps you going when the odds feel stacked against you
✅ The growth mindset principles Salomon uses to lead teams, survive downturns, and turn every failure into fuel for what comes next

🎯 Who Should Attend?
🚀 Startup founders navigating the long game of building a company — and looking for the mental frameworks to sustain it
📈 Business leaders scaling teams across markets who want practical lessons from someone who's built from zero, twice
🏃 Entrepreneurs and professionals who believe physical and mental resilience are leadership skills — not side hobbies
📢 Anyone curious about what it takes to run 300km non-stop and what that teaches you about surviving in business

🚀 Don't miss this opportunity to learn how the toughest trails can prepare you for the toughest challenges in business

📌 RSVP now to secure your spot