The 300km Mindset - with Salomon Wettstein
Details
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
Agenda
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Speaker
Salomon Wettstein - Synpulse8 & Synpulse (Co-CEO & Managing Partner)
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 15 years ago and helped transform it from a sub-100-person Swiss boutique into a global firm spanning every major financial hub. …
Hosted By
Jens Wernborg, Director
Over 25 years of experience doing business with companies in Hong Kong, China and India across a wide range of industries.
Have worked with companies to successfully increase sales, save costs through purchasing and outsourcing, establish local presences, recruit and train staff and use digitalization to improve their productivity.
Always looking for ways to streamline and make businesses more efficient using digital tools and services. Knows how to get things done.
Margaret Leung, Co-Director
Margaret is a seasoned Business Consultant and Project/Event Manager who helps foreign companies, both large and small, develop new business and expand in Hong Kong and Greater China. She also has over 20 years of experience in curating and managing events such as seminars, exhibitions, and official-cum-business delegations across multiple industries. This involves working closely with government officials, C-level executives, and collaborating with project team members from different countries and cultures.
Since joining the Startup Grind team in October 2017, Margaret has been deeply inspired by the dynamic energy of the startup ecosystem. She is passionate about community building and fostering meaningful connections among entrepreneurs and professionals.
Amrit Sethi, Startup Grind Moderator
Guest moderator Startup Grind Hong Kong.
Over 30 years of experience helping clients explore the world and make travel stress free.
Individual and corporate travel. Specialist groups, cruises, tours, worldwide hotels, sightseeing, sport competitions. Visa services in Hong Kong.
I combine my teams expertise with a personal touch to ensure that your travel plans meet your needs and wishes while eliminating all the hassle.
Marin Magré, Ambassador
A Frenchman who grew up in Poland, studied in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and started a coffee business in Guatemala before deciding to go back to Hong Kong to be closer to the world of Tech and AI.
My strengths are my international and broad vision combined with a keen sense for operational detail, my fearless go-getter attitude and my attraction to building mutually beneficial relationships.
Excited to be part of the SG community to learn and grow alongside inspiring and innovating people seeking to make a positive impact!
Keith Engine, Mentor
Life is too short to... I love to explore new things - globetrotter, bookworm, and you can see me in most of the startup events in Hong Kong (and beyond) - hunt me! Besides Startup Grind, I was the organizer of Startup Weekend and AngelHack. Some topics can get my immediate attention: emerging technologies, youth entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, startup ecosystem in Asia Pacific. I'm approachable, so, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn!
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Global Partner
Carta (http://www.carta.com/launch?utm_campaign=20240423-nam-general-smb-startup_grind_partnership&utm_medium=social&utm_source=startup_grind)
Carta helps people manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Carta Launch is the only free cap table product, helping new founders get started. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 7,000 funds and SPVs, and over two million equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. For more information, visit carta.com.
Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind.
Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-hong-kong-presents-the-300km-mindset-with-salomon-wettstein/.