Life coaching takes deadly turn after young executive dies following $14,000-course that amplifies negative emotions

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A Chinese venture capitalist in her 30s, who managed billion-dollar companies, collapsed and died this week after a so-called life coaching session targeted mental demons by evoking past traumas.

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Sara Wei was a principal at Beijing-based DCM Ventures, an early-stage investor with US$4 billion in assets under management that’s backed startups later acquired by Dell, the New York Stock Exchange, Intel, Cisco Systems and The New York Times, among others.

The 32-year-old was taking part in a nearly US$14,000 three-day course, according to Pandaily.com, a tech news website based in the Chinese capital. The “very intensive” sessions lasted up to 14 hours a day and included hypnosis, it said.

Wei passed out during a session last Saturday and died on Monday, wire agency United Press International reported. Neither UPI, Pandaily nor DCM reported a cause of death or an underlying health condition.

The course was run by Legacy Power Leap Workshop, which is owned by Beijing-based Chengquan Culture, UPI said.

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Participants said the course is “known to amplify people’s shortcomings and dark sides and overwhelm them with negative emotions” and put them “under great mental pressure,” Pandaily said.

“In a very dark room with guided music, everyone kneels in front of a chair, and the tutor says something to remind you of your trauma,” the tech site recounted from unnamed participants.

“At this time, people around you begin to cry, and the sound of beating chairs becomes louder and louder. Another activity is that other members of the group keep scolding you loudly until you break down and cry.”

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Comments on Twitter by people reacting to Wei’s death included “This is horrible and tragic,” “Life coaching gone horribly abusive” and that it seemed “like pseudo executive training.”

Wei joined DCM in 2014 as an analyst and was rapidly promoted. According to her LinkedIn profile, her portfolio included Tantan, a casual dating site in China later acquired for about US$700 million, Musical.ly, a short-video app in the U.S. acquired by ByteDance for US$1 billion and incorporated into TikTok, Maimai, China’s version of LinkedIn, and Blued, billed as China’s largest gay dating network.

“Her humour and laughter lightened up our offices worldwide,” DCM said in a statement. “Although her time on Earth was short, Sara lived her life to the fullest. She will be dearly missed.”

Financial Post