Via AscensusLatin — “the way up.” The deliberate path of ascent: progress made on purpose, and never made alone.
Clivus Leadership
Build the company. Build the life.
Clivus Capitolinus — the sacred road of ascent in ancient Rome.
The ClimbThe long work of building something that lasts — steep, and best made with peers who have climbed it too.⌄
The Name Behind the Practice
Clivus Capitolinus — the final climb.

In ancient Rome, the Clivus Capitolinus was the sacred road that wound up the Capitoline Hill — the path a victorious general and his legions walked in triumph toward the Temple of Jupiter at the summit. Not merely a road. The moment of arrival. The proof of what they had built.

And they did not make the climb alone. They ascended surrounded by those who had stood beside them — their circle.

The ascent was deliberate, every step taken among comrades who had shared the weight. It was not ceremony. It was covenant. That is Clivus: the long climb of building a great company, made alongside peers who have carried the same load. Via Ascensus — the way up.

What the Circle Does for You

Clivus surrounds you with peers who have made the climb — so you never make the hardest calls alone.

Your team, your investors, your board — each comes to the table with an agenda. A true peer comes with none but your success: the rarest counsel a CEO has, and the hardest to find inside your own walls.

Decide with clarity

Bring your bet-the-company decisions to a room of CEOs who have faced them, and leave with conviction instead of doubt.

Grow on sounder footing

Pressure-test your strategy against operators who have scaled and exited — before the market tests it for you.

Build what lasts

Trade the lonely view from the top for judgment that compounds, and a company built to outlive the effort that made it.

Protect the life behind it

The climb was never only the company. Guard the family, the health, and the life the work is meant to serve.

The Path In

Three steps to the climb.

I

Connect

A private conversation to see whether this is a climb we should make together.

II

Experience

Sit in as our guest. Feel the room and the caliber of the table before you ever commit.

III

Ascend

Take your seat in the circle and lead with the counsel of peers beside you.

By Design

The table is small by design — capped, and filled by introduction. A seat goes to leaders who come to contribute as much as to gain, because the counsel is only ever as strong as the peers who give it. Not every CEO is a fit — and that is what protects the room for those who are.

Who Leads the Climb
F. George Dunham III
Founder, Clivus Leadership

Clivus is led by an operator who has made the climb. CPA to CFO to CEO: across three decades in technology, George founded a software company and grew it from startup to a NASDAQ IPO — past $100 million in revenue and more than 1,000 employees. He went on to build and sell additional software businesses at premium valuations, one acquired by a global financial institution.

He credits a single discipline above all: never making the most important decisions alone. The trusted advisors and peers around him — people who had carried the same weight and told him the truth — shaped the outcomes of his own companies. That conviction is the foundation of Clivus.

In Their Words
“
What I appreciated most was his judgment. George has the kind of operating experience that lets him cut through noise quickly, and he pairs it with a willingness to ask hard questions and sit with hard answers. He listens before he decides, and once he decides, he moves. If you are a tech CEO looking for someone who has actually been in the seat, navigated the decisions that come with scaling and selling a company, and genuinely cares about helping other operators do the same, George is the real deal.
Jason Shapiro
82i · advised on the sale of epaCUBE
“
During the ensuing decade, we worked with George as he managed and led the company through a number of challenges. Throughout that time, George not only exhibited strong management skills, but also excellent leadership. His dedication and commitment were second to none. Any current or aspiring business leader would be hard pressed to collaborate and learn from a better person than George.
Bart Goodwin
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Cypress Growth Capital
Begin

Every ascent begins with a single step.

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