Our Story
Built from broken promises.
UpStars didn't start with a business plan. It started with three kids, a stage in England, and nearly 20 years of quietly building toward a moment Laurie didn't know was coming.
2008
It started with a dream — and a room full of strangers.
In 2008, Laurie Attwood stood on a stage at Jamie Smart's NLP training in England and delivered a segment called 'Manifest Your Dreams.' Her kids were 3, 5, and 7. She had no idea she was planting a seed that would take nearly two decades to grow.
That moment wasn't just a training segment. It was the first time Laurie understood what it felt like to hand someone a tool that could change the direction of their life. She never forgot it.
The Vision
Twenty years of building toward something she couldn't yet name.
For nearly two decades, a quiet vision lived in the back of Laurie's mind — a retreat where young people could come and build something real. Not a seminar. Not a course. An immersive experience that ended with a business in their hands.
She invested in an island. She studied under Tony Robbins. She watched the world change around her — and watched her own three children grow up inside that change.
Then, at Tony Robbins Business Mastery 2026, it all crystallized. She realized she hadn't been waiting for the right moment. She'd been building toward it the entire time.
The Personal Stakes
Those three kids grew up.
The 3, 5, and 7-year-olds from 2008 are young adults now. They lived through Covid. Laurie watched the world close doors on their generation — not as a concerned observer, but as a mother.
She saw what the lockdowns did to their sense of direction. She saw the job market fail them. She saw the cost of living make the future feel impossible. And she decided that if no one else was going to build a bridge for this generation, she would.
"I didn't start UpStars because I saw a market opportunity. I started it because I watched my own kids lose their footing — and I knew I had the tools to help them find it again. That's every parent's story right now. And it's personal."
The Mission
Every young person deserves the chance to build something of their own.
UpStars exists to give driven young adults the skills, the environment, and the accountability to launch a real business — not someday, but now. Ten days on an island. A fully built business. Your first paying customer. Or every dollar back.
Ownership over employment.
We don't train employees. We build owners. The goal isn't to make you more hireable — it's to make you unstoppable.
Real results, not certificates.
You don't leave with a diploma. You leave with a business and a paying customer. That's the only metric that matters.
The guarantee is the commitment.
The ironclad refund policy isn't a marketing tactic. It's a statement of belief — we are that confident in what happens when you show up and do the work.
Laurie Attwood
Founder, UpStars
Laurie Attwood
Founder, UpStars
Laurie Attwood is an entrepreneur, NLP-trained facilitator, and the founder of UpStars. Her background spans nearly two decades of personal development work, business building, and a deep belief that the next generation has more in them than the world has given them credit for.
She trained under Jamie Smart in 2008, studied at Tony Robbins Business Mastery in 2026, and has spent the years between building the foundation — including the island — that UpStars now stands on.
She is also a mother of three young adults who lived through Covid. That's not a footnote. That's the reason.
Registration opens October 1, 2027.
Spots are limited. The island can only hold so many people — and that's the point.