Orbital Membership

The Orbital Membership is a professional learning network.

Join thoughtful professionals who commit to quarterly reflection and sharing what they learn along the way.

Apply for Membership
Apply by June 30 to join our next reflection cycle.
WHY REFLECTION MATTERS

Growth requires two things: being pushed beyond your comfort zone, and having space to reflect on the mess. The push creates change; the reflection makes it stick.

The Problem

We all know reflection matters. But, making it happen is hard.

"A lot has happened — but I haven't had time to process any of it."

"I'm not sure I'm asking the right questions."

"I'm moving fast, but I'm not sure if I'm going in the right direction."

Beyond this, genuine reflection is crowded out everywhere—social media has become a performative space, while investor updates and performance reviews prioritize expectation management over honest learning.

When reflection slips away, what's truly lost is your compass—leaving critical decisions to instinct alone, patterns unexamined, and your deepest questions unanswered.

The Solution

The Orbital Membership creates the time and space for reflection.

By making reflection a shared practice, we ensure it actually happens.

Here's how it all works

1

Members make two annual commitments

Complete four quarterly reflections

Set aside time every 90 days to consider what you've done, what you've learned, and what's next—we'll send prompts and reminders to keep you on track.

Write a letter to your past self twice a year

Crystallize your insights into guidance that would have helped you earlier.

2

For each commitment, you'll share a brief highlight with the Membership

Highlights are short excerpts that serve both as your "proof of reflection" and your contribution to the Membership.

As a Member, you can:

  • share anonymously or with your name
  • share with the full Membership or within smaller groups

Submit your Q3 reflection highlight

Share as:
Visible to:
@SoloFounders
3

You receive a curated digest of everyone's insights

After each quarterly cycle closes, you receive a digest that organizes all Member highlights by theme, helping you discover patterns and insights across the network.

orbital.nyc
Orbital

Q3 Member Reflections

All Reflections63
"Client pushback isn't rejection, it's information. Their resistance maps precisely to where their system is most rigid—and therefore where the highest-leverage intervention likely exists."
— Jamie Diaz • Indepdendent Consultant
3
Solo Founders only
"The breakthrough wasn't prioritizing better—it was having the courage to actively neglect the right things. Every 'essential' task I deliberately ignored this quarter created space for the few truly needle-moving activities."
— Elena Kim • Solo Founder
5
"My breakthrough came when I stopped trying to manage time and started managing energy instead. Low-energy hours are now reserved for admin, high-energy for deep work."
— Anonymous • Engineering Leader
8
Your Guide

Meet Your Host

Gary Chou, Founder of Orbital

Gary Chou

Founder, Orbital

Hello!

For over a decade, I've facilitated reflection practices for a wide range of professionals:

  • CEOs and founders in the Union Square Ventures portfolio
  • tech leaders in Orbital Studios
  • students at School of Visual Arts
  • and our previous community members back when Orbital had a physical space.

These experiences showed me three things:

  • the profound value of reflection with others who understand your journey
  • how insights from different fields reveal patterns you'd never see alone
  • that the right conditions for reflection don't emerge naturally—they require careful and intentional design

The Orbital Membership makes all of this possible in one place, with all of us—myself included—committed to the practice together.

If you think for a living and work on hard problems, I hope you'll join us.

Make Reflection Happen

Join founders, leaders, independents, and professionals who consistently transform experience into insight.

We select Members to create the right mix for collective learning—people from different domains and stages, all committed to honest reflection.

No Slack channels to keep up with, no meetings to attend, no performative posting for engagement.

Just space to think and unexpected inspiration from outside your usual circles.

$500 / year

Four quarterly cycles, personally curated by Gary

Apply by June 30 to join our next Cycle

Most applications receive a response within 1-2 weeks.

We design systems for shared experiential learning. Learn more about our work.

Join our mailing list

We send a few updates a year—sharing what we're learning, and news about upcoming programs.