(Yicai Global) Aug. 18 -- Sara Wei, principal at Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm DCM Ventures, has passed away after fainting at a self-improvement workshop.

The 32-year-old investor and a mother of two died on Aug. 16 after a series of emotionally challenging exercises, Yicai Global learned.

The Legacy Power Leap Workshop is offered by Beijing-based Chengquan Cultural Development, according to corporate data platform Tianyancha. The course provides a platform for future leaders to break through their barriers to unleash their potential, according to the introduction.

The course organizer made a statement on its WeChat account. “On the evening of Aug. 14, 2021, a student of Legacy Power Leap Workshop fainted unexpectedly in the classroom. An emergency call was made and the student was sent to Chaoyang Hospital for treatment. We seek experts on brain and blood vessels for consultation. The student is an outstanding professional woman and a mother of two children,” Chengquan announced.

Yicai Global tried to call Chengquan several times, but no one answered.

Wei joined DCM in 2014 and focused on early and medium-term investments in internet and software-as-a-service businesses. Some of her investments included career platform Maimai and gay dating application Blued.

The Workshop

The Legacy Power Leap Workshop is inspired by the Lifespring movement in the US, with many variants and branches, a person who participated in a trial session told Yicai Global. Lifespring was an NGO that was founded in the 1970s to help people change their mindsets and get out of their comfort zones.

Students are often required to sign non-disclosure agreements before joining the Legacy Power Leap Workshop, the same person added. The source called the content of the course "brainwashing" but said it can be attractive for certain people as the workshop is expensive and after a series of icebreakers, people can realize what they really want to do and create a bond with other participants.

Chengquan relies on former participants' recommendations, a source close to Wei said to Yicai Global. Many people in the investment scene have recommended the workshop to each other and some have joined, the person added.

Chengquan's controversial methods of unleashing one's potential have sparked earlier warnings online. But people hear about the course from their bosses and colleagues so that creates a sense of trust, said the source close to Wei.

Moreover, the pace of the workshop is structured instead of "brainwashing" right from the beginning, the person added.

Li Bo, Wei’s husband, has warned about drawing hasty conclusions. The rumors of "mental control" and "brainwashing" are not true and the course is not a pyramid scheme, he wrote on his WeChat Moments.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi