If you want a C12 alternative without the faith requirement, here is the direct answer: Phoenix Forum is a confidential peer advisory board for founders in recovery. Ten vetted members, monthly hot seats, $349 a month. C12 builds its peer boards around Christian faith. Phoenix Forum builds its room around recovery instead.

Both rooms share a belief that a peer group works best when the members share something real. They just choose a different shared thing.

What is C12 built around?

C12 is a peer advisory organization for Christian business owners and CEOs. It pairs a monthly board meeting with one-to-one coaching, all framed through faith. For a Christian leader who wants business and faith integrated in one room, it is a strong fit, commonly $10,000 or more a year.

Where C12 may not fit

If you are not building your business through a faith lens, the central organizing principle of C12 will not match what you need. And like most peer boards, it is not built around recovery. For a founder in recovery, the most important shared context, sobriety, is not the baseline of the room.

A peer room works when the members share what matters most. For a founder in recovery, the thing that matters most is the thing that keeps you sober.

Phoenix Forum as a C12 alternative

Phoenix Forum is a peer advisory board for founders in recovery. Ten vetted members, one confidential room, monthly meetings, every member on the hot seat. A Founders’ Compass keeps each person accountable between meetings. The room is alcohol-free by design and closed under a mutual NDA. It is not faith-based; the shared baseline is recovery, and members bring whatever beliefs they hold.

Feature Phoenix ForumC12
Shared baseline RecoveryChristian faith
Format Monthly hot seat plus Founders’ CompassMonthly board plus 1:1 coaching
Who runs the room The founders in the roomA faith-based chair plus coach
Alcohol-free room Yes, by designNot specified
Annual cost ~$4.2k/yr ($349/mo)Commonly $10k+/yr
Money-back guarantee Yes, 6 monthNo
Best for Founders in recoveryChristian business owners

If faith is the integration you want, C12 is the right room. If recovery is the shared ground you have been missing, that is Phoenix Forum, at a fraction of the annual cost and with a 6 month money-back guarantee.

How do you decide?

Name your shared baseline. If it is faith, C12. If it is recovery, Phoenix Forum. Book a 20 minute call and the conversation will tell you whether the room fits.

What is a C12 alternative without the faith requirement?

Phoenix Forum is a confidential peer advisory board for founders in recovery, with no faith requirement. C12 builds its rooms around Christian faith. If what you value is a values-driven, confidential room of vetted peers and you are a founder in recovery, Phoenix Forum offers that shared depth around recovery instead, at $349 per month.

How is Phoenix Forum different from C12?

C12 organizes its peer boards around Christian faith and pairs them with one-to-one coaching. Phoenix Forum organizes its room around recovery: ten vetted founders, alcohol-free, confidential, with a monthly hot seat. The shared baseline is sobriety, not religion.

Is Phoenix Forum a religious group?

No. Phoenix Forum is not faith-based. It is built for founders in recovery, and the only shared requirement is that recovery baseline. Members bring whatever beliefs they hold; the room is about business and sobriety.

What does it cost?

Phoenix Forum is $349 per month, about $4,200 a year, with a 6 month money-back guarantee. C12 commonly runs $10,000 or more per year.

Written by

Andrew Lassise

Founder of Phoenix Forum. Entrepreneur, tech investor, and recovered alcoholic. He started Phoenix Forum because no other peer advisory board held recovery and business in the same room at the same time.