By Michael Newman
With SVI 30 on the horizon, we thought it would be fun to look back at what it’s like to experience Social Venture Institute for the very first time.
Last year, Michael Newman, a journalist-turned-TV host-turned-mindfulness facilitator, arrived on Cortes Island with zero idea of what to expect. What followed was part summer camp, part business conference, part retreat… and a whole lot of the unexpected. From navigating imposter syndrome to discovering the power of Peer Coaching Circles (and even offering hot tips about late-night socials and 10-foot kale plants), Michael came away with lessons that any SVI newcomer or seasoned vet will appreciate.
Here’s his first-hand account of what it’s really like to dive into SVI for the very first time. You might just learn a trick or two yourself.
Olatunji Hall, September 2024
PERSPECTIVE FROM A FIRST-TIME SVI’er:
Who am I:
I’m a former journalist, TV host, and mindfulness meditation facilitator, at the beginning stages of starting a business focused on teaching mindful media consumption and creation. This year was my first time on Cortes Island, at Hollyhock, and at the Social Venture Institute. My intention here is to share my first-person experience in hopes of giving any “SVI-curious” folks in the future some insight. Below you will find my day-to-day diary reflections as I went through the experience; they are my authentic thoughts and feelings and are in no way the opinions of the Hollyhock Leadership Institute Team.
A Preamble: What is SVI Anyway?
Coming into the experience, I had no idea what to expect. As someone who came to Hollyhock on the recommendation of someone else who had been before, I was drawn to it—not for anything particularly tangible but instead fuelled by the magical anecdotal tales of friends. I kept hearing it was “game-changing” or “I found my people there,” or “I found what I needed to build my social impact business.” How could someone say they didn’t want that experience?! I did, but I had no idea what ingredients of the program actually elicited these responses. So, being the curious journalist that I am, I decided to completely leverage my naiveté and go in with a complete beginner’s mind.
Here’s a quote from my journal as I began the expedition to Hollyhock with my family: (PS: Did anyone tell you it’s a multi-tiered journey? Yeah, be prepared and…dare I say, accept it as part of the SVI experience)
“What is SVI? a. A program to help people start an impact-focused business? b. Just a community of impact-driven entrepreneurs gathering for a retreat? c. A conference to help established entrepreneurs evolve from their normal business into an impact-focused business? d. None of the above? e. All of the above?”
I had no idea what the program “was” in the literal sense, and I hoped that I would not be the oddball out, not knowing what I was aiming to achieve in my time there. Admittedly, there was some imposter syndrome for me. I was surrounded by established consultants, founders, funders, and community engagement professionals…and then there’s me—a multi-disciplinary communicator who used to work in TV but has a business idea about teaching people how to be mindful in their media consumption. A seemingly big gap, but I decided it was good tension to hold and sat in the discomfort as I arrived.
Arriving
Upon arrival, you can’t help but be struck by the crown jewel of the property: the garden. It’s a place teeming with life after decades of devotional care. It’s also a living metaphor for the “cultivating the roots” or “tending the soil” work that goes on at Hollyhock all the time. It was a lovely welcome, reorienting one’s psyche from the manufactured cities many folks live in to that of an abundant living biosphere. Don’t be alarmed if you find yourself awestruck by 10 ft kale plants or a menagerie of blooming dahlias calling you into its splendour. It was great to know that this garden was going to nourish our bellies during the retreat.
In addition to the environment, I was also struck by the warmth of the people. There was such heartwarming hospitality from the staff and facilitators to welcome us on-site. Simultaneously, I was pulled by the depth and eagerness to connect among the participants. It reminded me that the urge to make a “social impact” stems from an internal disposition of connection to the greater world and the desire to use one’s actions to bring more joy and well-being into the world. I don’t think you can have outer impact until you have inner impact. That is one of the things that makes a gathering like this so unique.
What also helped me “land” on the welcoming evening was the invitation for introspection, grounding our experience in honouring the land and exploring our own intentions for coming to SVI. This invitation to stoke a connection to the land by listening to stories from the land and checking into our own hearts/minds was powerful. This was the fertile ground I found essential in directing how I spent the following days. In my reflection, a plurality of intentions for my SVI experience emerged, both personal and professional. This posed a tension I had to rectify. Was it possible to meet both those intentions? Would they conflict or overlap with each other? What personal intentions would need to be sacrificed to meet the professional, or vice versa? I didn’t know.
But one piece of wisdom shared by more experienced SVI’ers was this: “Don’t peak too early.” This quote landed like a zen koan on the first day, but its potency and application became clear very quickly. Based on how packed the schedule is, there will be choice points, and if you are like me—a high-functioning extrovert with FOMO tendencies—your better wisdom may fall to the side as you try to fully “get the most out of this experience” and do everything.
HOT TIP: Come back to your intention(s) continually throughout the experience and ask yourself: “What is mine to do, and what is not?” Because even though the agenda is not overlapping, attempting to do all the listed activities may lead you to ineffectiveness at best and exhaustion at worst. The programming is not prescriptive, and leaves you as an autonomous being to choose what activities are right for you—and if finding time for stillness in the midst of the program is yours to do, see that as time well spent. Be principled with what adventure you choose.
Day 1: Major Summer Camp Vibes
I can’t remember the last time I was around this many new people at one time, all sharing a new experience in a new place. The last time may have been at summer camp. And let me tell you, I was somatically getting some MAJOR summer camp vibes. The energy was kinetic in the dining hall, smiling faces everywhere, too many interesting people I couldn’t wait to chat with, and deciding what table to sit at… ahhh… classic summer camp anxiety (except fuelled by kindred positive energy instead of vetting for dreadful social rank).
This is the day I start to “get” what SVI is. A container has been set, encouraging vulnerability, mutual aid, and the intersection of ideas and lived experiences of over 120 people. I could see the breeding ground for a whole lot of things to emerge, depending on what you are after. The program was chock-full of practical business-related programming, including case studies in business, elevator pitches for social impact initiatives, as well as workshops and 1:1 mentorship to gain insight into how to up-level your actual operations, and testimonial-style “True Confessions” presentations aiming to give an inside look at how an organization actualized its business & purpose.
The programming on this day was pretty heady and operational. Depending on who you are, where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, and what your SVI intention(s) are, this could be the juiciest part of your experience or the most overwhelming.
HOT TIP #1: Check in with yourself and find where you want to dig in.
Another thing I noticed on this day was that, once there was familiarity with the environment, the program, and the people, a natural evolution started to occur with the type of interactions I was having; these beautiful, emergent, thought/heart-provoking conversations began bubbling up everywhere. Recognizing that there was no way to properly connect with all 120 attendees, I surrendered to the idea that I would be in the right place at the right time to have the right conversations. To my surprise, many of those key moments ended up happening in the liminal spaces of the program.
HOT TIP #2: Consciously find space in between the formal program to process and discuss what resonated with/stirred/stimulated you both internally and with others. I found the magic of the retreat started to happen in the in-between spaces. Think: chats with folks on the path to and from the lodge or sitting in the garden waiting for lunch while buttering your toast.
HOT TIP #3: If you are planning on going to the fun social at the Solomon’s, it tends to be a late soiree, so take a nap/break or something beforehand to have stamina.
Day 2: Digging In
Quote from my notebook on this day: “The fertility of depth is driven by the environment and quality of the questions asked.”
On this day, there was a feeling of dropping in deeper into the experience. I felt I was “finding my way.” I had a bunch of conversations queued up, I was starting to understand what gifts I was able to give and what gifts I was hoping to receive, and the programming was more spacious this day—encouraging activities that helped us ask deeper questions of ourselves and other participants.
The morning activities offered an opportunity to deepen our relationship to the land. We could walk the land with a naturalist to gain a better understanding of the web of relations in the ecosystem, or we had the opportunity to visit the Klahoose First Nation community to learn about their territory (upon which Hollyhock sits) and hear about the economic development projects they are working on.
We also explored Peer Coaching Circles, which for me was one of the most rewarding parts of my SVI experience. In this forum, we were challenged to articulate a problem that we are trying to solve in our business/organization, and have others in a circle ask clarifying questions and give advice. This exercise alone helped me distill challenges that had been swirling in my head for months and get advice on how to make my idea tangible. The questions people asked helped me see my blind spots and illustrated how many possibilities were right underneath my nose. DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!
HOT TIP: Come to SVI with organizational challenges that you are facing and want to get feedback on. There is a brain trust of business knowledge in the participants, coupled with a safe and supportive interpersonal container, and a shared interest in helping others do more good in the world. So lean into it, and you may even get the breakthrough advice you didn’t know you needed. I know I did!
Special Mention About the Food:
Another component that I felt was having an impact on me was the FOOD at Hollyhock. In most instances, it’s easy to allow meals to fade into the background as obligatory nutritional sustenance, but here that is not the case. The food, dare I say, is a central tenet of the healing, consciousness-enhancing, and personal growth that takes place there. It is beautiful, intentional, nutrient-dense, and prepared with love by an all-star kitchen, mostly right from the garden. I thoroughly felt like the pure prana (life-force or vitality) in the food was cleansing me from the inside out by this day, improving my mood and ability to be present to all the new ideas I was coming into contact with. Another dimension of connection to the land.
Day 3: There’s More Than What Meets The Eye
On this last full day of programming, although there were familiar aspects to the formal program, the subterranean impacts of the Social Venture Institute started to become apparent to me. I originally came to the retreat thinking it was about business development, but while going through my experience, I had an epiphany that we were getting to something more…
Business is not just about business. Business stems from who we are as humans—what we bring to what we do in the world. This includes how we show up as relational beings existing in an ecosystem of relations—how we relate to ourselves, our coworkers, our clients, the natural world, and a whole slew of “stakeholders.” So in our effort to be better business leaders with social impact, it’s not enough to increase our capacity in the conventional business sense. We can be doing business “well” by conventional standards while unconsciously relating in a harmful way. Instead, we must see ourselves as whole beings, growing our ability to positively impact the systems we are part of.
I found that the environment, the program, and the presenters were all catalysts to help us recognize this and support our growth. Although SVI seemed to be a “choose your own adventure” kind of experience, I found there was something to help you grow on all levels, should you choose.
Day 4: The Seeds Have Been Planted
As the retreat came to an end and the reality of getting back to normal life started to kick in, I felt a mixture of grief and excitement. Going back to the summer camp nostalgia, this was also familiar territory for me. Feeling grief that this rich and beautiful experience was finite, but also excitement to bring some of the goodness from the retreat into action. One thing I learned from other multi-SVI attendees was that SVI is just the beginning. There is a whole network of people who have gone through SVI that collectively support each other. This made me excited for the seeds to be nurtured after we left the coastal paradise that is Hollyhock.
When I reflect on where I started on this journey—not knowing what the Social Venture Institute “was,” and if it was for me—I definitely left with a lot more clarity than expected. Going back to the original multiple-choice question of “what SVI is?” I can now say it’s one of those tricky “E: All of the above” answers. It had all the components of a retreat, a business conference, and a networking event, but also an amorphous quality that is hard to neatly pinpoint for someone who’s never been before—here’s my attempt to name what it’s like.
If I could encapsulate it in a metaphor, I’d say it felt like a hadron collider. In this four-day curated container, a group of high-impact people (see particles) intersect at high speed, generating a whole bunch of new energy in the way of new ideas, novel business solutions, and new collaborations. Like the particle collider, it literally is a whirlwind and can, at times, feel hard to know where you should keep your focus (hence the tip about continually coming back to your intention). In the end, you can expect the building blocks for new beginnings to emerge.
I marvelled at the amount of new possibility that entered my system as I contemplated the conversations had and the network of people who have offered me support. While I am in my entrepreneurial infancy, I’m grateful to feel that I have a bunch of dormant seeds planted from this experience, ready to sprout when the conditions are ripe.
HOT TIP: Make sure to set up follow-ups with people you didn’t get to spend time with, and be sure to be bold with your participation in the Asks/Offers board; this can be an opportunity to tap into the spirit of the SVI network.
In Conclusion
My SVI experience was a really positive one where the programming:
- Sparked an understanding of relationality in business
- Upleveled my skills as an entrepreneur wanting to make an impact on the world via new tools and best practices
- Stirred my emotions around social justice issues
I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in using business for the benefit of society, regardless of where you are on your journey. From budding entrepreneur to consultant, to corporate change agent, all can gain something different from the program. Just make sure you know what you’re going for, and what you are wanting to contribute. Last HOT TIP: Give yourself a buffer of time to ground once you leave. Continuing with the hadron collider metaphor…it’s important to have a ground as you integrate all the new frenetic energy generated in the container.
