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Social Venture Institute (SVI)

September 17-21, 2025
Level up yourself, your network, and your business
Thank you for an incredible sold-out 2024 year! Join us in 2025 for our 30th anniversary of SVI. Speakers and updates will be announced early 2025. Pre-register today!

If you believe that business can (and should) be a catalyst for social and economic transformation, you belong at Social Venture Institute.

Join Canada’s longest-running social enterprise gathering to find the inspiration, resources, and relationships you need to propel your mission forward. SVI is a five-day oceanside gathering of 100+ CEOs, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, movement leaders, and impact investors.

Invest in yourself and your relationships.

Take the time to work on your business, instead of in your business.

Join us at SVI Hollyhock.

Speakers

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Meet Your Team

SVI Hollyhock is produced by a team of entrepreneurs, investors, and facilitators committed to your growth:

Vanessa Richards

SVI & SVI Virtual Lead Facilitator
Director, vanessarichards.com

Mark Busse

Consultant, Facilitator, and Coach
Independent
people eating on the deck

Find out why SVI sells out every year:

There’s a reason that SVI has a Net Promoter Score of 92; Every year, 100% of participants agree that after attending SVI, they have new connections and renewed energy to support their work in the world.
  • Find your people: Entrepreneurship can be lonely, this is an opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders who share your values
  • Practical problem-solving: Bring your real-world challenges to One-on-One Advisors, Peer Coaching Circles, and Case Studies to level up your thinking and leave with tangible takeaways to operate more effectively
  • Form lasting relationships: SVI relationships last a lifetime. Show up as your whole self, meeting partners, clients, board members, and friends. You also join a lifelong community of 3,000+ SVI alumni who champion and support one another year-round.
  • Restore and Re-Energize: Take time for yourself to get inspired again in beautiful natural setting. Experience the rejuvenation that comes from reconnecting with your passion.
Be a part of the magic
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True Confessions

We start each SVI with a True Confessions storytelling presentation. True Confessions are not canned speeches about how to become a wildly successful entrepreneur. They’re personal stories from leaders who have faced enormous challenges and made some big mistakes that they’re willing to talk about. They’re also real-life stories from leaders who made a decision to do something meaningful and were successful in doing so.

The True Confessions model is all about offering honest, vulnerable experiences of seasoned leaders so that listeners can apply lessons of trials and triumphs to their own venture.

Save your spot for SVI 2025
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Interactive Case Studies & Business Problem Solving Sessions

At SVI we will feature enterprises that have identified a specific strategic challenge to a panel of experts. The format of SVI is highly interactive and experiential. Participants present their business problems to a panel of experienced business leaders and fellow participants. In return, they receive advice, tools, and resources to strengthen and grow their enterprise in a socially conscious way.

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Skill Building Workshops

Learn practical tools and tactics in SVI workshops. Workshop topics cover sales, marketing, finance, strategy, and leadership. Stay tuned for the full workshop list!

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Agenda

See the 2024 Detailed Program Agenda

Pricing

A group of people cheering in the garden of Hollyhock, during SVI Women.

Tuition: $1200 CAD

Meals & Accommodation:

  • Campus stay rates are in addition to tuition, and range from $750-2000 depending on your accommodation choice. Campus rates include:
    • Accommodation
    • 3 gourmet meals a day
    • Unlimited coffee & tea
    • Daily movement activities
    • Hot tubs, sauna, and campus facilities
  • Want to stay off-campus? For additional commuter accommodation options, please contact [email protected]

Scholarships:

  • Hollyhock recognizes that economic opportunity is not currently equal. Our scholarship program is one of our key strategies to expand program access to underrepresented and marginalized communities. A limited number of scholarships are available with awards ranging from partial to full tuition.
  • We encourage applicants from those whose identities intersect with, but are not limited to: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, newcomers, youth, and elders.
  • Learn more and apply for a scholarship here.

Travel to Hollyhock is easy!

  • Getting to Hollyhock is easy! Take the stress out of travel and ride the SVI-mobile. For your convenience, Hollyhock organizes a charter with with Indigenous-owned company  Two Worlds Transportation to take you directly to Cortes Island with pickups in Vancouver and Nanaimo. Enjoy comfortable air conditioning, and an extra opportunity to connect with your fellow participants on board. Top your trip off with a 30-minute boat ride across the Salish Sea, keeping an eye out for whales, seals, and eagles! Sign up opens early 2025.

Accessibility Information

Join 100+ fellow CEOs, investors, and social venture leaders at SVI!

Our Partners

Thank you to our community partners for helping support, uplift, and work together to eliminate barriers to equity and economic access!

Coast Capital
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Community Amplifiers

Thank you to our community amplifiers for helping support, uplift, and work together to eliminate barriers to equity and economic access!

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