Finding My Why

I’ve become a big fan of Simon Sinek. If you haven’t watched his 2009 TEDxPuget Sound talk [watch it here], I invite you to do so. I have his phrase, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” taped on the wall above my laptop. It’s there to remind me every day of why I founded LTO Ventures and the impact we want to have on the world for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Like my daughter, Lindsay…the “LTO” in LTO Ventures. 

I adopted her at 2 and now at 28 she long ago aged out of school and spends all day 7 days a week in the community with caregivers. I’m thankful for the HCS waiver in Texas to be able to pay for her supports, and to have found caring individuals to pay with it. 

I wish for more and better things for her to help her grow, learn new skills, pursue her interests, and make more friends. The same is true for Leila, the sister she gained 5 years ago when I remarried a local woman here in Boerne. Both girls are significantly developmentally disabled, and neither will be able to live independently or navigate our community without assistance.

Before I founded LTO Ventures in 2010, I was the only parent of Lindsay and my friends were asking me that question. My standard comeback was “Well, I’m immortal” and my plan was to out-live her by a day. But she is quite healthy and I’m 39 years older than her, so I realized I needed a Plan B. 

Over the last 14 years, I have developed a live, work, play intentional community model based what I understood from Lindsay would be an optimal home and community-based setting from which she could experience her most fulfilling life while providing the security and supports her disabilities demanded. Using that model, I built a consulting and project management business that has worked with 17 nonprofits in 10 states to develop their own community projects. Check out the Projects section of our website. 

Before his passing, my friend Jerry Horton, who with his wife Judy created Down Home Ranch, would ask every time we got together: “Mark, when are you going to build your own community?”  I’m excited to say that we finally are ready to disclose our answer and I invite you to read about our Autumn Hills Village project below.

Thank you,




Mark Olson
Founder, President, and CEO

• Launching our own project…finally! Click here to learn about Autumn Hills Village.

• Promoting Independence Plan. We were invited by Texas Health and Human Services Commission to participate in an all-day stakeholder meeting on June 3rd in Austin helping to shape the next two-year vision and guiding principles for HHSC. Read our public comment submitted prior to the summit event.

• Time to Care Texas. We are proud to be a new member of this advocacy coalition of community organizations and advocates committed to securing competitive wages for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in Texas who are caregivers for Texans with IDD.

• Check out our new video.

• Conceptual Site Plan, Project Description, and Video. Autumn Hills Village will be a neurodiverse, mixed-use intentional community for approximately 100 adults with and without disabilities located in southern Kendall County, Texas.

• Collaboration with Boerne Aquaplex. We are very excited to create Autumn Hills Village in a formal collaboration with Boerne Aquaplex, a nonprofit that plans to develop and operate a full-service, all-weather aquatic complex in southern Kendall County to serve the aquatic instruction, recreation, and competition needs of schools, organizations, and individuals of all ages and abilities in the region.

• Town Hall with Boerne Blaze Special Olympics Families. On March 27th we held a town hall and live broadcast with Boerne Blaze families and athletes to introduce Autumn Hills Village. Click here to watch the webinar.