Reality vs Opportunity

In 2007, LTO Ventures founder, president, and CEO Mark Olson became the sole parent of his then 11-year-old daughter, Lindsay, who has multiple developmental disabilities and is nonverbal. He realized that he needed to plan for Lindsay’s future without him. That plan expanded in 2019 when he remarried to a woman with a teenage daughter with multiple developmental disabilities. As a former investigative reporter and later a market development consultant, he knew how to research and find information and what he found was a harsh reality…but also a market opportunity.

The Reality.

Housing and employment options were few and waitlisted for years, funding was severely lacking, and waitlists for them were long and growing longer. Changes to federal and state regulations more often restrict, not expand, options and choices.

The Opportunity

Mark formed LTO Ventures in 2010 to develop live/work/play communities for adults like Lindsay with autism and related developmental disabilities, and it received IRS tax-exempt status in 2011. He also saw a much bigger opportunity to multiply that effort by providing consulting and project management services to families and organizations to build their own housing, employment, and social options.

Today, Mark’s daughters are 28 and 20 and LTO Ventures has three primary aspects to its mission:

  1. We Are Building Our Own Community

    We are developing our own neurodiverse live/work/play intentional community for adults with and without disabilities in the Hill Country of Texas. This innovative mixed-use neighborhood will serve adults with a range of abilities and disabilities, including adults with IDD who have greater support needs. Visit our Autumn Hills Village page for more information.

  2. We Help Others Build Communities

    LTO Ventures provides paid consulting and project management services to families and organizations to help them build their own communities. We are the “boots on the ground” working side-by-side at your location to guide you to achieve your vision. We are presently working on projects in Indiana (2), Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas (3), and Wisconsin (2). Visit our Services and Projects pages for more information.

  3. We Advocate For More Options

    We believe in #ChoiceFirst and are members of Together for Choice, a national coalition of adults with disabilities, families, professionals, and organizations that believe the same. We believe that adults with disabilities have the human and civil rights to live, work, play, socialize, recreate, love, learn, and worship in the setting and manner of their choosing, with the help of family, friends, and caregivers. We educate and inform adults with disabilities, families, and organizations about the range of housing, employment, and social options that are and should be available to all adults with disabilities. And we fight for their right to choose the options they prefer. Visit our Advocacy page for more information.

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