Action-oriented learning
Leader Retreats at BRV are designed specifically for leaders of second-stage companies — entrepreneurs who have moved beyond the startup phase and have the intent and capacity for continued growth. Our retreat series addresses the many challenges that second-stagers face, which run the gamut from understanding industry forces and building infrastructure to scale the business to engaging employees and creating a compelling company culture.
Leadership Training
Each course builds upon the previous one and revolves around inflection points: how your organization is changing, how your team is changing and how your role as a leader is evolving.
Peformance Accelerator
Designed specifically for executives at second-stage companies, this retreat gives participants a greater understanding of the challenges their company faces in this phase of growth and how to manage them
Resilient Organization
Each course builds upon the previous one and revolves around inflection points: how your organization is changing, how your team is changing and how your role as a leader is evolving.
“Everyone gets excited about startups or very large companies, and then there’s us — second-stage companies. In second stage, you’re not struggling to stay alive, but rather to grow and gain visibility. It’s a completely different phase of your business, and it can get lonely. One of the great things about retreats at the Edward Lowe Foundation is being able to spend time with leaders of other second-stage companies. You hear their struggles — not only in business but also on the home front — and know that you’re not alone.”
— Chris Straw, founder and president of Team Quality Services in Auburn, Indiana
“One thing I’ve altered is the frequency and format of our meetings. Instead of having daily meetings with the entire staff, we now hold weekly meetings, which my production manager leads instead of me. I encourage employees to engage with each other when an issue crops up instead of tabling it for a group discussion. In addition, I’m trying to ask more questions rather than give answers. When it comes to my staff, I need to be more of a seeker of information and less of a dominant ruler. The retreat helped me temper that behavior.”
— Anita Mitzel, president of GraphiColor Exhibits in Livonia, Michigan
“Another important outcome, the retreat curriculum helped us nail down an employee performance management system. It gives us a whole new way to engage our employees, integrating our cores values with both individual and corporate goals.”
— David Galbenski, founder of Lumen Legal in Royal Oak, Michigan
Leader Retreats at BRV are designed specifically for leaders of second-stage companies — entrepreneurs who have moved beyond the startup phase and have the intent and capacity for continued growth. Our retreat series addresses the many challenges that second-stagers face, which run the gamut from understanding industry forces and building infrastructure to scale the business to engaging employees and creating a compelling company culture.
These programs challenge conventional thinking about how to grow an organization. Our curriculum is geared to push participants out of their comfort zone and get them to think differently. Each course builds upon the previous one and revolves around inflection points: how your organization is changing, how your team is changing and how your role as a leader is evolving.
Participants are not told what to do. Instead, we equip them with new information, tools and techniques that help them become more effective leaders — and learn how to create stronger, more profitable companies.


























































The history of the church dates back to the Quakers who settled in Cass County in the 1820s. Many were strong abolitionists, active in helping slaves escape along a major route of the Underground Railroad that went through Cass County. The Penn Friends Meeting House stood at the corner of Penn Road and Quaker Street in the village of Penn about two miles east of the foundation.





In 1873, Richmond’s second to the oldest child, James Madison Lake, who was born in New York in 1842, married Anna Tripp. They purchased the property from his father and took up housekeeping there. The property was known as the “Stone Abutment Farm.” They had one child, Grace, who was born in 1879, and died in 1894, two years after Anna died.





The property was originally owned by Richmond and Hannah Lake, who came to Cass County from New York in 1843. Richmond and Hannah Lake’s daughter, Hannah Rosetta Lake married Benjamin Franklin Slipper in 1875, which is where the Slipper House got its name. The Slipper’s raised six children in the house: Archie, Maud, Blanche, Glenn, Hannah Nevada, and Grace.





Preserved features include handhewn beams, the remnant of a shed roof, barnwood walls and doors, and animal-worn stanchion poles. The fireplace in the conference room was made from half of an industrial steam boiler; (the other half has become a barbecue grill at the Pavilion overlooking Sharkey Lake).





Transforming the old barn to a home was not a simple process. It involved removing the siding (which they retained to use various places on the inside), adding insulation, and the boards were replaced with poplar planks cut from trees on the property.





An addition was built on the side of each car to accommodate a large bathroom, entry, and utility area, and the main space of each car has been partitioned into a sitting room and two bedrooms. The interiors are tongue-and-groove paneled, and bunks, dressers, and closets are built-in, using wood harvested and milled on the property.










Although guests do not currently use the caboose for lodging, the foundation maintains this location as another way of honoring Ed’s creative process and his unique sense of style when he brought this out to be part of the Billieville complex.





The oil cans and tools were Ed’s finds, usually at auctions and antique shops. The levels that used to hang on the wall now hang at the Tower of Tomorrow. The doghouse, wine cellar, and outhouse have been there for years.





This building also has the distinction of being certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which encourage good environmental practices and energy conservation.



