Our journey began with a vision. One that was driven by a lot of passion, quite a few ounces of anger and a genuine desire to make a difference. Today, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, and in the spirit of honesty, it feels a little surreal to acknowledge how much has changed and how far we've come.
The aim of the reflection article is hence simple:
We want to share our path (steps, lessons and emotions included) to 1/ lift you higher than you already sit and 2/ inspire you to walk on yours with a little more confidence and a lot more humour.
Before we dive, let me tell you about a simple yet profound personal experience that encapsulates the essence of “from vision to reality”.
A few years back, I mentioned to a friend that ILC was approaching its 7th or 8th year (I don't remember exactly). Their immediate response was:
"Yeah, sure! You can’t be counting it from back then…”
While the comment was light-hearted, it also felt dismissive and perhaps a little offensive, but above all it made me reflect.
As we all search for the obvious and tangible end results, a large part of the journey "from vision to reality" remains hidden, underappreciated, misunderstood or simply never discussed. Even thought I knew this in theory, the friend's comment still surprised me.
All the learning experiences, knowledge acquired, various wins and losses, character changes, emotions, and many more aspects are perceived as “the garnish to the dish” while in fact, they are “the meat” of it.
When ILC was launched, we didn’t have grand funding or a flashy product. What we had was a strong vision and a commitment to the mission of building a meaningful practice that helps high-performers, one step at a time.
Business decisions were made based on common sense, not hype, and focused on the essentials of growth and leadership development.
The guiding principle was simple and old-school:
“Fundamentals matter, influencers don’t.”
We opted to bootstrap, reinvest profits, and grew organically. We made conservative financial choices and prioritised sustainable pace over rapid scaling. While this might not have been the fastest route, it was ours.
To the outside observer, success is often synonymous with financial gains and preferably quick expansion. By those standards, ILC did not tick all the boxes. We didn’t create a hit digital product and we did not raise millions in funding rounds either.
Our journey can be likened more to climbing a muddy peak than taking a picturesque stroll along a lakeside.
We’ve persevered and exhibited patience through various challenges and it often wasn’t easy to tangibly explain why helping was higher on the priority list than anything else we focused on. Thus, the logic behind how we ran ILC was acceptable only in theoretical and philosophical terms. From an outside perspective and based on social expectations of business success, ILC’s strategy could have easily been deemed as ‘not good' or even ‘non-existent’. This was because our vision and mission always preceded business.
Creating a company was the best “means to an end” we knew of, not the goal itself.
Unsurprisingly, the foundation of ILC’s decisions is rooted in personal values. At its core, the business was never about providing a service that pays; it was about championing a cause I believed in.
My anger and sense of justice were sparked when I saw true potential being stifled in various companies. This made me determined to create the necessary support and environment where good, capable, hard-working people could thrive and lead forward with positive characteristics and due influence. I wanted to help high-performers stay energetic and productive, rather than robbed of ideals and subsequently of their will to fight for what’s right and beneficial.
Nevertheless, turning a vision into reality requires more than just passion but consistent action. Here’s a snapshot of the key steps we took to build Immersive Leadership Catalyst:
The strive for learning and development is not a one-off effort but a continuous practice. Our first step was to obtain the necessary professional qualifications and hone the coaching skills we needed to help and support effectively. This was foundational to delivering the quality services I envisioned. That endeavour over time evolved into many internal trainings within the team, an MSc in Organisational Psychology, a PhD in social and political psychology, a team that has a deep interest in the core subject matter no matter the position they hold, etc. The fundamental basis is key. There are no shortcuts to that.
I spent countless hours refining the mission and vision of ILC, ensuring they were strong enough to sustain us through challenging times. As we grew those core components of our identity were discussed and refined even further. Contrary to popular belief, once you know your “why” you still need to work on it, strengthen it, remind yourself of it, and adjust it when needed. This is what we did and continue to do. “Back to the drawing board” is a strategy that we’ve adopted from the early days.
From creating ILC’s first website to setting up business processes, every detail was planned, gradually executed, and refined with time. . Continuous improvement is our mantra—it's a never-ending and we see it as an opportunity to be flexible at all times. Contracts, insurances, one pager(s), online presence, various templates, onboarding processes, platforms to use, CRM, calendar syncs - etc. etc. etc. It all matters and serves as a backbone to a giant but fragile dinosaur.
We started by offering free coaching sessions to gain experience, build a portfolio and “test the NVP”. Then we gradually introduced fees, navigating our own beliefs around money and value. This was a sibstantial "behind-the-scenes" effort that is very important in an industry that lacks regulations and anyone can set their bar. What’s more, the coaching profession continuously evolved in the past decade and that made it also an ongoing effort to be on top of our price ranges, what we feel comfortable with, what makes sense business-wise and so on.
Creating a social media presence and sharing ideas through blog articles helped build credibility and a public image. However, above all this step kick-started a process that forced us to take up space and face the inevitable likes and dislikes that go with it. Putting yourself “out there” as a business was a milestone on its own with many implications for us as individuals.
Over time, by following the mission and vision, we transitioned from a solo practice to a company with a team of 6 coaches, 5 therapists, key partnerships, and instrumental support staff, each bringing their unique expertise to the table. Together, we are not just scaling; we are building a movement that champions positive change and fosters lasting transformation in the communities we serve.
It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that a decade offers many challenges:
- A lawsuit for an unlicensed image in a blog post
- A government fine in our early days due to a delay in submitting an accounting report to the UK government
- Seasonal fluctuations of our business, affecting planning and operations
- A prospective client who told us they didn’t feel a priority and disliked our approach to clients scheduling their own sessions through our booking system
- A fellow coach gave me harsh feedback on the back of a reciprocal coaching exchange. It turned out that this was a strategy used to check and deal with the “competition” ...
- ...and many more hiccup instances...
On top, building a business, especially one focused on human development, comes with unique, industry-specific difficulties.
ILC faced cultural scepticism, a lack of regulation on financial and contract matters, complexities around balancing growth with maintaining core coaching values, etc..
As we are still on the market a decade later, it’s useful to share how we navigated some of them:
While passion is essential, so is the ability to make practical decisions. For us, the needed balance meant prioritizing long-term sustainability over short-term gains, and always keeping in mind the “fundamentals” – aka just striving to do a really good job no matter what.
Through this balancing act, we addressed the scepticism around coaching as a profession. Passion helped us “fight for the cause” while "keeping our feet on the ground" made us able to show results that gave people proof of the benefits we produce.
This didn’t come naturally or intuitively – we had to work on the juggling and turn it into a strategy of even distribution between the elements.
Doubt is a constant companion on any entrepreneurial journey. As a founder, I often returned to basics and adjusted our strategies based on feedback and reflection. What has helped me in the past 10 years is knowing (and applying) one simple principle – most things seem scarier when you only think of them, and become much less so when you start working on them. Keep facing the fears by doing!
Over the years, we’ve had to adapt our services, expand our team, then shrink, then change and expand again, and we even relocated to a different country. Flexibility and a willingness to evolve are crucial for long-term success. Change in circumstances is constant and that’s not a cliché. It just is a fact to embrace.
Remaining true to our mission has empowered us to navigate both internal and external pressures. For example, general trends dictate that we need to be more of a solo practice than a company. “It has to be Valentina, not ILC “ because “people don’t buy companies when it comes to their mental health, they buy trustworthy individuals”. That was one of the many cases where we needed to do the opposite of what’s trendy or even logical, sustained by the long-term trajectory without immediate gratification or results. Keep going. Thread carefully.
Looking back, the progress we’ve made is significant. From our humble beginnings to becoming a respected name in leadership coaching and development, the journey has been tough, interesting and rewarding at the same time. Here are some of the milestones on our path:
· 2014: Launched the first ILC website, marking the beginning of our public presence.
· 2015: Transitioned from individual coaching to engaging corporate clients, expanding our impact.
· 2016: Made the first full attempt in transitioning from a solo practice to a company, expanding the team with 3 professionals.
· 2019: Moved operations to Sofia, Bulgaria, and began building a local team.
· 2020: Expanded our services to include therapy and specialized coaching programs.
· 2021: Formed strategic partnerships allowing us to offer a wider range of solutions to our clients, making us able to respond to more niche needs
· Today: A happy team of diverse professionals with great qualities and expertise who share the core vision and mission, serving clients across industries and geographies. We continue to develop, change, expand and serve!
In Numbers the above means:
- Thousands of hours of working with individuals and teams
- Hundreds of workshops and training sessions delivered
- Dozens of companies served
- Dozens of certificates, diplomas, degrees, qualifications and rights to practice obtained by our specialists
- Dozens of unique blog posts and materials created for you
- Three whole internship programmes completed to push young and capable high-performers forward in their career journeys
- One Exclusive ILC club for high performers networking and development created
- And 63.7% average annual increase in income growth for the past 3 years alone!
These milestones are not just some dates and numbers; they represent lives changed, careers transformed, and organizations impacted positively.
Every step of this journey has been a learning experience.
One of the biggest lessons learned is that
Business decisions are personal decisions whether or not we know it, want it or admit it.
My choices have always been influenced by my values and hence deeply personal. The choices of the many people we partnered with over the years – also personal. The clients we serve – always coming from a personal perspective.
This realization helped me stay true to the core mission of ILC and to see the saying “It’s nothing personal – just business” in a new light It’s truly nothing personal towards anyone else other than ourselves.
Another key lesson is the importance of perseverance. The path from vision to reality has a lot of twists and no matter how many bullet points we use to structure it – it’s not straightforward. We had our many moments of doubt, setbacks, and countless late nights. What’s more, I am sure we will continue to have them. But each challenge was an opportunity to learn, grow, and refine our approach. Staying focused on the mission and being willing to adapt has been crucial in becoming who we are today.
Finally, but perhaps most significantly – we never took ourselves too seriously, kept having fun and laugh ed at ourselves.
Just because we value hard work, put our best effort in whatever we do and aim at "as close to perfect as possible", never meant that in parallel we don’t accept the fact that this is an extremely high bar to reach and it will take a lot of time. We kind of operate on the principle –
Shoot for the Moon and be greatful when you end up among the stars
The journey from vision to reality is filled with various mistakes and if not mistakes then definitely many moments of being a complete newbie. It’s inevitable and normal.
None of this would have been possible without the incredible support of so many individuals along the way. From mentors and colleagues to clients and partners, every person has played a pivotal role in our journey. Thank you to
· Leonardo Orlando, my first Accenture manager, who early on and gave me a subtle yet powerful green light to push forward in any direction I felt necessary.
· Kristina Dankak, Nurain Ayotunde, and Marta Samson, to name a few, who shared my initial passion for coaching and supported me through mastermind sessions and beyond.
· Terresa Padula, who consistently engaged with our early social media posts, making me feel seen and appreciated.
· Colleagues at Capco, who supported my professional growth, allowed me to pursue my passion for coaching alongside my corporate responsibilities, and shaped me as a professional.
· The first clients, who trusted me in the early years and helped build the foundation of ILC and showed me that people from various backgrounds can be an inspiratin and someone to look up to.
· ICF Bulgaria and Teodora Kamenova in particular, for keeping us connected to the coaching community in Bulgaria even when we were thousands of miles away.
· All the incredible people who have joined the ILC team over the years: Dariya, Viktoria, Denitsa, Daniela, Elena, Yanko and so many others, thank you for your support, dedication, know-how, and belief in our mission... Any many others who have been instrumental part of the past decade!
As we move into the next decade, Immersive Leadership Catalyst International remains committed to its core mission of empowering the lives and businesses of those who want to spread their positive impact further. We will continue to adapt, innovate, and grow fuelled by many precious clients and looking up to companies such as “MindGym” and many other pioneers in the field.
The journey from vision to reality is ongoing, and we are excited to see where it takes us. One thing is certain, ILC is not just a company; it’s a shared vision, a collective effort, and a testament to what can be achieved when perseverance and purpose come together.
We’re proud of where we are. We wish we could do even more for you in the future.
As we celebrate this milestone, we do so with a renewed commitment to empowering the lives and businesses we touch.