Today we’d like to introduce you to Hollis Hunt.
Hollis, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My friends and I would always share things we were passionate about with each other. We would light up, and always leave these conversations so satisfied. There was one night when it was happening again at our house and we had an idea to throw a very low-key event where we just invite people in our friend group to share what they love/are passionate about. We talked to 3 of our friends who we thought would do a good job.
After that, we picked a night, put up a bed sheet on our shed in the backyard, got a crummy projector, and hosted our first ever “Treehouse Talks.” We had no intention of it being a big thing at all. We received incredible feedback from everyone that we should keep doing it. We went from 30 people our first night to 100+ people by the end of the summer. Before we knew it, we started something that created a way for people to reconnect with each other and nourish belonging in a COVID world.
Where connection and social interaction were scarce, Treehouse Talks was able to rekindle the fire of what everybody so desperately wanted. Our mission statement and purpose are: Connect with Peers, Learn Diverse Ideas, and Leave more Aware. There’s some kind of magic in having 3-4 speakers a night from the community college-aged, a musical performance also from the community, string lights, and a projector. Our Ted-talks-like approach to sharing ideas and creating connections between the community has touched the hearts of thousands of people.
Now we have expanded our platform to 6 areas (Provo, Logan, Rexburg, Salt Lake, Hawaii, and Park City). We are predominately in college towns creating an atmosphere for college-aged kids to connect with each other. I am currently on the leadership team as CEO with Mio Cannon, Michael Niemann, and Jacob Bersie.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We saw a lot of growth and people reaching out left and right wanting to be involved. That’s how we initially grew and expanded to other areas, people caught the vision and wanted to start something in their own community.
For all the places we had expanded to, we never had to recruit, but had people we know text us and ask if they can help expand. The biggest problem with expanding is always making sure that the magic environment and platform are the same in every area. We encourage people to make it their own since every place is different, as long as it abides by key Treehouse Talks principles.
We had challenges with growth in the beginning because the more we grew the bigger the venue we needed, and the more expensive equipment was also needed to help match the growth. As each challenge came, such as finding a venue or figuring out better equipment, key people came along, and what they needed showed up. It was like a row of key miracles that kept happening.
One connection here would lead to another one there and it was amazing. We met people who invested financially in us as well which helped grow THT even bigger.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work for an incredible company called Humanitarian Experience (HXP). We are an international non-profit that leads humanitarian trips for youth all around the world in 50 locations.
This past summer we had over 5000 participants building, loving, and learning. Our purpose here at HXP is to change lives through responsible service. We are a faith-based organization that aligns with the standards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
We hire Trip Leaders who lead these amazing trips all summer. Our interview process is intense where there is a 10% acceptance rate and we had 1300+ applications this past year. I am the Trip Leader Director in where I recruit, interview, hire and train all of these Trip Leaders.
With that, I am also in charge of creating experiences and training for the Trip Leaders to help urge them to be the best they can be on these trips. I help lead a massive annual 3-day training for these leaders that is mandatory for their trips. It inspires me to be involved with incredible people and love all of them like family.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love Salt Lake City and then Utah County in general. So much opportunity for growth and learning. The network and hub of people here are incredible.
Contact Info:
- Website: treehousetalks.co
- Instagram: @tree.house.talks
Image Credits
Gracie Macdonald
