Female Founder Focus: Sonia Mills Vincent De Vera, Wildwolf Wellbeing
Here at the Digital Greenhouse, we're proud to celebrate the remarkable achievements of women leading the way in the entrepreneurial landscape. In our "Female Founder Focus" series, we delve into the inspiring stories of these trailblazers, showcasing their journeys, the challenges they've overcome, and the invaluable insights they've learned along the way.
We'd like to introduce you to Sonia Mills Vincent De Vera, Co-Founder of Wildwolf Wellbeing. Wildwolf Wellbeing is a business and philosophy committed to providing authentic, humanistic support for individuals facing trauma, emotional struggles, relational issues and more. In 2023, Wild Wolf Wellbeing opened its inaugural clinic in Guernsey, marking the tangible realisation of its vision. Since then, the clinic has witnessed continuous growth, attracting clients who are drawn to its unique and holistic blend of psychotherapy, coaching, and alternative therapies.
We met Sonia at our 2023 Startup Academy and have followed her journey since finishing the 10-week programme. We caught up with Sonia to hear all about the lessons she has learned along the way on her journey to offering better care for her clients.
Q. Tell us all about your business! What is your origin story, and the highlights of your entrepreneurial journey?
We are living in a world that is seeing rates of suicide rising, and increasing mental health and neurodiverse (e.g. autism and adhd) conditions being diagnosed. The issue is that as these rates continue to rise, so does the length of time it takes to access the real support that people need. Last year, Guernsey reported the highest rates of suicide per 100,000 people of anywhere else in the UK, and this is a key example of why we launched Wild Wolf Wellbeing.
Our origin story was a garden conversation in the Summer of 2022 between my business partner Tim and I. We asked ourselves the question “How could we prevent one more life being taken from suicide?” and on pages of paper we drew out a model from our experience that we believed could actually make a difference. We validated our approach with an experienced mentor who believed in our vision. The model we have created works in collaboration and support of the existing support services in place, to provide a system that looks to get to the cause of the issue, and not just treat the symptoms. Providing education, support and community to help people overcome nearly any challenge they face in life.
A few months later, Tim sold his house to fund the launch of Wild Wolf and our first clinic which I manage in St Martins was opened. Since then we have used our model to support people with anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, families and more. Our approach offers each of our clients real conversations where they feel genuinely heard and understood, as we treat each client as an individual. Their support is tailored for them, but backed by our own unique blend of accredited and proven therapy/coaching tools.
Our model has now been tested and proven to work with all of our clients, and just over a year since launching we are currently in the process of onboarding 9 people that have been training and practising with us for the past 6 months. The new team members will be based in Guernsey, Jersey, London, France and the USA they will be bringing even more experience and tools to help further research and develop our model together. We have been quiet in the media over the past year as we have been proving and refining our business to scale, but plans are on track to announce the exciting next stages of the business in the coming weeks.
The highlights of my entrepreneurial journey will always be seeing the results with my clients, for there is nothing better than seeing them leave my clinic happy and smiling after I have held space for them to work through their worst traumas in life. If we had never had a crazy garden conversation and made that jump when we did, then I would never have been able to impact my client's lives the way I have.
Q. Throughout your entrepreneurial journey, what has been the most significant challenge you have overcome, and how did you navigate it?
I have come to realise through my own self-development that I'm unable to do everything!
As an entrepreneur, I have been learning to balance; nurturing, forming and sustaining the business whilst being a psychotherapist, having a social life, and a family life and then taking time out to replenish myself.
It's been a combination of learning what my needs are, asking for help and delegating, using my intuition to say I need to take time out today or I need to delegate things to other people.
To look after myself I use creativity to process my emotions by drawing, dancing and playing drums. I make sure I spend quality time with my loved ones, my dog Frankie, and socialise with friends.
Q. As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field, have you encountered any unique challenges or biases? If so, how have you addressed them, and what advice would you give to other women facing similar situations?
I find systems and procedures challenging as they are new for me and therefore I have had to ask for help from people to understand them. As a psychotherapist, I am used to people asking for help, and my experience has given me the tools to introduce good conversations within the business.
I would advise aspiring entrepreneurs to develop their conversation skills to be able to confidently express themselves to be heard. I have learnt to ask for help even more, and to trust that the right person will be there to support me. Asking for help is not a weakness, but a strength!
Q. Who are your female role models in the business/ tech industry?
At heart I’m a therapist and a creative being, two of my role models in life are creative female geniuses.
1 - Iris Apfel who recently passed away at the age of 102 was always authentically herself. She spoke her truth and spoke from her heart, she was creative and was an entrepreneur her whole life. She was so joyous and appreciative of life and used her passion and purpose to keep going and help others. She started at the bottom and worked her way up to the top. She is famous for saying “You have to be true to yourself, know yourself and not be a trend follower”.
2 - Freda Kahlo - In a time when only men were famous for being painters, she used her drive and determination to create and have a presence in the world and she just kept going. She had so many setbacks in life but kept on creating throughout all of her life.
Both of these women were authentically themselves and were not afraid to show the world who they were and share their creations. They were continuously honing their skills and creativity and sharing it with the world.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs who are hesitant to take the first step?
Imagine yourself in 10 years' time when your business is successful and imagine the life you will have, then immerse yourself in the feeling of what that will be like and allow your brain to work out how to make that happen. If you would like support in doing that, WIld Wolf has a successful team of coaches to help you find your purpose and make your entrepreneurial dream happen, the Digital Greenhouse is there for you and we have appreciated their support on our journey.
I have learnt a lot since I became an entrepreneur and to help you I have included some more personal reflections that may help you to see through your own start-up:
● Find your purpose, it's the passion that will drive you.
● Find that part of yourself that you believe in and surround yourself with people that are honest, genuine and believe in you and step by step to make your magic happen.
● Remember to keep sight of yourself and the reasons that you are doing this.
● Strike a balance between nurturing, creating and loving yourself.
● Learn to be in tune with yourself and the art of good communication, so you can express your wants and needs in a respectful way.
