Portal.Place — Our story
We moved to
the mountains.
Mike Gilliland and Euvie Ivanova are the co-founders of Portal.Place, Future Thinkers, and Canada's first Smart Village prototype. In 2020 they left city life for 400 acres in BC — not as a retreat, but as an experiment.
The founders
Mike & Euvie
A futurist and storyteller who spent the last decade exploring how humans can live well in a world transformed by AI, automation, and ecological change.
Co-founded Future Thinkers with Euvie. In 2020 moved to a 400-acre property in the BC mountains to build a real-world Smart Village prototype. Over four years built community while developing practical skills in land, infrastructure, and digital systems.
Now leads design, technology, strategy, and Village OS development at Portal.Place.
A cultural creator and network weaver developing healthier ways for people to live, learn, and grow. Focused on how communities can raise children, support families, and cultivate cultures reconnecting to land, purpose, and each other.
Grew up in rural Russia and Bulgaria during the USSR collapse. Studied psychology at UBC and University of Copenhagen. Spent over a decade of international travel with Mike before settling in BC.
Her commitment deepened through becoming a mother and co-creating the Smart Village prototype.
Why this exists
A pattern,
not just a place
The world is entering a post-job era. Automation and AI are pressuring people to rethink how they live. City costs are rising. Loneliness is epidemic. Climate instability is real.
We're building regenerative, economically viable villages that give people a healthier, more meaningful way to live — communities that are walkable, intergenerational, resilient, and culturally vibrant.
Wells Gray Village is the first prototype. Portal.Place is the network. One village becomes the pattern for many.
The ecosystem
Three
organizations
A podcast and global community exploring the future of civilization through technology, consciousness, systems thinking, and culture design. Over a decade, it has reached millions and featured hundreds of thinkers. Provides the narrative and intellectual foundation behind the Smart Village Movement.
Visit siteThe membership-powered platform building a network of Smart Villages — regenerative, culturally rich, AI-supported communities designed for the post-AI world. Members get early access to village programs, seasonal immersions, long-stay opportunities, and development of new locations across bioregions.
Learn moreA new model for living that blends nature, community, wellness, regeneration, and technology. An alternative to the rising costs and disconnection of city life. Walkable, intergenerational, resilient, and supported by AI-powered coordination tools. The Smart Village Standard is the blueprint.
Learn moreThree ways
to get involved.
Join the founding members shaping this new way of living. Early access, seasonal immersions, and a stake in the village network.
See membershipExperience village life for yourself. Book a stay, join a Sunday, or come for a month-long immersion.
Explore the villageHelp bring the next village online. We're building the infrastructure for a network of Smart Villages across Canada.
Investment thesis