Lolly Winne Clough
Lolly Winne Clough is the founder of Valais Hideaway LLC, a family-centered agritourism destination built around values-based storytelling and meaningful connection with her adorable farm animals—who are at the heart of everything she creates.
Through her Golden Rule Book series and Farmkins Fun!™ companion app, children READ and PLAY interactive choose-your-path stories that teach kindness, empathy, and positive decision-making. The learning happens throughout each story, where every choice matters.
When children make good choices while using the app, they EARN points that translate into free STAYS at Valais Hideaway, where the values learned in the stories are reinforced through time spent with the real-life Farmkins™—the very animals featured in the books and app.
As a result, Lolly has intentionally built a 360° “READ & PLAY to EARN & STAY” ecosystem where values learned in stories come full circle through meaningful real-life experiences.
Guided by her faith, Lolly’s long-term vision includes launching a nonprofit to support victims of child trafficking through no-cost therapeutic stays at Valais Hideaway—offering a place of safety, healing, and hope grounded in love and compassion.
• Herkimer County Community College - AA
• Planned nonprofit supporting child trafficking survivors through no-cost therapeutic farm stays
• Values-based children’s education through interactive storytelling
• Animal-assisted connection and healing programs (in development)
What do you attribute your success to?
Lolly attributes her success to her strong faith, gratitude, persistence, creativity, and self-belief. She emphasized building her ventures without mentors, learning through experience, and remaining determined and positive despite setbacks such as construction delays, financial strain, and the demands of caring for animals while developing new projects.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I haven’t had formal mentors throughout my career; instead, I built my business independently through trial, learning, personal determination, and most importantly, my faith. Navigating challenges on my own has taught me the value of resilience, adaptability, and trusting my instincts, and it has shaped the way I approach both entrepreneurship and leadership.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I’d tell young women to trust the vision God has placed on their hearts, even when it feels uncomfortable or uncertain. Not everyone will understand what you’re building, and that’s okay. I’ve learned that failure isn’t really falling down—it’s if you refuse to get back up and keep going. Setbacks are part of the process, not a sign that you’re on the wrong path. Perseverance is everything.
Most of the things worth having sit on the other side of fear. My faith has helped me to keep moving forward when things didn’t go as planned, and it’s what gave me the courage to keep showing up anyway. If you stay grounded in that and don’t quit, you’ll grow in ways you couldn’t have imagined at the start.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is managing multiple large projects simultaneously ranging from farm operations and construction to app development and publishing while navigating financial pressures, regulatory requirements, contractor issues, and the physical demands of animal care. At the same time, there are tremendous opportunities, including the growing demand for experiential education, children’s social-emotional learning programs, agritourism, interactive book-and-app learning models, and purpose-driven businesses that blend education, hospitality, and social impact. These trends make it an exciting time to innovate and create meaningful experiences for families and communities.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Faith, compassion, perseverance, kindness, integrity, family values, and helping children develop empathy and strong moral character because they are the future of this country.