Catherine Woodiwiss isn't just planning parties; she is waging a quiet war on the numbness of modern life. In a world where "connection" usually means a double-tap on a screen, Catherine is an "experience architect" who demands you feel something real. By day, she runs design research for Texas’ most beloved brand, H-E-B. By night, she is the orchestrator of Austin’s most intriguing underground gatherings—from conversational salons that pierce the superficial veil to "purpose speed-dating" and even "funerals for the living".She’s a former journalist and anthropologist who looks at a cocktail party and sees a design problem: how do we get past the small talk?. Her answer is "scaffolding"—building the structures that allow strangers to fall into deep, meaningful intimacy. If you’ve ever felt the ache of loneliness in a crowded room, Catherine is the guide you’ve been waiting for. Welcome to the art of being fully alive in Austin.Welcome to Austin Community Capital, the show where we explore the true wealth of our city—its people. Join us as we sit down with inspiring connectors, creators, and entrepreneurs in Austin, TX, showcasing the soul of this vibrant city through the voices that define it. If you believe in building community and connecting to the spirit of Central Texas, this is your platform.This show is proudly presented by Loyal Home Concierge, the Austin-based home-thriving company dedicated to managing your home. Hence, you are free to design a life of deeper intention. Our mission is simple: to keep your dream home a DREAM, not a nightmare. We support overextended executives, families, and couples, ensuring the logistics of luxury home and lifestyle management never compromise your well-being.Connect with the Best Home Manager in Austin, Texas:Website: https://loyalhomeconcierge.comListen/Notes: https://AustinCommunityCapital.comInstagram: / loyalhomeconcierge Jump to a SectionShow Notes02:30 - The Experience Architect: Catherine defines her unique role and why "gathering" requires intentional design, not just an open door.05:15 - The Enemy is Numbness: Why the goal of her events isn't just "fun," but to combat the pervasive numbness of the digital age.09:45 - Scaffolding Connection: The concept of providing "scaffolding" or rules at parties to help people bypass anxiety and connect faster.18:20 - The Salon Dinner: Catherine breaks down her formula for the perfect dinner party: 7-8 people, one question, and total presence.28:10 - Purpose Speed Dating: A look at one of her wildest experiments—pairing strangers to discuss their deepest drivers in rapid-fire rounds.41:00 - A Funeral for the Living: The moving story of hosting a "living funeral" for a friend, celebrating their life while they were still there to hear it.48:50 - Austin’s Growing Pains: A candid discussion on the grief and opportunity inherent in Austin's rapid expansion.

Meet Brian Cronin. He's a "deep end" operator who sees the world differently than the rest of us. Before he was the Vice President of NOVO Construction, shaping Austin's physical skyline, he was a traveler who backpacked through 65 countries, selling lollipops in the schoolyard and painting houses to fund his education. He's kind of a guy who gets a job offer while standing in a Cambodian internet café, bearded and suitless, because someone saw a spark on a resume.Today, Brian is the architect of a different kind of structure: community. From the legendary "Nov" House"—a "repurposed East Austin home turned legendary creative sanctuary—to his philosophy of "pan" ing the horizon for the next great human connection, Brian is proof that the best foundation for business isn’t concrete; it’s goodness. This isn’t a talk about buildings. It’s an asterclass in how to inhabit a city, how to host with heart, and how to spot the parking spot everyone else missed.Welcome to Austin Community Capital, the show where we explore the true wealth of our city—its people. Join us as we sit down with inspiring connectors, creators, and entrepreneurs in Austin, TX, showcasing the soul of this vibrant city through the voices that define it. If you believe in building community and connecting to the spirit of Central Texas, this is your platform.This show is proudly presented by Loyal Home Concierge, the Austin-based home-thriving company dedicated to managing your home. Hence, you are free to design a life of deeper intention. Our mission is simple: to keep your dream home a DREAM, not a nightmare. We support overextended executives, families, and couples, ensuring the logistics of luxury home and lifestyle management never compromise your well-being.Connect with the Best Home Manager in Austin, Texas:Website: https://loyalhomeconcierge.comListen/Notes: https://AustinCommunityCapital.comInstagram: / loyalhomeconcierge Jump to a Section02:21 - The "Deep End" Mentality: Brian discusses his formative years in Sonoma County and the innate drive to go "all in" on everything from motorcycles to studies.04:46 - Stepping Up: The pivotal moment when his father left the family, and Brian balanced college with being a stabilizing force and financial provider for his mother and brothers.07:20 - Panning the Horizon: Brian explains his "secret sauce"—the ability to spot opportunities and "parking spots" that others miss by simply keeping his eyes wider than the rest.18:56 - The World Traveler: How Brian spent his post-grad years traveling to nearly 70 countries, a journey that shaped his worldview and confidence before entering the corporate world.24:29 - The Email in Cambodia: The incredible story of how Brian was hired by NOVO's founder while backpacking in Southeast Asia, leading to an interview with a beard and a U-Haul.28:29 - Betting on Austin: The decision to leave a secure job in San Francisco 12 years ago to plant the NOVO flag in Austin, long before the current boom.37:59 - The Legend of the Novo House: The story behind repurposing their old office into a community amenity featuring a music room, arts and crafts, and a space for friends to "hotel".49:31 - Why Austin Works: Brian reflects on the unique "kindness" of the Austin community and how it fuels entrepreneurial success and work-life balance.

Bob Pearson isn’t just an executive; he’s a cartographer of the human spirit in a digital age. Today on the Austin Community Capital Podcast —we're bringing in a titan. Bob's the guy who walked into the fire of massive corporate crises at Dell and Novartis and walked out with a simple, radical philosophy: do the right thing. He’s a global healthcare titan, a tech visionary teaching the next generation at UT McCombs, and an author mapping the chaotic frontier of Artificial Intelligence. But strip away the accolades, and you find the beating heart of a true Austinite. This is a man who, when the world shut down, turned his high-rise balcony into "70 Rock," hiring bands to blast blues and hope into the silent streets for his neighbors. He’s a connector, a mentor, and a rock-and-roll sage who understands that whether you’re navigating a global recall or just picking up trash on the Lady Bird Lake trail, the currency that matters most is reputation and respect. Welcome to the masterclass on today's episode of Austin Community Capital. Welcome to Austin Community Capital, the show where we explore the true wealth of our city—its people. Join us as we sit down with inspiring connectors, creators, and entrepreneurs in Austin, TX, showcasing the soul of this vibrant city through the voices that define it. If you believe in building community and connecting to the spirit of Central Texas, this is your platform.This show is proudly presented by Loyal Home Concierge, the Austin-based home-thriving company dedicated to managing your home. Hence, you are free to design a life of deeper intention. Our mission is simple: to keep your dream home a DREAM, not a nightmare. We support overextended executives, families, and couples, ensuring the logistics of luxury home and lifestyle management never compromise your well-being.Listen/Notes: https://AustinCommunityCapital.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/loyalhomeco...Austin, Texas, has a way of attracting people who don't just want to be somewhere; they want to build something. Not just structures, but fabrics of connection. Bob Pearson is one of those architects.A globally recognized consultant, investor, and author, Bob has spent a career shaping narratives for giants like Novartis, Dell, and GCI Health. But if you sit down with him for breakfast at Cisco’s on East 6th—where the history is on the walls and the regulars are treated like family—you quickly realize his resume is just the scaffolding. The real structure is built on a foundation of profound generosity and a rock-and-roll spirit.Episode Key Moments:05:32 – The best advice Bob ever received: Why you are the only guardian of your own reputation.06:30 – Leading through crisis: The inside story of the Dell battery recall and the power of transparency.07:09 – Quiet generosity: How Novartis sent aid during the tsunami without a single press release.11:11 – The Compass: Bob’s new book on harnessing AI through a human-centered drive 14:54 – The "Gimme Shelter" house: Partnering with Alan Graham and Community First to support the homeless .20:48 – The dynamic duo: How Bob and his wife Donna balance dreaming and doing to build community spaces .29:00 – "70 Rock": Hiring local musicians to play balcony concerts for neighbors during the COVID lockdowns .The only person who is going to look out for your reputation is you." - Bob Pearson

Cherie Werner is not just an Austin icon; she is the force of gravitational love that grounds this city's electric, high-velocity startup scene. Often dubbed the "Startup Mama of Austin," Cherie embodies hospitality maybe more than anyone you know. But the path to becoming Austin's premier tastemaker of community was forged in a childhood longing for home and belonging.

In this raw and wholesome conversation, host Austin Clemens dives into Cherie's origin story—from a multi-cultural military childhood to co-founding the serendipitous gifting app Koya. She unpacks the DNA of her massive community, Fiesta, and shares the golden rule for building connection: it starts at your own dinner table. Discover why intentionality and routine breed richness , why the forms around us matter, and why her $50M dream project is the co-living/co-working space Austin desperately needs. This is a masterclass in giving—and receiving—Austin's true capital.

Guest: Cherie Werner, Chief Empowerment Officer / Co-founder of FIESTA & Co-founder of The HERs GatHERings. Find her on Instagram!

• Episode Focus: The foundational values of hospitality, community building, the power of a "home environment," and the organic growth of the Austin startup ecosystem through the FIESTA community.

Key Moments (Timestamped)

• 01:04 - 01:27 - The host's first impression of Cherie: embodying hospitality and the powerful ability to make people feel known and cared for.
  
• 01:38 - 02:00 - The origin of Cherie's drive for belonging, stemming from a childhood need to be seen and feeling like an outsider.
  
• 08:36 - 09:16 - The pivotal moment when Cherie realized what positive parenting looked like by observing a mentoring couple's nurturing home environment.
  
• 13:45 - 14:15 - Defining "Home": striving for a space where you feel peace, tranquility, and belonging the moment you walk in, emphasizing that home is authentic to you.
  
• 15:42 - 17:35 - Practical advice for new hosts: "Start where you are" with low-barrier offerings like coffee and a cheese board, and the value of hosting meetings at home instead of loud coffee shops.
  
• 24:00 - 24:45 - The inspiration behind Koya (Kindness Anya) and using "serendipitous ways" to connect, like an upgraded hotel room, as a precursor to FIESTA.
  
• 35:00 - 35:20 - A heartwarming surprising outcome of FIESTA: a couple met at the event, and the groom proposed on the FIESTA stage after his pitch.
  
• 35:55 - 36:50 - The "Tapestry" analogy for community—viewing life as beautiful, messy, knotted, and interconnected, where small introductions make a difference.
  
• 38:55 - 41:00 - Cherie's $50 Million Vision: creating a multi-story physical hub in Austin for co-living, a welcoming coffee shop venue, and collaboration spaces with large dining tables for true community dinners.