Transcript 0:00 But the idea is let's have Christian-based investors meet Christian-based startup founders. They have a redemptive story. They're actually building something beyond themselves. 0:08 Right now, our full attention is bringing the church into places where somebody would never step foot into a church. The entrepreneurial area is our mission field. 0:16 I think what it is is we've created a place of belonging. What we were doing was we were trying to help end the loneliness epidemic. She reached out, had coffee with this gal. Mm-hmm. And they raised 1.5 million. 0:28 [laughs] All because of an ask. What if the most powerful thing you could do for the startup ecosystem in your city was to throw a dinner party? 0:35 That's how Cherie and John Warner built one of the most vibrant entrepreneurial communities in the country, connecting over 10,000 founders, funders, and innovators, all since the pandemic. 0:47 Now, when it started, Fiesta had no agenda, no strings attached. It grew from their genuine love for people and their desire to help them connect so that they can bring their innovations, these ideas, to life. 1:00 And Fiesta has played a significant role in Austin's rise as one of the fastest growing tech startup communities in the world. The organization is a genuine extension of the Warners' gifts and passions. 1:13 John is a pioneer in mobile fitness technology. 1:15 He sold his company to Adidas, and to date, holds 85 patents, while Cherie is the CEO, but she refers to herself as the chief empowerment officer, and you'll see why pretty quickly in the conversation. 1:29 While Fiesta is by no means a church, the Warners definitely bring a church feel into their model. For them, it's an organic way to authentically live their personal faith while shaping the marketplace around them. 1:41 Now, we were privileged to record this live during the Texas Venture Gala and Forum in one of the outdoor rotundas at the State Capitol. So you get to enjoy birds, staff, and tourists just like we did. 1:52 We loved it, and we loved their story, because their story is one with lessons that we can all learn from. So welcome to my conversation with Cherie and John Warner. 2:03 Yeah, it's just, it, it's kinda cool being here at the Texas Capitol and- It is amazing... you know, in one of these outdoor rotundas here, but, uh, we got the Texas Star in front of us. 2:11 It's been a great event here, especially with this Texas Venture Gala and Forum. 2:16 But, um, your, your story really stood out to me, and I'm really glad that we got a chance to sit down and talk, um, both before now, and, and now we'll get to engage in a more formal context and conversation here. 2:25 But I'm really fascinated by Fiesta and, and where it is today because it's not just Fiesta. 2:29 It's, it's, of course, that's had a huge impact on the Austin community and the innova- innovation of this community and the startup side of it. 2:35 But y- you've had this incredible run-up to it where both of you have had your own ventures and your own initiatives, but your own character that you brought into all of that, that allowed it to come to life. 2:44 So when you started Fiesta, it was right after COVID started, really, and you saw this void of what people needed at that time, and you just decided to step into it with something that seemed natural to you. 2:53 But did you ever think Fiesta would be serving 10,000 innovators and entrepreneurs over the course of the next five or six years? Never. 3:02 I, I would say because it started in our home as a way to help people feel welcome to Austin. Mm-hmm. 3:10 I mean, so many people during COVID were moving to Austin for various reasons, and a lot of them were startup founders. Mm-hmm. 3:16 And as I met them on Lunch Club, which is the platform that we were using, they were all saying the same story. 3:23 They, they didn't know anybody in Austin, and they were choosing Austin over other locations, and it just begged the, the, the question of why. And, and- Mm-hmm... 3:33 so John and I would say, "Why don't you come over for dinner?" 'Cause you could do things in small groups, and then I would meet somebody and like, "Oh my gosh, you need to meet this person." 3:41 And then we would do something a little bit bigger. And I think, you know, my philosophy [laughs] during the time was is, "I'm gonna die, but I'd rather die living." 3:53 And so as soon as the COVID restrictions lifted, we decided to do a gathering, and I invited everybody that had moved to Austin that I had met on Lunch Club, and we had 37 s- Wow... 37 folks show up for that. 4:08 It was outside at, um, Easy Tiger. Well, it's, 37 for an initial event for- Yeah... just about anything is, it's noteworthy, right? Yeah. Especially when it's out of the blue almost. 4:17 But these are just people that you connected with through the Lunch, or is... Now is Lunchbox kind of a- Lunch Club. Uh, Lunch Club, I'm sorry. Yeah. Is, is, is that like an online app or community? 4:24 It, yeah, what they did was they did smart matching, and it, and they were building that out. I'm not even sure if they're still a- around. 4:32 But during COVID, like, you could put in, like, what your criteria was and the type of people you were interested in meeting. And because we were doing a startup as, as, as a family, Koya, 4:45 that was my contribution in being able to, you know, make people aware of what we were doing. Mm-hmm. And, and so I would talk about Koya. I would send them a Koya, which was kind of like a, a, a gift. 4:59 Think, um, Hallmark meets Venmo and Pokemon Go. Yeah. And I would send like $5 for them to get a coffee and just to get the word out. So I probably was doing, like, four, maybe six meetings every single week. 5:15 So by the time- Interesting... it was all over, I think I probably had close to 200 folks that I had met. And, and like you said, a lot of them, same story, and, and, and you're like, "What?" 5:24 When we first got married, we moved a lot. Mm-hmm. 5:27 And so I know how hard it is to move, but to, to be moving during a pandemic where everybody's on lockdown and you really don't know anybody, I was like, "Wow, this is really crazy." Yeah. So. 5:39 And, now, I do wanna get back into Koya too, uh, because, uh, just for reference, that, that's the startup you had started ju- just prior, the years prior- Yeah... and were ready to launch it in March of 2020. Mm. 5:50 So all that was kinda culminating at the same time that you had to pivot. Yeah. And but at least y- y- not even pivot the business, but pivot the mindset. Yeah. There's something to it, though. You started with 37. 6:00 You ended with now, now there are hundreds of people attending each, each event. Over 200 every single event. Every single time. And, uh, that takes a special person, a unique personality trait... 6:10 gifts, whatever you wanna call it, but you guys actually, y- you have it in a unique way. Mm-hmm. So what is that, that you think that you may have that others... Th- that's unique to you? 6:22 I, I think just Southern hospitality is one. Uh, the other one is we're not looking to get anything out of it. We're not... We're giving, and we don't have a posture of, of, of taking. 6:33 It's more of a there's no strings attached. Yeah. We're doing this because we want to help. Honestly, w- we wanna help you. 6:39 And, uh, that comes across as something we've had several people tell us, "This is unlike any place we've ever been." You know, when we walk into a f- a Fiesta, there's a different feeling. 6:51 It's not like a, an event where I'm gonna be preyed upon. It's gonna be... It's an event where I feel like I can belong, and I can actually connect with other people authentically. Mm-hmm. 7:01 And I think that's the biggest difference, and that's... The culture, I think, is the biggest thing about Fiesta. Tell me about that culture too. Yeah. Yeah. 7:08 It, I mean, I, I think what it is is it's we've created a place of belonging, and, and with Qoya, what we were doing was we were trying to help end the loneliness epidemic. Mm-hmm. 7:19 I mean, it, we, it's in epidemic proportions. Yeah. I mean, John has been a founder. I've been married to a founder. I know what that loneliness can feel like. I mean- Yeah... 7:29 with his first startup, that Adidas bought, um, Bones in Motion, I mean, I was raising three daughters and homeschooling at the same time, and, and I felt very alone and very isolated. Yeah. 7:41 And, and so I think I bring that empathy into the equation. Like, I know what it feels like, and, you know, my title is, is, um, chief encouragement and empowerment officer- [laughs]... 7:53 because I wanna encourage folks, and I wanna empower them. Mm-hmm. And I, I think that the culture also is, you know, belonging. We're helping founders to be seen, supported, celebrated, connected, and resourced. 8:08 And the first two are doing really well, the, the seen and celebrated part- Mm-hmm... um, by giving them an opportunity to take the stage every six months to share their startup in a minute. Hmm. 8:20 That opens up the door for who knows what because it's all about serendipity and the magic that happens in a room. Yeah. So I've had founders find co-founders. 8:28 We've had founders who have gotten funding, founders who have found teammates. I've had one couple who actually met and ended up pro- proposing on the stage- [laughs]... to, to their significant other. Yeah. 8:40 I mean, which to me, that warms my heart because I have taken more of a motherly perspective, and, you know, a mother wants the best for her, her kids. 8:52 And, you know, I want the best, and I'm gonna cheer on these startup founders. And, and so I don't know of anybody else here in Austin who is, is, who's doing that. Mm-hmm. 9:04 Um, and then to follow up with the stories in the newsletter, which John, you know, has taken the lead on that, gives further publicity because a newsletter is going out to over 9,000, 50% open rate. And who... 9:19 I don't know who's reading, but I've had people say, "Oh, you know, I had someone reach out to me because they saw my win in the, in the- Yes... the newsletter." And we just keep doing what we're doing without... 9:31 Like, it's not a formula or anything like that. I just kinda think of w- what would serve them best, so. Yeah. 9:39 Well, it d- it does seem like you, you, you, uh, as being faithful Christians, you're regular attendees at your church, you, you know that kinda lifestyle, and you've embraced that, uh, as not just something you do on Sundays. 9:49 So that's, uh, that's, uh, uh, what I gather, and, and maybe I'm being too bold in saying this, but that's a, a part of who you are, and you've really embraced that as a lifestyle. 9:56 And I see so many of those parallels in how you're approaching this community- Mm-hmm... through that interaction that you've had from your church world. Is that, uh, is that a fair assessment to say? Would you... 10:06 There's a lot of belonging and a lot of community that church brings, and we've been fortunate to, to have attended actually several great churches here in the Austin area. 10:16 Right now, our full attention is bringing the church into, into places where somebody would never step foot in a, into a church. Hmm. And that's, that's sorta like our... 10:26 The, the entrepreneurial area is our, is our mission field. I mean, it's something that... That's why it feels different for people that are visiting Fiesta. They feel the difference. There's something about it. 10:40 They don't know why. Mm-hmm. Sometimes they can't put their finger on it. Sometimes they'll ask us, uh, right? Mm-hmm. "What, what is it that keeps, you know, that drives you?" I was curious about that. That's funny. 10:48 What's the curiosity? That's how we actually became believers, was through, through seeing other people. It, it's less talk but more walk- Hmm... that we were witnessing. Yes. 10:58 And so that's how we prefer to reach out, is through our actions, not necessarily what we say. Yeah. But y- like you said, this is a missionary approach, but it's, it's certainly not evangel- e- evangelism kind of feel. 11:10 We're not hitting anybody over the head. [laughs] There's no proselytizing, right? Yeah. No. But we are loving on them. But you're loving. 11:16 It's that true caritas, that true charity that you're bringing through innovation and entrepreneurship, and I absolutely love that. But I want... 11:22 I do wanna go back to your innovation because you both had some tremendous innovative endeavors, uh, in the decades prior to this. And, um, you know, I'm, I'm thinking Bones in Motion, of course, and then it was... 11:31 I, I'm, I wrote this down, the Austin Wholehearted Homeschoolers, right? 11:35 Which is a, a totally new innovative approach to homeschooling, uh, that you adapted for your own family and your own personal needs that was embraced, again, by others because you created something in a void where there was a need. 11:44 So, but let's, let's start with Bones in Motion because you were [laughs]... I mean, John, you were at the forefront of this whole, uh, before the Apple Watch, be- really before any wearable watch. 11:53 This is before the Pebble. I mean, this is, you said pr- about 2008, 2009, right? Right. Yeah. Yeah, we filed all our IP in 2003, so even before iPhone and Android were even out, in 2007, 2008. Yeah. 12:06 Uh, so we were- Oh gosh... the pioneer in mobile fitness. We s- we were able to secure the patents around turning a mobile phone into a fitness device. 12:13 [laughs] That became, you know, what we were building, and- Adidas found out about what we were doing- Yeah... and, uh, ended up acquiring us in '09, or early, early '09. 12:24 Yeah, and you stayed on board for a little while with them because of your innovative tendencies. They wanted to keep that around, huh? I, I, I loved working at, at Adidas. It was, it was a- Mm-hmm... best company. 12:33 I mean, you think of it, it's a shoe and apparel company, and I'm a technologist, so I was able to play and do whatever I wanted- [laughs]... 12:41 to, you know, to try out new things that could help athletes perform better and, and do it injury-free. So that, that was my only criteria. It's like, yeah, go out and make, make, makes- [laughs]... 12:51 magic happen for- They just keep handing you toys and resources, and you just make magic happen... or go build your own toys. Yes. You get to go build them. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. 12:57 And they would send him to really cool places to, to, to find out what the leading edge was. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But y- you were the innovative explorer. 13:05 Yeah, there was two, two, two innovation explorers in the whole company of 80,000. Wow. And you hold 85 patents. How many of those were prior to being there, and how many after? That's a good question. 13:17 I, I started my patent career at, uh, in the early '90s, and continued that through, uh, Bones in Motion. Interesting. And then even with Quoya, we, we were awarded two additional patents. 13:27 Um, but the majority did come from my tenure at, at Adidas. Yeah. It, it... Was it hard to let go of Bones in Motion at the time? Or were you excited to see the... 13:37 Uh, take on a larger platform with, uh, this monster c- company coming in and taking it? I mean, it, it c- couldn't have come at a better time. If you remember the crash of '08, financial crash- Mm-hmm... 13:48 of '08 in September, we actually had a term sheet that was marked up, uh, in August. And unfortunately, we didn't get it pushed over the line before the crash happened. Uh, the, the term sheet was taken off the table. 13:59 We thought that deal was lost. And, uh, they said, "Hey, we'll come back to you at the beginning of the year." And we had already heard that through two other acquisitions that got cut short, short with Bones in Motion. 14:09 Mm-hmm. Uh, one's being Weather Channel, and the other one being Brunswick New Technologies. So both, both companies ended up not closing the deal for various reasons. Interesting. 14:17 And we thought that was gonna happen again here. 14:19 [laughs] But sure enough, on, in January 1st, right after the first of the year, they called and said, "Okay, let's revisit those conversations and get, get, get it going." My gosh. So- The terms had changed. 14:29 The terms had changed. [laughs] They, they got- A lot... the terms changed by about half. Yeah, yeah. Oh, wow. It, yeah, it was a- Yeah. 14:36 So that's a bit of a gut punch in its own right, but- That was a gut punch in itself... yeah. Uh, we hadn't... 14:40 We weren't able to raise any more money after the financial crash, so, uh, we were kind of running on ether anyway. Yeah. But we had the IP, we had the technology. 14:49 We had already launched in, uh, the US on all three major carriers, Num- uh, Mexico, Canada, Europe, and we were about to go into Japan, uh, with NTT Docomo, and, uh, that's when Adidas made the acquisition. My word. 15:04 And then meanwhile, Tre, you're with the, with the kids, and you're making sure that they're raised with the proper upbringing and, and proper education. 15:10 And what you noticed, if I'm, i- if I'm reading into it too much, tell me, but you noticed that whatever they were receiving was not adequate. 15:16 You wanted to do something more, more pointed, more directed toward what their needs were and what they were capable of, if I'm understanding correctly. Yeah. And you wanted to scale your own time for the sake of others. 15:25 So tell me a little bit more about that and how that came to be. Yeah. Well, so actually, I was one of those who said I would never homeschool, for various reasons. 15:34 During that time, there's a lot of stigmatism around it. Yeah. And like, you know, um, I'm, I was not the one to wear the long dress or, you know, be kind of plain. [laughs] Yeah. 15:43 And we were in California at the time, in John- We moved out there for a startup. Yeah, for a startup. From Austin. Yeah. So we were in Austin prior. And then so that was like '95, I guess, '95. 15:53 And my oldest was in first grade, and one of the things that I noticed was, you know, I had volunteered to be a hom- a homeroom mom, and then all of a sudden they needed someone to be the homeroom mom for, you know, kindergarten through fifth grade. 16:08 I'm like, "Okay, fine." And, and all the time that I was spending up at the school, I realized, like, wow, there's a lot of time these kids just sit in desk and do busy work. And I saw- Mm-hmm... 16:21 b- little boys who needed to be moving. And, and being ADD and ADHD myself, I was like, "Who wants to be kind of like in a desk all day long?" 16:29 And John was traveling a lot, and I, my youngest was going into kindergarten the next year, and, and she was different. 16:38 I was looking at her temperament, and I'm like, "Oh, gosh, I don't know if, if this is, would be the best thing for her." Mm-hmm. And I ended up going to an event for homeschoolers, and it was completely different. 16:50 And I'm like, "I can do this. This would give us the opportunity to be together as a family when John was not traveling." Mm-hmm. I... You know, the hands-on aspect. You could also travel with me. 16:59 I could travel with him. Oh, wow. And, and it was something I really was excited about, and I think part of it was because of my upbringing and education felt inadequate because of, like, how it was... 17:14 You know, I mean, back then it w- it was a lot different. Like, if you moved around a lot, you got put in the corner and stuff like that. 17:19 And, and I, I was learning things, and I realized, like, when you do things hands-on, so much more is retained. And if you let kids learn according to what they're interested in, they're gonna also remember that also. 17:35 My young- my oldest, um, we gave her a camera when she was 14, and at 15 she shot her first wedding. She's still to, to this day- Wow... is a photographer. 17:44 So, like, I really liked the opportunity that it offered us to explore the things that they- Yeah... were interested in. 17:52 And I did that up until the time I got pregnant with my third, and she's 10 years younger than the middle, 12 years younger than the older one. 18:02 And I'm like, I did not see myself homeschooling her, you know, in five years. Uh-huh. Again, you, you look at the, the child, the individual, and try and do what's best for them. 18:13 She was part of a private school for five years, and then had learning disabilities and was... I'm not about... labeling and putting kids in boxes. 18:24 I, in fact, I was, we were told she probably would not go to college, but she did. She graduated from A&M because- My Lord... you know- Yeah... we are like, "No, you can do anything you put your mind to." 18:35 And, and so- And, and her only issues were math. Yeah. [laughs] And she was just, "This is calculus." I mean, there's probably so many people- Yeah... out there with math issues anyway. Yeah, yeah. [laughs] So. 18:44 Yeah, but condemned for this one area of perceived deficiency, right? Yeah. Yeah. But, but you were able to find a way to make it work, where not only was she able to- Yeah... 18:53 um, pass or make it through, but she- Oh, she excelled... excelled. Right, she excelled. ExCELled. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. 18:56 And so, so when we moved to, back to Austin, is when I started, um, 'cause A- Texas didn't have really any homeschool groups- Mm-hmm... and like I had experienced. Again, sometimes you experience something- Yes... 19:08 and, and you are given that opportunity to do that wherever you go. And so I- Yeah... created the Austin Wholehearted Homeschooler group, and I think we had over, close to 100 families that were part of it. 19:19 So we did activities not only for the kids, but also for the moms. We'd have moms night outs. We'd do things as couples. Um- Yeah... there was, like, a reading club, PE. 19:31 So, you know, the whole socialization thing was definitely not an issue with what we were doing, because we were bringing kids together. 'Cause that's kind of the big stigma on any- Yeah... 19:40 kind of homeschooling, is that there, there's isolation. Yeah. There's no social skills that are be- And here, meanwhile you're saying, "Here's community. Let's bring more community in," right? Yeah, exactly. 19:47 And we had people coming in from Georgetown and all over. Yeah. 19:51 It wasn't until, like, you know, the iPhone and stuff like that, that people started kind of making those things an issue of coming together in, in, in a collaborative way like that. And then- Yeah... 20:03 when the girls got to high school, I started another program because, remember, I, I dropped out when the youngest came into the world. Mm-hmm. 20:12 And it was done at the Probe Center on the UT campus, and we hired somebody who taught biblical worldviews from the beginning of time to current history. It was a three-year program. Oh, interesting. 20:24 And- All the classics. I mean, it was- Yeah... very heavy reading. So the classics, but also through a biblical lens. Bib- yeah, through- Yeah... biblical worldview. That, that's remarkable. 20:32 And- And it was a lot of writing, a lot of, of, of, you know, thinking for yourself versus being told what to think. All in one of the bi- world's largest- Yeah... secular state universities. Yeah, it was pretty cool. 20:43 I mean, that, that's a pretty unique experience that they got to have, and let alone something you got to build- Yeah... along all that time. So, uh, uh, so there's a clear path that we're, we're seeing here, right? 20:52 I mean, it's the innovation, and then that call to community that's always... It, it seems like it's just this thread that goes through everything, because even the app. 20:59 I mean, [laughs] the app, the whole purpose was, was fitness, fitn- or, you know, wellness, but- It was also community. So when we built Bones of Motion- Yeah... 21:06 a lot of it had to do with getting runners and walkers and cyclists online. We were the first online fitness community, too. Mobile was just the recording device. 21:15 But you would go online to then swap, you know, best places to run, best places to, to bike ride. And we, we even made it so that- Where to find water, too... yeah, where to find water. 21:24 Where, where to avoid if there were, uh, at night, because it was sketchy. Uh- Wow... you know, all those kind of things were built into the online- Right... community aspect of, of fitness. 21:34 But you're, you're thinking about the whole rather than the individual. Mm-hmm. That's right. So this leads to Fiesta, but even Koya, right? So Koya was kind of the, the next step. 21:42 So you're, you're leaving Adidas at this point. Or it's coming to a cl- I don't know, I don't know. 21:46 But nonetheless, you've got this great thing that you started working on and started developing, and they said, "Well, uh, you can do this or this, or you can take this and run with it." 21:53 And it sounds like you ran with it. Mm-hmm. I got permission to do another startup [laughs] after- [laughs] Yeah, I, I, I'm like, "Never again."... after leaving Adidas in '18. And, uh- Wow... 22:03 I was excited, 'cause I get to work with my wife and also our two older daughters, and that was just such a joy to be able to bring them in and expose them to entrepreneurial thinking and what goes on. 22:14 And I mean, they really saw the highs and lows of entrepreneurship in that, in that tenure of Koya. We tried to keep it going post-COVID. 22:23 I mean, it was a location-based app that would allow you to think of somebody anywhere in the world, uh, record a video in context for where they are going. So let's say it's a coffee shop. 22:34 "Hey, I was thinking about you, wanted to buy you a coffee." And you could add money, $5, through Venmo or PayPal, that would get released, uh, the moment that they walk into that coffee shop. 22:43 And they'd get, they'd get to see a video. Do I know this person? Is- No, you know, you know them, 'cause you know where they like to go. It has to be a someplace. Oh, wow. Interesting. Yeah. Mm. 22:50 And just kinda like a random act of kindness almost. Right. It's, it is. It's- Yeah... very serendipitous because you, as a sender of the gift, don't know when they're gonna receive it. Yeah. 22:58 And the receiver gets a notification that there's something out there for them to find in their city, but they don't know where it is. So it raises the right chemical drops in your brain- The dopamine hit... 23:10 the dopamine hits, so that you feel seen, you feel good. And, uh, it has nothing to do with any taboo subjects like religion or politics. 23:17 So if you're trying to just reach out to a, a family member or a friend that you haven't talked to, or there was a rift or whatever, this just kinda made it- Interesting... a gamified connection. 23:28 [laughs] And that was our whole goal, was to get people connected again, that they had m- either lost touch with because they moved or whatever the issue was. Yeah. 23:38 So it was a great- Well, and, and I think part of it, too, was the fact that in our lifetime, I mean, how many times- 11... does a, a typical person move? Mm-hmm. 23:46 11 is, like, from, you know, your family to going to college, from college going to your first job, and then going to your second job. Yeah. And I mean, you have these relationships in each of these places. 23:58 And so we definitely had the intent of focusing on people that you were wanting to, I mean, you know something about. Yes. 24:07 So that way you can send it to locations and places that you knew would be meaningful, kinda would kinda stir up- Ideas of, of past gatherings- Yeah... 24:17 and stuff, like a past coffee shop that you used to go to all the time, or maybe it was a church, you know, that you worshiped together with them at- Mm-hmm... or, or something like that. 24:25 Or your parents, you know, that they're going on a trip, and you want to kind of show up in a, a, a serendipitous, special way. We dropped Coyas all over the campus. Our youngest went to school, uh- In Birmingham... 24:38 in, in Birmingham at Samford. It's a Christian s- Sure, yeah... Christian college. Yeah. And we dropped Coyas at, at the nail salon, at the Target- [laughs]... 24:46 at all these places, and she would show up, and they, she'd see a little video from mom and dad. And get a notification. Oh, that's great. 24:50 So instead of giving her, giving her, like, a monthly, you know, stipend or anything, she would just get these little random gifts throughout her- I think that's my mom's love language too. She would love- Oh, yeah... 25:00 to have that kind of app. Yeah. Just for, for all the relationships in her life. I, I, I- Yeah... totally understand that. It's gonna come back. I was g- okay. So Ed, that was my next question. 25:08 Yeah, it's gonna come back. Is this hap- is it just dormant right now, or is it dead? No, I started [laughs] I started working on it again. All right. Yeah. 25:13 Lucky doesn't have anything he- [laughs] We, we have two patents in it, right? So we're- Yeah... trying to figure out, okay, we can't let these patents lapse, and, uh, we really wanna focus on, on... 25:21 There's such a lot of opportunities there. Yeah. Yet we have a lot of other things going on, but with AI today, I'm like a kid in a candy store with these AI tools. 25:30 [laughs] Uh, my background's computer science, so I kinda understand the principles and everything, but AI's just totally changed the game in terms of- Mm-hmm. Yeah... being able to create, uh, new experiences. 25:40 In this case, creating an old experience using new technology. That's interesting. So that, and that parlayed directly into COVID, obviously, which- Mm... 25:47 you know, put the kibosh on people going out and meeting anybody anywhere, doing anything. Yeah. We pivoted. So, and- So we did pivot Coya a little bit because of the location thing. Uh-huh. 25:56 And we actually focused on first responders, if you remember. Yeah, we did essentially- Uh, making it e- really, yeah, making it really easy for you to thank those, uh, front- frontline responders. Interesting. 26:04 Nurses, policemen, firef- firefighters. Which was everywhere. Everybody wanted to do that. Yeah. Yeah. 26:08 So we just created a website, so it would enable you to go record a video message and thank those people that were, you know, doing that, and be able to give them a gift card or something like that, be integrated in. 26:18 Yeah. That never took off, but the heart was there to do that. We tried to make that work. Sure. And then at, at some point we had to finally kinda put, put Coya onto the back burner- Yeah... uh, as we went forward, so. 26:30 So it's on the shelf, but it's not staying there. No, it's not gonna stay there. No. That's great. Uh- There's just been too many... Yeah, too many people wanting to go. 26:36 Well, I mean, part of the reason we, it, it, we couldn't bring it back up was we already had, uh, a lot of developer fees that we still owed, and the entire team had dismantled in India that we were using. Oh, sure. 26:51 So to, I mean, it would've been like starting over again with- Yeah... new folks and, and again, I mean, they were still... Now he can do all the development himself- Yeah... for the most part. Um- On the weekend. Yeah. 27:05 [laughs] Crazy. Gosh. It's crazy. Yeah. He can talk to, talk to AI. Yeah. Yeah. It's nothing like my, my son-in-law. He's like a 100X developer. Yeah. I really get inspired when I talk to him about- Yeah... 27:16 what can be done, so. Yeah, so but then, so then Fiesta came, it exploded, and you end up developing yet another app- Mm-hmm... 27:22 uh, as a result of that, just to, just to manage the community that you were- Well, so that's, that brings, I'm glad I mentioned the son-in-law. So he saw the need. 27:31 We were having so many folks come to Fiesta, you know, we're over 100 people now attending. Mm. This was in the early days, maybe even 200 at this time. Yeah. 27:39 And Sri was doing a lot of checking the boxes, trying to read pictures that were taken at the event to f- to see who, you know, based on name badges, who actually attended. 27:49 And our daughter and son-in-law came up with the early Event Magic. It was still called Coya Connect at the time- Mm-hmm... 27:55 to give an accurate reading of who checked in, and also to create, uh, name badges with a QR code that would make it easy for you to keep track of who actually came, but more, more than that, you could even scan somebody else's QR code. 28:07 Okay. And a follow-up, if you will, or the ability to send out a, an email post-event saying, "Hey, here's all the people that you met at the event, or that met you. 28:17 Either they scanned you or you scanned them, and here's everybody else that you missed." So they built that, and so that was the earl- that was, like, version 1.0. And then- That was, like, three years ago? Yeah. 28:27 Three years ago, yeah. Yeah. Actually, this month, three years ago, 'cause- Hmm... 28:31 they, for my birthday, they surprised me and said, "Hey, we came up w- with a way for us to track who actually shows up," which it was, like, amazing. 28:41 So it was really fun to see people coming in a- and, and getting the name tags, which again, when you have something printed, it makes it easy- For, mm... for people to read the name tag- It does... 28:51 which was really important to me. And then the, the scanning of the QR code was amazing because that connection being had, and, and a lot of people remember where they met somebody and, and the, like, when they met them. 29:05 And- Yes... you know, LinkedIn wasn't providing those details, so I would have people I was keeping with- Uh-huh... 29:10 'cause everybody's like, "Let's do LinkedIn," or now they do the, the, the tapping of the phone, and it's like, it goes into this black hole of, "Who's this person? I can't find them." You know? 29:21 And that moment is forgotten forever- And it is... at that point. Yeah, it is. It is. So- Yeah. We add so much context to everything, uh. Yeah. 29:27 So, so that's what I really appreciated, is that we're looking at the events and, and connections from the perspective of how can we help you best utilize that connection- Mm... 29:40 when you leave this event, if, if, if you and I connected, and, and so now we- So it's not just the night... y- you've added voice memos. Yeah, it's just not the night. It's, it's the 30 days after the event. 29:50 It's even now going to the days before you even attend the event. We've got AI matching built in. So I, I rewrote the whole thing. This is who you should be looking for and- Yeah... those kind of things. Yeah. 29:58 So now it, it, it actually looks at your LinkedIn, it looks at how you answer the event questions. 30:03 The event questions are prompted by AI to come up with the best questions to ask somebody to help make the best matches even. Oh, that's so helpful. Yes. [laughs] And, uh, so you as a host- Yeah... 30:15 who might not, you know, understand what kind of questions to ask at your event- You can ask E- EventMagic and it'll go, "Okay, well, here are the ones that I would ask if you're trying to- Yeah... 30:23 what are you trying to, what's your, what are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to accomplish a bunch of, uh, mentorship or networking? Are you trying to find job opportunities?" 30:31 So you can actually go through a lot of things and figure out what is the outcome that you want for your event, and it'll come up with the questions, and do it in a way that's mobile friendly so it doesn't bog down people as they're trying to check into the event. 30:42 Mm. It's gotta be really easy and frictionless. I love that. And, and I'm, technology's not my first, um- Love... love, I mean, at all. 30:52 [laughs] And, and so what's really cool is he, I, he's learning from the frustrations that I have. The pain points she has as a host. Yeah. 30:59 And a- a- as a host, and the things that I'm wanting to do, and I mean, like, it is so simplistic right now in that I see how many people RSVP'd on, say, Meetup or Luma, and then how many of those people showed up, and then how many people actually showed up at the event, and we have that number. 31:17 And so what is the percentage- It's all automated... of no-show? What's- Mm-hmm... the percentage of people who are showing up that didn't RSVP? Yes. Very high. I'm, I'm surprised at how people don't RSVP. 31:27 And, and then what I love is, um, for the sponsors, I'm able to, because we're, you know, like we ask, "How many of you are founders?" And you know, "What stage are you in?" 31:38 Like, these different questions, and it gives you a graph, and now all I have to do is download that and send it to the sponsor who, like, I'm the hero in that moment because I'm providing them with really nice information- Yeah... 31:52 above and beyond what a lot of event organizers- Oh, absolutely. Yeah, yeah... are offering. They wouldn't get any of this. Yeah, yeah. [laughs] And, and, and I'm, I'm trying to think. 31:58 So that's what, I mean, it's been really nice. I, I look forward to the matchmaking. I mean, being here, 32:06 I have seen other opportunities because if Texas is wanting to be an integrated ecosystem like Web, then if we can actually pull together and get people in Houston and all these other- Yeah, Dallas... 32:19 surrounding places using an EventMagic-like tool, then we could probably better support and help founders- Mm-hmm... or help investors find- Absolutely... what they're looking for. 32:30 And, and again, it goes back to that collaboration over competition mindset, that all ships rise. 32:35 I mean, you know, everything that we have done to this point has been about how can we help you, as a founder, find the resources and the people that are gonna help you thrive, and it looks different for every founder. 32:51 Sure. You know? And, and I think that that's so important to remember, is like, we shouldn't come into this with our own agendas. 32:56 But, you know, my ultimate goal, I think, with Fiesta would be to create these roadmaps that would help if you're focused on AI, it would tell you who are the best universities that are supporting AI, or who are the best- Mm... 33:11 I'm like, is it Houston? Or whatever the business category is. Whatever. I mean, I'm just giving you an example. 'Cause pretty much everything's AI now. Of course. [laughs] Well, that's true. 33:16 So CPG or h- ed tech, health tech, med tech. Yeah. Whatever. So any of those. Yeah. 33:22 But then, but even that, you're, you're taking, so again, that thread of community, you guys have this great complementarity with you, with, with how you're approaching these things, too, and it seems like it's even coming together more over the last few years here. 33:33 But i- but even then, you're kind of diverging a little bit in your, your efforts right now as far as your next things go, but they both lead into those original objectives that you had for, for Fiesta, right? 33:42 With the, but the, the funding one being the hardest one to tackle, right? Because it's always finding those funders and finding the right funders. That's a difficult thing to do. 33:49 But bringing this, you know, the partnership with Lions Den, whatever else, bringing that community to Austin, or I guess cultivating that community, uh, in Austin. Yeah. For sure. That's a, that's a big thing. 33:59 And then, uh, Found Her. Oh, yeah. Focusing on women founders, too. Right. So I don't know if you guys wanna briefly go into a little bit about what you have in mind moving forward with those. 34:08 So, well, I'll, I'll just speak real quick about Lions Den up in Dallas, and also in Birmingham. Okay. That's where they're from. 34:14 Uh, so I, I was fortunate enough during COVID to be one of the mentors for faith-driven entrepreneurs, and one of the s- one of the folks that was attending this, w- we were online at the time, 'cause you weren't meeting in person because of COVID, was Bogdan. 34:28 He's from Romania, and he just caught the, the, the whole faith-driven bug, how to, how to make this happen, and he is, he is now running the running point- [laughs]... 34:39 on bringing a version of Lions Den here to Austin, and I'm, I'm a s- in a supporting role to make that happen. 34:44 But the idea is let's have, uh, Christian-based investors, uh, meet Christian-based startup founders or, or any founder that actually is making an impact. They have a redemptive story. 34:57 They're actually building something beyond themselves. So it doesn't necessarily have to be faith-based, because they'll be, they'll be surrounded by a bunch of, of faith-driven people. Mm-hmm. 35:06 Uh, which is also just a great o- opportunity. And what, what's different than what Dallas and Birmingham is doing, they kind of cast a very wide net. Uh, the version here in Austin is focused on just Austin. 35:20 So it's, we have enough, hopefully we have enough investors and founders- Mm... here in this community to be able to put something together that could, you know, that could showcase, uh, this whole ecosystem. 35:32 That's, that's great. And then Found Her is- Yeah. Well, and I, I'd like to say, I mean, like, the thing is, is every founder's on a different journey, and if you're- Yeah... 35:39 a faith-based founder, to be able to find support and programs and, and connections that can open up other doors for you, I mean, that's what we're really all about. So we try and be really agnostic. 35:52 But we started Founders two years after Fiesta as a way of bringing together women, founders in particular, but it, we t- tend to attract coaches and professional women and, and again, everybody's welcome. 36:06 But the heart behind it is we meet and network for a little bit, but then we break into small groups of, of eight or less- Mm... um, with a facilitator. 36:17 So we have facilitators sign up for six months and, and we, you know, do it every six months, and they lead the discussions. All of them are given two questions that they ask with a, a theme of some sort. 36:28 But the last question is always, "What's your greatest need, or how can we help?" Mm-hmm. You're sharing that in a small group, and then you come back, and that is shared by the facilitators in the larger group. 36:40 And then we started a newsletter that goes out once a month, um, to over 1,000 women, and the ask are shared in there. And so I've had women tell me that they have found someone who has helped them t- with coaching. 36:53 They, they have found partners. I've had... My favorite story is one gal who, she was a startup founder, which is our demographic, and she put in there, "Hey, I really would like for someone to look at my pitch deck. 37:04 I'm new at this." We had Addie over at Silverton see it in the newsletter. She reached out, had coffee with this gal- Mm-hmm... and suggested her applying for a accelerator up in New York. That was six months. 37:18 The gal and her, uh, co-founder were accepted, went to New York for six months, and then when they completed the program, they raised 1.5 million. [laughs] All because of an ask. 37:29 And, and again, when you put things out there, and you just let y- things happen. Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, versus trying to control and, and, and, and stem the- And she's come back- Yeah... 37:41 and she's still part of the community now. Yeah. So, yeah. And, and that's what's so beautiful is, is that we... 37:46 I, I have relationships with all of these people, and, and I get to hear their stories and, and what's going on with them. 37:51 We've even had, uh, founders that have gone, that have pitched at Fiesta have successful exits and then come back and sponsor Fiesta. W- well, yeah. Which is a, which is an incredible... We... 38:01 It's like, okay, now that is a more sustainable model. [laughs] Yeah. If we can get more- Can we figure out, figure that out, yeah. 38:07 If we can, if we can get more founders that, uh, have exits that can, yeah, come back and help- Yeah, and, and-... help the roots where the roots happened. 38:15 And then we had Jacob last year, who won the pitch competition in his category and overall at South by Southwest. Oh, my. And he had pitched at Fiesta. So I mean, I, we've had... 38:25 We had Dustin, who was at our very first in, um, Fiesta, and he pitched his company, which was just kind of like something he was ruminating on, and John ended up being an advisor. 38:38 It was cardio, but he went on to be on Shark Tank and, um, Squid Games. He's made his money there. And, and he's pivoted since, but now he's... 38:45 And, and it was really hard, and he's using that story to encourage other founders because it doesn't always work out, and sometimes walk, stepping away is the best thing that you can do. And he- Very interesting... 38:56 is leading the generator, uh- Accelerator... accelerator up in- In Ron... Ron. Mm-hmm. So. That, that's just terrific. Yeah. But I just, it, it's gonna be amazing to see in five, 10 years- Yeah... 39:05 you know, what the fruits are that come from this, that you didn't even know you were starting- Yeah... because you were just addressing a need. 39:10 And then all of this tremendous, uh, background and, and all the gifts that you have all culminated in, in this direction. Yeah. Um, but John, Cherie, thank you- Oh... uh, for this time. This has just been outstanding. 39:21 I'm, uh, it's, it's a gift to me to get to know you. Mm-hmm. And especially to have it in this context. This is just perfect, isn't it? It is beautiful out here. And we've had a few friends walking around here, too. 39:28 [laughs] But, uh, I think it a- added to our conversation too. Yeah. So but thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Thanks for having us, and, and thank you. I mean, like, this o- offered the opportunity to meet you. 39:39 Yeah. So I mean, I, I think at the end of the day, if I was to encourage individuals is show up at events. I mean, you never know who you're gonna meet- It's true... and what door it's gonna open up. 39:48 I mean, we got to meet you. That's right. And I look forward to seeing how we can support and create win-wins between Houston and Austin. And yeah. 39:57 Well, Fiesta- Let's get you to come and do, do a reverse pitch at Fiesta. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Definitely. That sounds great. I'm looking forward to it. Well, thank you. All right. Well, thanks again. Uh-huh. 40:04 [upbeat music]
