Catholic Founders
Catholic Founders
Podcast Description
Catholic Founders is where Catholic Entrepreneurs and Business Owners go to learn how to integrate their faith into every aspect of how they run their business and life as a Catholic AND as a Founder.
In modern times, it's become more unclear than ever how to unite our faith with our work. It's even harder when you run a business. However, just as there is a holy way to live, there is a holy way to build and run our businesses.
Fundamentally, our skills were given to us by God so that we may become instruments of His will. These skills are not for our own use. Therefore, to waste or misuse them is a grave thing. This entire project is born out of a deep belief in this truth. www.catholicfounders.com
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes such as faith integration in entrepreneurship, the challenges faced by Catholic founders in secular environments like Silicon Valley, and the intersection of technology and spirituality. Episodes discuss topics like the rising presence of Catholicism in tech, the founding story of the Hallow prayer app, and reflections on scriptural teachings that inform business ethics, such as the importance of prayer in decision-making.
Catholic Founders is where Catholic Entrepreneurs and Business Owners go to learn how to integrate their faith into every aspect of how they run their business and life as a Catholic AND as a Founder.
In modern times, it’s become more unclear than ever how to unite our faith with our work. It’s even harder when you run a business. However, just as there is a holy way to live, there is a holy way to build and run our businesses.
Fundamentally, our skills were given to us by God so that we may become instruments of His will. These skills are not for our own use. Therefore, to waste or misuse them is a grave thing. This entire project is born out of a deep belief in this truth.
Kathy and Patrick Terry bake a birthday cake for every one of their 1,800 employees, have lent them $900K+ interest-free, and walked away from a buyout so P. Terry’s would never stop treating people like people.
Want to build a business like that? Become a paid member of the Catholic Founders Guild: join.catholicfounders.com
The Terrys opened a 527 sq ft burger stand in Austin in 2005. Today P. Terry’s runs across Austin, San Antonio and Houston, and they’re selling the company to an Employee Ownership Trust so the culture outlives them. Silas asks how they scaled without losing the human touch, and the question every founder eventually has to answer: how much is enough?
In this episode:
• Why they’d rather slow down than change how they treat employees
• Becoming the safety net: interest-free loans with about $5K in defaults
• Milton Friedman and how the employer-employee deal broke down
• Walking away from a buyout, then selling to an Employee Ownership Trust
• Keeping prices low while everyone else raises them
• Faith, humility and being public about your success
Core lesson: Know your people. That’s where the joy is.
Guests:
Kathy Terry: linkedin.com/in/kathy-terry-atx
P. Terry’s Burger Stand: pterrys.com
Sponsor:
Bonaventure Bookkeeping takes the books off your plate, with monthly reports you can actually understand. Get your Sunday nights back: bonabook.xyz or [email protected]
Chapters:
00:28 – Can 1,800 employees really be treated like family? “But of course.”
02:21 – Costco vs. Sam’s Club, and how you measure success
04:11 – The two-way deal between employer and employee
05:48 – How capitalism became extractive and transactional
09:22 – Milton Friedman and the shift to shareholder value
11:07 – Scaling a business that stays human
14:18 – Vin’s broken-down car and becoming the safety net for employees
16:58 – Giving Back Saturdays: a full day’s profits to local nonprofits
21:46 – Over $900K in interest-free employee loans, with only about $5K defaulted
23:15 – Why every employee gets a birthday cake
24:30 – Selling to an Employee Ownership Trust to lock in the culture
28:54 – Know your people: “that’s where all the joy is”
33:27 – “We didn’t set out to build a Catholic business”
41:27 – How to know when it’s time to take the leap of faith
45:33 – Walking away from the buyout offer
49:43 – Keeping prices low while everyone else raises theirs
52:04 – How much is enough?
54:54 – Advice for scaling: grow at a pace your culture can handle
56:57 – Closing and Rapid Fire
Join the Catholic Founders Guild ($10/month or $100/year): grow your business, learn the theology of entrepreneurship, and meet 270+ Catholic founders. join.catholicfounders.com
Newsletter: catholicfounders.com
YouTube: youtube.com/@CatholicFoundersPod
Meetups: luma.com/catholicfounders
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.catholicfounders.com/subscribe
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