Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Deering.
Liz, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of The Un.Inc in Austin, TX www.theuninc.com. We design and deliver programming that activates changemakers. Our 3-month cohort program is now in its 4th year.
Since opening in Austin in 2016, we’ve seen hundreds of change-makers step into their purpose, whether they are inside an organization, charting their own entrepreneurial path or championing change in the social sector.
I split my time between managing our program and consulting with individual clients. My passion is in helping founders own their stories, equipping them with brands and tools to walk into the world and fill it with their intent. In our program, I do that by facilitating the group, moving cohort members through the 12-week process of launching their dream. In my consulting work, I do that by developing brands, websites and marketing and business strategies for intentional founders.
In our program, we have a poem that we read to kick off each new cohort. This is the first verse:
We are here to hold space for the creators, to walk alongside the lonely ones, who will change the world.
I believe deeply that the most powerful and long-lasting leaders are the ones whose work is born from a place of pain. It’s an honor to hold space for each new group of leaders, as they discover this for themselves.
We have coined the phrase Un.Inc Life. When you’re living the Un.Inc Life, you are taking risks, following your intent and your heart as you build your business and life, and most of all, you are open-hearted and real about it.
I can think of many moments where I chose the Un.Inc Life instead of the traditional path. I’ll share a few of those with you.
In 2016, as I started to conceive of starting a space for other founders like me, I began reaching out to mentors and coaches to get their input on my idea. I told them I wanted a space where founders were first, not just their business venture. I had already co-founded three businesses and I knew the inner workings of incubators and programs first hand. I had pitched and successfully raised $1M, I had gone without for years at a time. I had lived the extremes that come with choosing my own path.
I remember sitting with one of the coaches I knew at a coffee shop and telling her these stories. I’m so tired of how it feels to walk into these spaces and feel like my intent doesn’t matter, I told her. Well, she said, what are you going to do about it? And Haven was born. At first, it began as a series of workshops to support other women entrepreneurs in my network. Soon, it grew and expanded to support other founders who felt unsupported or unwelcomed by the more than 40 incubators in town.
I began collaborating with my now co-founder Ben Gibson that year as well. He was running a space for filmmakers called Youvolution, giving them access to the gear and resources they needed to build their own careers. We found a synergy in this intent to hold space and support founders in their early years. Together, we founded The Un.Inc and set our individual brands aside to create something bigger. We began searching for an office space that would serve our needs. We envisioned a house, something that felt cozy and creative. Everywhere we looked, the houses were too expensive. We began to lose hope.
Meanwhile, I moved from a comfortable 2BR apartment in hill country into a tiny house in Hyde Park with my daughter. I wanted to be more central in Hyde Park and I wanted to feel community. I was willing to sacrifice comforts and a bedroom door, for this. Little did I know what this step would lead to. About a month later, my landlord came into town. I discovered she owned the house in front of the property as well, and she told me that she was looking for a renter. Did I know anyone looking for a 2BR bungalow? She asked. Yes, I said, would you be open to us running our business in it? We took the leap and signed a lease.
In that house on 35th Street, we would hatch and launch The Un.Inc and it would be home for us and many founders for the next two years. To this day, I know that the capacity to move quickly towards an opportunity, taking risk and being willing, is one of our strongest qualities together as co-founders.
We have taken many risks since. In 2018, I moved onto our 9-acre property to work on a tiny home live + work concept that we wanted to explore. It was so much harder than we anticipated. But for me, it solidified my belief in myself and my own capacity to commit and risk towards my dreams. I closed out 2018 with the realization that we couldn’t bring our community vision to life yet on the land and that I needed to move back to the city. We envisioned a big urban space but it seemed so far outside of our reach.
And just as the year changed, new doors opened. Each new door I open requires risk and belief. In January, I met with a long-time collaborator and friend, Laura Shook Guzman. She is the founder of Soma Vida. She has managed this 8,000 square foot coworking and wellness space for 11 years. And she asked me if we’d like to take over managing it. It has been an adventure, as we explore how our visions align and we work to merge and grow our communities. This fall, we’re launching our largest program ever in this space. www.theuninc.com/campus. Now, not only can we offer founders our 3-month program and access to mentors, but we’re also able to offer them space to test and demo their concepts – from performances and creative collaborations to workshops and yoga classes. All under one roof.
I’m excited for what is to come next. And grateful for the chance to live my intent each day.
Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in?
We specialize in activating and supporting intentional founders, as they launch or pivot their businesses. In the last four years, we have worked with more than 100 founders in a range of industries from filmmakers, musicians, and photographers to healers, technologists, and educators. What sets us apart if our intense focus on the founder and their growth and wellbeing, as well as their business venture. We know the life-long journey as a changemaker is very challenging and our intent is to equip founders with the skills, community, and resources they need to build their life around their passion.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Austin is a wonderful place to be a founder and business owner.
Pricing:
- Cohort Program: $2,000/person
- Drop-in Classes: $95/person
Contact Info:
- Address: 2324 East Cesar Chavez
Austin, TX 78741 - Website: www.theuninc.com
- Phone: 512.660.7372
- Email: liz@theunincubator.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/uninclife
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uninclife/
Image Credit:
Ben Gibson
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