Listen on: Fio (Catholic Spotify) | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube News / Updates: * Sign up for the Faithful Steward private newsletter. As mentioned in the episode, we are launching the Faithful Steward. A private newsletter for Catholic Investors. 👉 Sign up to get deal flow here.👉 Submit your deck to be shared with the network here. * Wausau, WI Monthly Meetup: Sign up here (Last Saturday of each month) * San Francisco Meetup: May 14th, after mass at Star of the Sea (Feast of The Ascension, Holy Day of Obligation). Sign up here. * Houston, TX, and Columbus, OH, are close to getting something on the books - reach out if interested in attending. * Sponsor Catholic Founders to get in front of Hundreds of Catholic Business owners each week. admin@catholicfounders.com Join the Catholic Founders Guild Today Get access to all CF Guild online events, the recordings, paywalled content, the CF Guild community/group chat, and CF Guild member directory. Many members have reported doing business with other CF Guild members within months of joining. With an annual membership fee of $100, it’s a total no-brainer to join. Consider this an association of Catholic business owners, not a high-commitment community that will sap your time. Join today for $100 a year or $10 a month. In Today’s Issue: * Intro to the Guest and Topic: James Reichert - Cana Wedding Group * Core Takeaway: Our daily evangelization mandate * Episode References * Select Quotes * Key Moments First time here? Learn more about our mission. And don’t forget to subscribe. Today’s Topic & Guest: James Reichert | Cana Wedding Group In this episode, I sit down with James Reichert, the co-founder of Cana Wedding Group, to discuss how they are taking on the “big wedding” industry. ie: Zoho, The Knot, etc. You know, the companies that have turned marriage into a commercial activity and nothing more. His take (which I agree with) is that because Marriage is a sacrament, and we as Christians are the only ones really doing it properly, we should have a company to work with that doesn’t actively hate what marriage truly is. Not to mention, we’re the only ones with families, so we’re the ones who are creating their future customers. Aside from his story and what they are building, we also get into his thoughts on how Catholics should be building businesses, and how entrepreneurship is an incredible vehicle for evangelization. You’re going to enjoy this — I’m sure of that. Invest in Other Catholic-Run Businesses Sign up today (for free) for the Faithful Steward. Our free, private, deal-flow newsletter for Catholic investors to discover Catholic-run business ventures to invest in. —> CatholicDealFlow.com We gotta help each other out! Doing our part to connect the ecosystem. (Raising? Submit your deck here) Core Lesson: Every Catholic-run business carries a mandate for daily evangelization, whether through direct witness or the pursuit of excellence in service. For too long, we’ve separated our professional lives from our spiritual calling. It’s what the world has demanded of us. But as Catholic entrepreneurs, we know we are created to be instruments of God’s will in the world. James points out, if your target market is fellow Catholics and you can offer a tool that avoids the woke friction of secular competitors, you have a unique opportunity to strengthen the faith of your customers. True success in business should be framed through the lens of excellence rather than blind ambition. While ambition can become vicious if it overlooks holiness, excellence glorifies God by utilizing the specific talents He has entrusted to us to their fullest potential. The goal of a Catholic venture is not just to survive in a secular market. It’s to build an uncancelable ecosystem where our values are preserved, and our businesses serve as a primary vehicle for sanctification. By creating high-quality alternatives like Cana, we reclaim territory in the modern world and provide living examples of what it means to be a “Man of the Kingdom”. God Bless & Happy Building! ~Silas Mähner Hire Catholic Overseas Talent In LatAm and the Philippines, there are millions of Catholic remote workers (across all domains) who want to work for ethical bosses. Often, they’re treated as second-class citizens or work for organizations that ask them to do questionable things. They reach out to us in search of a Catholic boss. So, we started ParacleteVA (website coming soon). With ParacleteVA, we’ll find you vetted, Catholic overseas talent who will help you move your business forward. How it works: Pay a $500 finders fee when the candidate starts and $500 if you’re still happy with them after 30 days. To get started, reach out to catholicfounders@gmail.com with what you’re looking for, and we’ll get started. Key Episode References: * Magisterium AI * Leaving a Legacy - Johann Kurtz * St. Moses the Black * National Catholic Register article * EWTN article Select Quotes: * "It's a funny one too, if you're a Catholic and you run a company, there should be a level of evangelization every single day."— James Reinchert * “Shoot for excellence, not ambition. Blind ambition, can I think eventually become a bit vicious in the sense that like if you have ambition over empathy or ambition over compassion, ambition over holiness, that’s where things can be a bit dangerous. So shoot for excellence. Ambition can be a good thing. You want to funnel and use that ambition for excellence and to glorify God in whatever way you can, but just be careful about taking it to its logical extreme.”— James Reinchert * "The parable of the talents is a really important one, especially for the modern young man who, if he wants, he can sit on his couch all day long and play Fortnite... and never live up to the potential that he's supposed to."— James Reinchert * "Catholics should be owning marriage preparation, wedding preparation, wedding planning."— James Reinchert * “If you give, the Lord will give back. And that's not the reason why you should do it, but he really does love when you take the gifts that he's given you and you put them to good work.”— James Reinchert Key Moments: (outline) * [04:27] - Introducing Cana: James describes building the first Catholic and Christian alternative to secular wedding sites. * [10:18] - The Need for Catholic Alternatives: A discussion on why certain industries like marriage require uncompromised faith-based solutions. * [14:44] - Ambition vs. Excellence: James explores the fine line between healthy drive and blind ambition, emphasizing excellence for God’s glory. * [21:02] - Parable of the Talents: The importance of using God-given skills to avoid wasting potential on earthly distractions. * [35:12] - Honesty in Business: Why truthfulness creates a “spiritual resonance” in professional relationships and fundraising. * [44:35] - Sacrifice and Startups: James shares the personal challenges of building a venture while providing for a young family. * [51:41] - Leaving a Legacy: A brief discussion on the importance of generational support and the work of John Cortines. * [54:19] - Reinvigorating Faith: James talks about the power of confession and adoration in his personal spiritual life. Join the Catholic Founders Guild Today Get access to all CF Guild online events, the recordings, paywalled content, the CF Guild community/group chat, and CF Guild member directory. Many members have reported doing business with other CF Guild members within months of joining. With an annual membership fee of $100, it’s a total no-brainer to join. Consider this an association of Catholic business owners, not a high-commitment community that will sap your time. Join today for $100 a year or $10 a month. 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
