We recently had the chance to connect with Katie Showell and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 90 minutes of my day are everything. I actually set my alarm a little earlier than my kids wake up, just so I can have a few quiet moments to myself. I stay in bed for a bit and start my day with gratitude—simple thoughts, really, but they help me set the tone. I think about what I’m thankful for, what’s working, even the small stuff. It’s my way of creating momentum for the day through appreciation.
Once the house starts waking up, it’s go-time: I get my kids fed and off to school. After that, it’s back to me. While I get dressed, I usually play Abraham Hicks talks on YouTube. It’s like having a morning pep talk for my soul. Those words help me stay in alignment with how I want to feel—not just what I need to do.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! I’m Katie Showell, and at the core of everything I do is one word: freedom. Freedom to live fully, to create intentionally, and to build in ways that are both financially wise and deeply human.
I’m a real estate developer and co-founder of Topos Collective, a woman-owned development and construction firm in Austin, Texas. We focus on thoughtful infill projects—working closely with investors who share our belief that development can be done with both purpose and profit. What makes us unique is that we’re in this business with heart. We care deeply about the communities we build in, and we work just as intentionally with our investors. It’s personal for us. We believe the built environment shapes how people live, connect, and thrive—so we take that responsibility seriously.
Right now, I’m also building out a business development initiative through my Equitable Development Program, where we’re exploring affordable housing models and advocacy work to bring more balance, access, and inclusivity into the market. These projects are bridges—between capital and community, growth and equity, vision and impact.
My story is still unfolding, but the through-line is clear: I’m here to create more freedom—for myself, for others, and for the neighborhoods we get to touch.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was bold. Expressive. Visionary. I’ve always had a natural drive to lead and create—to show up fully and let my voice matter. I wasn’t here to play small.
But somewhere along the way, I got the message—like a lot of women do—that it was safer to shrink a little. I learned to perfect, to perform, to make things look effortless while carrying the weight of everything in silence. That innate pull I felt to live out loud got buried under layers of pressure to “get it right” and make it all look easy.
Eventually that shell cracked—and honestly, I’m so grateful it did. Because beneath that polished exterior was someone ready to build, to speak, to lead with heart. I broke free from the scripts and started choosing a path that felt like mine—not performative, but purposeful. These days, I create from the inside out—and that changes everything.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that’s held me back the most? Safety. Especially financial safety. For much of my life, money felt like a tiger lurking just outside the door—constant pressure, never enough, always one step behind. Even when things were technically stable, I didn’t always feel that way on the inside. Scarcity lived in my nervous system. It showed up as overworking, over-controlling, and tying my worth to output.
As a mother, that fear got even louder—because I wasn’t just carrying my own weight anymore. I was holding space for future lives, their well-being, their freedom. And with that came a deep urgency to solve money. To create wealth that wasn’t just about survival, but regeneration. Something they could stand on, and I could breathe into.
Now, much of my work—both professionally and personally—centers around transforming that fear. I work in the world of real estate and investment, yes. But more than that, I build structures (literal and metaphorical) that create true safety: autonomy, legacy, power with purpose. I’m learning that safety doesn’t start outside of me. It’s something I generate as I own my value, trust the path, and stay rooted in what I know to be mine, even when the numbers wobble.
This is the alchemy I’m here for—turning pressure into freedom.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What do you believe is true but cannot prove?
I believe we have the power to create our own manifestations. That our thoughts, energy, and inner alignment shape the outcomes we experience—even if we can’t always map it in a straight line.
I’ve seen it in my own life too many times to call it coincidence: the way clarity calls things in, the way resistance pushes them away, the way a tiny shift in belief can create real-world results. It’s not about controlling everything. It’s about aligning with what you actually want, and trusting that the universe is always responding—even when it’s quiet.
I can’t prove it on paper. But I feel it in my bones. That our outer lives are echoes of what’s happening inside. And when we choose to live with intention, the world starts meeting us there.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Yes. I checked every box. Twelve years into a corporate career, earning a six-figure salary, leading a team. I had the two kids, the house, the rental properties, the spreadsheet that said everything was on track. From the outside, it looked like success—and honestly, it’s what I thought I wanted.
But inside? I felt like I was trapped in a prison of my own making. I had built something impressive, but it wasn’t aligned. I wasn’t lit up. I was managing my life, not living it. The more I achieved, the more I realized I had climbed a ladder that was leaning against the wrong wall.
That moment of reckoning was painful, but it was also clarifying. It’s what led me to realign everything—for more freedom, more meaning, and more presence. It showed me that true success isn’t just about what you build. It’s about how you feel inside what you build.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.toposcollective.com
- Instagram: katie.showell ; toposcollective
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-showell/
