Catherine Mary Said — Conversation Prep

My context: My theme for 2026 is PRESENCE. Everything I do ladders up to this — my health, my learnings, how I show up. The community is called "Here" — the name embodies how you show up. I haven't run a session yet, but I have a couple of people with their own communities, very values-aligned, who want to be part of it.


1. Challenge her product thinking (shows senior value)

"What's the hardest behavior change your product needs to create? Because community tools are easy to build — the hard part is getting people to actually show up consistently. What's your theory on that?"


2. Share the Here philosophy (creates partnership through vulnerability)

"I'm building something called Here. I named it that because the whole idea is about how you show up — being present. My theme for this year is presence, and everything I'm doing ladders up to that. I haven't run a session yet, but I already have people with their own communities who want in — because the values resonate before the product even exists. That tells me something."


3. Go deeper on her personal "why" (creates emotional connection)

"What's the personal story behind building a community product? Because most founders I know who build in this space aren't doing it for the market opportunity — there's usually something deeper. What's yours?"


4. Offer a specific, high-value insight (makes you indispensable)

"One thing I've learned at Cake — and this applies to community products too — is that your earliest users aren't your market. They're your co-creators. The moment you start treating them as 'users' instead of partners, you lose the magic. Are you still in that co-creation phase?"


5. Plant the seed for ongoing connection (pull, not push)

"I'd actually love to hear how your thinking evolves on this over the next few months. Community building is one of the few things I genuinely care about outside of Cake. Keep me in the loop?"