AXOM Foundry LLC originally began as a concept idea for utilizing the unused HRMG office space inside Wilson Plaza. The founders were Liza Wisner, Taylor Smith, and Avery Pfeiffer in 2017. We developed the concept in late September and launched a draft website through HRMG that was discovered by The Bend Magazine. They asked to report on the idea, which ultimately forced our hand in launching the coworking concept. We officially opened the doors of the company in November 2017 and held our hard launch celebration in December.

The company operated for an entire year before we concluded its operation in November 2018. It produced minimal revenue but was worth every penny invested by our team due to its benefit in growing our network and knowledge of Corpus Christi’s economy. We were excited by the city’s small business engagement and initial interest. The company had tremendous success marketing through social media live streams, free weekly events, and community engagement. We partnered with many businesses and non-profits such as Frost Bank, The Exchange, YBPCB, BUS, WES:CC, CASA, among others. The building management at Wilson Plaza jointly supported our endeavor to develop new tenants, breathing new life into an otherwise vacant floor.

In late 2018, AXOM Foundry attempted to produce a mobile application through one of our founders but was unsuccessful in its execution. Major pain points for the company were long-term funding, customer parking, and staffing to help manage the company’s endeavors. The financial constraints without investor support proved to be a significant chokepoint for continuing the company’s development. We began to see a decline in our customer’s ability to sustain their memberships, and primary relationships faltered due to a lack of follow-through and commitment.

The company’s long-term goals were to develop an environment where entrepreneurs could foster their growth and find the community and tools needed to launch their ideas. Looking back, we bit off more than we could chew without institutional or investor support. Shared office space in the gig economy did not prove valuable enough in Corpus Christi then. Post-COVID, it appears there may be an opportunity for the return of this project, which is currently actively under development.