Building Things Worth Owning | El...
Building Things Worth Owning | Ellis Winstanley
The Business of Joy by Lisa W. Miller
S8 · E5
Sep 23, 2026
44:11
Episode notes

Ellis Winstanley was 12 when his parents told him if he wanted his own bedroom, he had to build it himself.

He's been building things ever since. Restaurants he turned around while still in college. El Arroyo, with their famous sign that now makes a million people smile every day. A whitewater rafting route. A 58-acre resort in New Braunfels. And Axial Shift, a software platform built on the idea that hospitality people should be doing hospitality, not admin work.

His words: "We build things that are worth owning."

From meeting his wife while working in a West Campus UT bar, to hiring while most were laying off people in the midst of a global pandemic, and working with Emily Knight and Texas Restaurant Association to legalize margarita delivery, this episode covers so much ground!

Learn more about Axial Shift:  ... 

Keywords
CEO Interviews
Restaurants
Business Leadership
Entrepreneurship
Leadership Lessons
Brand Transformation
Ellis Winstanley
El Arroyo
Austin
Margarita