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Billion Dollar Backstory
Stacy Havener
123 episodes
1 day ago
Host Stacy Havener brings you the storytelling tips, sales strategies, behavioral secrets, and inspirational stories that help YOU turn your words into dollars. Learn from sales and marketing experts. Meet finance and investment leaders, founders and fund managers who have made it, and the ones on the rise. Because there are people behind the portfolios. Their stories matter. So does yours. Presented by: Ultimus Fund Solutions // www.ultimusfundsolutions.com GemCap // www.geminicapital.ie @stacyhavener // www.billiondollarbackstory.com
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Investing
Business,
Marketing
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All content for Billion Dollar Backstory is the property of Stacy Havener and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Host Stacy Havener brings you the storytelling tips, sales strategies, behavioral secrets, and inspirational stories that help YOU turn your words into dollars. Learn from sales and marketing experts. Meet finance and investment leaders, founders and fund managers who have made it, and the ones on the rise. Because there are people behind the portfolios. Their stories matter. So does yours. Presented by: Ultimus Fund Solutions // www.ultimusfundsolutions.com GemCap // www.geminicapital.ie @stacyhavener // www.billiondollarbackstory.com
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Investing
Business,
Marketing
Episodes (20/123)
Billion Dollar Backstory
122: Your Founder Is Stepping Back—Now What? | Story Snacks Series

The founder is retiring. The team is evolving. The story… gets archived?

Not so fast.

In this episode, Stacy shares what to do before you toss the origin story and how to transition from version 1.0 to 2.0 without losing the magic.

Inside the episode:
 • Why “retiring the founder” ≠ “retiring the story”
 • How to pull legacy threads into your firm’s next chapter
 • What to do if the original story was never that strong to begin with

This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week.


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

Show more...
2 days ago
6 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
121: Chat Reynders, Co-Founder of a $4B RIA Reynders McVeigh on True Impact Investing, Differentiation, and Owning Your Story

Some RIAs slap ESG labels on products and call it impact investing. Chat Reynders has been doing it for real, since before it was cool.

In this episode, Chat sits down with Stacy Havener to unpack the story behind Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management, the $4B firm he co-founded after starting his career… raising money for a whale documentary.


Yes, really.


In this episode, you’ll hear about:

  • The wild backstory of how raising $4.5M for an IMAX film on whales sparked Chat’s lifelong mission to fuse capital with purpose
  • Why Chat walked away from traditional finance (and how that shaped his view on sustainable investing)
  • The truth about ESG, what Wall Street got wrong, and how Reynders McVeigh is doing it differently
  • The power of curiosity, clarity, and staying true to your story (especially in a world full of productized sameness)
  • How declaring your firm’s identity can fuel growth both externally and within your team

Whether you're a founder, an investor, or someone trying to align your money with your mission, this conversation will get you thinking.

More About Chat: 

Chat Reynders is the Chairman and CEO of Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management, a $4B RIA he co-founded in 2005. With over 25 years of experience in investment management and social venture investing, Chat is known for blending fundamentals with forward-thinking strategies—and for being a true pioneer in values-driven investing.

Beyond finance, he’s raised over $150 million through public/private partnerships to support cultural and environmental initiatives worldwide. A longtime producer of socially conscious IMAX films (including the Oscar-nominated Dolphins), Chat’s passion for impact extends to his work on the board of the MacGillivray Freeman Educational Foundation and other nonprofits.

His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Barron’s, and Business Week.

Want More Help With Storytelling?


 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   


- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

Show more...
1 week ago
1 hour 5 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
120: Lon Stroschein, Founder of Normal 40 and best-selling author of The Trade, on Why High-Achieving Professionals Often Feel Unfulfilled and Want More From Their Story

Out of more than 100 episodes, this is the one that brought Stacy to tears.
And once you hear it, you’ll understand why.

Meet today’s guest, Lon Stroschein, founder of Normal 40, where he works with high-achieving professionals who look successful on the outside but feel stuck on the inside.

In this episode, he and Stacy talk about:

  • His backstory – how he went from farm kid to D.C. insider to leading billion-dollar deals in corporate America
  • What made him walk away from all of it with no backup plan, just a gut feeling that he was meant for more 
  • Why “success” can still feel empty (even when everything looks great on paper)
  • What it really means to outgrow your life (and how to know when you’ve hit that point)
  • The freedom that comes when you stop pretending and finally get honest with yourself

And the surprising patterns he’s seen after thousands of coaching convos with top performers who feel stuck, too

This one’s real, raw, and full of truth.
If you’ve ever thought “there’s gotta be more than this,” hit play.


More About Lon: 

Lon Stroschein is the founder of Normal 40®—a movement for elite providers who’ve built success but feel quietly stuck. He helps high performers trade the life they’ve outgrown for one they actually want.

A fourth-generation South Dakota farm kid, Lon’s values were shaped by early mornings, hard work, and quiet grit. He spent six years working for a U.S. Senator, followed by six years in private banking and finance, then 14 years as a public company executive—leading strategy, growth, and M&A, including a $2.1B transaction.

In 2022, Lon made The Trade—leaving the title, income, and image behind, without a backup plan. No resume. No safety net. Just a belief that his work there was done, his best decade was in front of him, but that it wasn’t going to be found where he was standing. 

Since his resignation, Lon has coached thousands of elite professionals—physicians, executives, entrepreneurs, attorneys—who feel stuck at the top. Through 1,000+ confidential coaching calls (Rambles), he’s built the world’s most honest library of career transformation—and a library of some of the most incredible stories you will never hear. 

What he’s learned is simple: most people aren’t lost—they’re just done pretending.

Lon’s best-selling book, The Trade, continues to reshape the lives of people he will never meet.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
2 weeks ago
1 hour 16 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
119:Toussaint Bailey, Exited Founder of a $2B RIA + Managing Partner of Uplifting Capital, on Differentiation, Values-Aligned Investing, and What Comes After a Big Exit

A lot of people build firms.
Very few sell them.
Even fewer?
Walk away from it all to start again.

But that’s exactly what Toussaint Bailey did.

After building and selling a $2B RIA, he’s back on the founder path, this time leading Uplifting Capital, a values-first platform rethinking what private market investing could look like.

In this episode, he sits down with Stacy to discuss: 

  • His backstory – How growing up in SoCal shaped his belief in “actionable faith in possibility”
  • Why he left a law partnership to help build an RIA
  • The cultural ethos that scaled Enso Wealth to $2B AUM and an eventual exit
  • Why he launched Uplifting Capital and how it’s redefining access to values-aligned private markets
  • A storytelling framework any fund manager can use to stand out (hint: it starts with “we’re not that.”)


About Toussaint Bailey:

Toussaint’s career has been built on a belief in the promise of possibility. As Founder and Managing Partner at Uplifting Capital, this belief manifests itself as investment in “Impact Alpha,” funds, and companies that produce compelling financial performance through gap-closing solutions in critical areas like education, healthcare, affordable housing, and renewable energy. 

 

Prior to founding Uplifting Capital, he was CEO and Chairman of Enso Wealth Management, a private wealth firm with a mission to translate wealth into fulfillment for clients and advisors. Toussaint joined Enso shortly after its formation in 2017, overseeing the firm’s rapid growth to nearly $2 billion of assets under management and its eventual acquisition. Before financial services, Toussaint spent over a decade as a practicing attorney.

 

Toussaint has served in several advisory and board capacities, including Impact Investment Subcommittee of the Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association; Investor Advisory Board of HBCU Founder Initiative; Advisory Board of Catalyst Housing Group; Advisory Board of SIY Global; and Board of Regents of Saint Mary’s College of California.

 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 

Book: Finding Meaning by David Kessler (the “sixth stage” of grief: finding meaning).

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
3 weeks ago
56 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
118: Joe Greco, Founder of Palio, From the NYSE Trading Floor and CNBC to Performance Coaching in the C-Suite on How We Can Optimize for Peak Performance

The finance and investment industry is a tough club. It’s known for being money-centric, number-focused, aggressive… even cutthroat.

And few places capture that intense energy quite like the trading floor of the NYSE, where today’s guest, Joe Greco, cut his teeth.

He started as a floor trader and media commentator, appearing on CNBC and guiding real-time market decisions.

Today, as Founder & President of PALIO, Joe coaches executives in wealth, finance, and investing, helping them make high-stakes decisions with clarity, speed, and trust.

In this episode, Joe sits down with Stacy to discuss: 

  • Why he left the chaos of Wall Street to coach the C-suite
  • How being a husband and father of five reframed his definition of success
  • What Wall Street taught him about leading with clarity and speed 
  • The future of AI in Finance 


More about Joe:

Joseph Greco is the Founder & President of PALIO, where he coaches high-performing leaders and teams in finance and beyond. A former NYSE trader and media commentator, Joe blends financial acumen with behavioral insight to drive growth, alignment, and leadership transformation.

He’s also an active investor in commercial real estate and global sports teams, including Campobasso 1919, Ascoli FC, and Brooklyn FC.

Joe lives in Larchmont, NY with his wife and five daughters, and brings a spirit of faith, adventure, and continuous growth to everything he does.

Books Mentioned in This Episode:
Rerum Novarum: Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII On Capital and Labour | https://a.co/d/dW1CdSU


Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe   

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
1 month ago
1 hour 9 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
117: Do This Before You Post Another Chart on LinkedIn | Story Snacks Series

The chart you shared on LinkedIn isn’t flopping because people “don’t get it.”
It’s flopping because you made them work too hard to understand it.

That’s one of the most common content mistakes fund managers make:dropping data without enough context.

The good news? It’s an easy fix, and in this episode, Stacy shows you how.

She dives into:  
 • 3 quick rules to make your chart posts actually land
 • A better way to use data to tell a story
 • Why one great chart beats four cluttered ones every time

This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
1 month ago
6 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
116: Best-Selling Ghostwriter Holly Crawshaw Joyner on Building Authority with Books + LinkedIn

Your story isn’t too messy, too boring, or too personal to share.
It’s the very thing that sets you apart.

And Holly Crawshaw Joyner has built her entire business helping leaders do exactly that.

Holly’s ghostwritten 120+ books and built a standout brand on LinkedIn by being raw, honest, and far from perfect. She knows what it takes to turn life experience into the kind of authority that makes people stop scrolling, and start listening.

In this episode, Holly joins Stacy to discuss: 

  • The behind-the-scenes lessons from ghostwriting 120+ books (and what actually makes a good one)
  • How she built her business, The Story Spark, as a single mom during the pandemic
  • The honesty-over-perfection strategy that made her brand stand out on LinkedIn
  • Why LinkedIn is still the most underrated platform for introverts + thought leaders
  • Smart AI hacks to turn posts, podcasts, and raw ideas into publishable content
  • The real talk on self, hybrid, and traditional publishing (and how to know which path is right for you)

If you’ve ever thought about publishing a book, or finally leveraging LinkedIn to grow your business, this conversation will help you find the courage to get started. 


More about Holly:
 


Holly Crawshaw Joyner is a New York Times-bestselling ghostwriter. 

Since entering publishing in 2006, Holly has ghostwritten, edited, and coached well over 1,000 titles. In addition to the NYT Bestseller, other projects Holly has worked on have topped the most prestigious lists in the industry including Amazon Bestseller, Amazon Best New Release, and Amazon Top 100, among others.

She’s written books for all the major publishing houses, including HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House, Baker, and Hachette.

Since 2021, Holly has also been ghostwriting for and coaching clients on LinkedIn, teaching them how to build a brand and grow an engaged audience. In 2024 Holly was named the #1 U.S. LinkedIn creator for Audience Building and Brand Awareness. In 2025 she was listed as one of  the Top 20 LinkedIn experts worldwide. 

Holly is married to Drew. They live in Atlanta with her three daughters. She is a self-professed cat lady with an addiction to sour candy.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership.


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
1 month ago
1 hour 6 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
115: Karl Heckenberg, Founder of $1B platform Constellation Wealth Capital, on Billion Dollar Partnerships, Founder-Led Firms, and Why People Matter More Than Performance

People matter more than performance. Yes, even in a numbers-obsessed industry. 

Take it from Karl Heckenberg, founder of Constellation Wealth Capital, a $1B platform that takes minority, non-controlling stakes in large RIAs and wealth management firms.

Yes, he understands the numbers and mechanics behind investing. But what actually sets him (and his fund) apart is the fact that he builds real partnerships. 

In this episode, he sits down with Stacy to talk about:

  • His backstory: from investment banker to CEO, and how he built a $1B platform by betting on people
  • Why founder-led firms outperform (and how Constellation supports them)
  • What makes a capital partner “friendly” (and what doesn’t)
  • Ownership and succession blind spots in wealth and asset management
  • Lessons from 40+ deals that apply to any founder looking to grow
  • The real ROI of relationships, connection, and shared values

More about Karl:
Karl serves as the President and Managing Partner of Constellation Wealth Capital. Before founding CWC, Karl was the CEO of Emigrant Partners and its affiliated company, Fiduciary Network. His career in the financial services has taken him to renowned institutions like Merrill Lynch, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Wells Fargo, and Charles Schwab. Karl has also contributed his expertise to several boards, including Sarasota Private Trust Company, New York Private Trust Company, and Cleveland Private Trust Company, and is currently on the board at Alternative Fund Advisors. He also held the position of Vice Chairman at Emigrant Bank and chairs the CWC Investment Committee.

A Washington, D.C. native, Karl is an alumnus of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.


Books Mentioned in This Episode:

  • The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel | https://a.co/d/j4ZWvk2
  • Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game — Michael Lewis | https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393324818
  • The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine — Michael Lewis | https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393338827
  • The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds — Michael Lewis | https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393354776

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe 

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership.


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
1 month ago
58 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
114: John Bowman, CEO of CAIA, on Founder-Led Sales, Listening Tours, and Why Empathy Wins in Finance

What if the most powerful thing a CEO can do… is show up?

That’s exactly what John Bowman is doing. As the new CEO of CAIA, he’s not sitting behind a desk or delegating from an ivory tower. He’s on a plane, in person, listening to the very people his organization serves.

In this episode, Stacy sits down with John to talk about the underrated power of founder-led sales (even when you’re leading a global organization), the ROI of empathy, and why success in finance is less about numbers and more about people than you think. 

They dig into:

  • John’s backstory: The leadership lesson he learned after getting laid off at 29 with three kids
  • Why walking the “listening tour” isn’t just smart, it’s essential
  • How storytelling shaped his career in this number-obsessed industry 
  • What CAIA’s member-first strategy can teach every founder and fund manager

Why he believes rejection is almost always redirection that’s either protecting you or leading you to where you’re meant to be 

More About John:

John was appointed CEO for the CAIA Association in January 2025. He has devoted over 25 years to the asset management industry to recover the narrative of the value that the investment profession brings to society. He is a staunch public advocate for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity and educational standards, as necessary ingredients to building a sustainable and healthy profession. 

John previously served as Managing Director for the Americas for CFA Institute, a region comprised of 40+ countries from Canada, the U.S., Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Before that, John was a portfolio manager for non-US equity strategies at both Boston Company and SSgA for several years. 


John is a prolific, speaker,writer and commentator, frequently keynoting industry conferences and appearing in investment and business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pension and Investments, Financial Advisor, The Independent, Wealthmanagement.com and CNBC. Bowman earned a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and is a CFA charterholder. 

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

  • The Advantage – Patrick Lencioni | https://a.co/d/2msVUSw
  • The 6 Types of Working Genius — Patrick M. Lencioni | https://a.co/d/15S3sKW
  • Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us — Seth Godin | https://a.co/d/ajf88KP


Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership.


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
1 month ago
1 hour 6 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
113: Why Mixing Up Job Stories and Brand Stories Hurts Your Pitch | Story Snacks Series

You’ve got your pitch deck. Your talking points. Your “why us” slide.
But if you’re telling the wrong story in meetings, none of that matters.

In this episode, Stacy’s diving into the two MVPs of storytelling for fund managers: the job story and the brand story. Think of them like the hammer and wrench in your toolbox, you need both, but you’ve gotta know when to use each.


Inside this bite-sized episode, you’ll learn:
 • What makes a job story different from a brand story (and why that mix-up matters)
 • Why every fund or strategy deserves its own tailored story
 • How constantly tweaking your brand story for the room can make your message… fuzzy

This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership.


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
2 months ago
9 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
112: Rewind: $1.5B RIA Founder Chad Willardson of Pacific Capital on Entrepreneurship | How Your Authentic Story Can Fuel Growth | Why Mindset in Money Matters

The impressively bold mindset that drove Chad Willardson to leave behind a million-dollar salary and a top 1% client base to build his own firm from scratch is the same mindset that grew his firm to $1.5B AUM and earned him the status of 5X bestselling author.

 

In fact, Chad’s story is proof that thinking like an entrepreneur can take you far in the fund world–and beyond. But can this mindset be learned and developed? Find out in today’s episode.

 

Plus, hear Chad’s full backstory and learn: 

  • Why advisors who think like entrepreneurs stand out to high-net-worth clients 
  • The hidden benefit of his LinkedIn presence: how he’s able to pass off sales meetings to his team almost entirely thanks to the strong trust he’s built on social 
  • His tips and tricks for balancing entrepreneurship and family life 

 

About Chad Willardson:

 

Chad Willardson is the President and Founder of Platinum Elevated, an exclusive coaching program where he helps entrepreneurs enjoy increased lifestyle and financial freedom by removing their stress about money, increasing their cash flow, and freeing up a ton of their time.

In 2011, Chad founded Pacific Capital, a family office specializing in wealth management for high-net-worth entrepreneurs. Chad's currently responsible for investing $1.5 billion dollars as a fiduciary. Before founding Pacific Capital, he spent nine years at Merrill Lynch, ranking in the top 2% of over 16,000 advisors nationwide.

 

Chad is a 5X best-selling author and Co-Host of The Smart Money Parenting Show, a podcast ranking in at #2 Apple for Parenting, Kids & Family. He is a Certified Financial Fiduciary® and Accredited Wealth Manager who also writes for Entrepreneur and Forbes. Chad earned his degree in Economics from Brigham Young University.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
2 months ago
50 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
111: Rewind: $1.2B Manager of Managers Turned Fintech Founder Lucky Walker of AM Insights on the Power of Data in Distribution

Fund managers, it’s time to ditch the pitch deck of doom. It’s not helping you differentiate. It’s putting allocators to sleep. 

Take it from Lucy Walker, Founder of data platform AM Insights, who spent the bulk of her career as a manager of managers allocating over $1B at specialist firm Sarasin Partners in the UK.

She knows this business inside and out, and today she’s sharing her wisdom on up-leveling your meeting game so you can land more investments. 

Listen in as she and Stacy discuss: 

·       Her backstory – from corporate allocation to launching her company 

·       Inside the mind of a fund-buyer: what makes a fund manager stand out to her

·       Why you should dig into data but not use it as a crutch in meetings 

·       The competitor bashing Achilles heel – how to show your differences to the peer group tastefully 

 

About Lucy Walker:

Lucy Walker is founder, chair, board director and advisor in investment management, technology and not-for-profit.

In 2020 she founded AM Insights, a fast and intuitive tool for the fund industry. She is Chair of the Aurora Investment Trust, and Senior Independent Director of Henderson International Income Trust. She is a former head of fund research and fund manager at Sarasin & Partners, advising on over £1.2 billion of assets for charities and high net worth individuals, and before that was at HSBC Global Asset Management. 

Lucy has been regularly featured in publications including the FT and The Telegraph, and was shortlisted for Fund Manager of the Year at the Women in Investment awards. She holds BSc Economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

Show more...
2 months ago
1 hour 1 minute

Billion Dollar Backstory
110: Rewind: Ex-ING $20B Bond Mgr to 500k Macro Research Followers to New Macro HedgeFund, Meet Palinuro Capital Founder / CIO Alfonso Peccatiello

Alfonso Peccatiello built a following of 500,000 on LinkedIn by doing something radical – by being a real, authentic human in the fund world. 

 

And that authentic social presence helped him close investment deals for his new hedge fund, Palinuro Capital. 

 

Alfonso’s story is proof that it pays to challenge the status quo and to put people (and connections) first – even in a numbers-obsessed industry. 

 

Want the full story? Join Alfonso and Stacy as they discuss: 

  • Alfonso’s backstory: How a car accident sparked his obsession with creating success on his own terms 
  • Why he’s never afraid to repel the wrong investor 
  • How his willingness to repel, both on social media and in meetings, has helped him attract more of the right investors 
  • The lesson he learned as a $20B bond manager that has served him most as an entrepreneur (spoiler alert, it wasn’t an investing technique) 


More About Alfonso Peccatiello

Alfonso (Alf) Peccatiello is the CIO of the global macro hedge fund Palinuro Capital. Alf was born in Southern Italy, roughly 1,000 km away from the closest financial center, yet his dream was to run his own hedge fund. To get there, he had an idea: share macro analysis and frameworks with the world through his research firm, The Macro Compass, first, establish relationships, and only after spinning out his macro hedge fund. After scoring the largest asset managers in the world as clients of his research, here we are: his global macro hedge fund, Palinuro Capital, is ready to launch in January 2025. As a proper Southern Italian, Alf stands by three culinary rules: no cappuccino unless it's breakfast, no pineapple on pizza, and never break pasta in pieces!


Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

 

Want More Help With Storytelling?

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 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

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2 months ago
55 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
109: Rewind: Former Fund Manager at a $27B Shop Turned Boutique Founder Greg Dean of Langdon Partners on Entrepreneurship

Success as a founder is about more than impressive AUM. It’s about maintaining autonomy and connnection. It’s about taking pride in what you do, the team you’ve built, and most importantly having fun along the way. 

Take it from today’s guest, Greg Dean, founder of global small-cap specialist firm Langdon Partners.

In this episode, he and Stacy discuss: 

  • Greg's backstory: 
    • From Fidelity Investments to co-founding a $27B investment firm
    • How his passion for connecting people and numbers drove him into small-cap investing
    • His big leap from the shallow end of co-foundership to founding his own firm 
  • Why AUM isn't the only measure of success in small-cap investing
  • Strategies for maximizing return on time in small-cap investing
  • The challenges of climbing the ranks in the fund world
  • Key advice for fund managers considering leaping into entrepreneurship 


About Greg Dean: 

 

Greg founded Langdon Equity Partners in 2021 and is the firm’s Chief Executive. He is the lead investor for Global and Canadian smaller companies portfolios. Greg has over 15 years’ experience in investment management. 

 

Before founding Langdon he was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Cambridge Global Asset Management (a boutique within CI Investments), responsible for the Canadian and Global smaller companies portfolios, having joined there in 2011 as an analyst.

 

While at Cambridge Greg was the joint recipient of the prestigious Morningstar Breakout Fund Manager of the Year in 2015 and his funds have won numerous industry awards over the years.

Previously he spent 3 years as a Canadian analyst covering consumer and infrastructure at Fidelity Investments. 

 

Greg has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a CFA charterholder.

 

Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

 

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  


Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 

Song: 22 Two's – JAY-Z  

Books: Same as Ever by Morgan Housel, Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor


- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

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3 months ago
1 hour

Billion Dollar Backstory
108: When Business Is Personal | What Happens When Siblings Join the Family Firm | Meet Spencer Ogden and Liz Curtin of Dock Street

What do a chimney sweep empire, a top hat obsession, and a $500M home services company have in common?

Dock Street.

This Newport-based multifamily office is redefining wealth management for Main Street entrepreneurs, and it’s run by a sibling duo, Spencer Ogden and Liz Curtin. who swore they’d never work together.

In this episode, Spencer and Liz join Stacy to talk about:

  • Growing up in a business... then choosing to join it at 40
  • What second-gen operators really need to carry on the family legacy successfully 
  • How they help families turn work ethic into generational wealth
  • Why bonds don’t cut it for entrepreneurs (and what does)
  • Their hacks to making their family biz actually work without sabotaging their relationships (because that would make holiday dinners quite awkward)

Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

About Spencer & Liz:

Spencer Ogden 


Spencer brings over two decades of experience in the investment industry, with a career that began at Citigroup and Legg Mason, followed by 13 years at K2 Advisors, a hedge fund affiliate of Franklin Templeton. At K2, he managed quantitative strategies overseeing more than $700 million in assets.

With a long-standing interest in microeconomics, Spencer is particularly focused on how individuals and families make financial decisions. His background in portfolio construction and asset allocation informs his current work in retirement income, tax strategy, and inheritance planning.

He holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations, and earned his degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Spencer is also an experienced offshore sailor and navigator, having competed in numerous regattas and sailed more than 15,000 nautical miles—including an Atlantic crossing.


Liz Curtin 


Liz leads Dock Street’s marketing efforts and also supports clients directly. Before joining the team, she worked as an independent consultant, partnering with a range of organizations on everything from marketing and hiring to organizational strategy and special projects. Along the way, she helped launch several new ventures, always with a focus on creative problem-solving and building strong relationships.

She holds a master’s degree in Education Policy from King’s College London and a bachelor’s in Secondary Education–Social Studies from Indiana University. Earlier in her career, Liz served in the Peace Corps in Romania, where she taught high school English and supported a local orphanage. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two sons.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 


Playboy’s Book of Games 

Beat the Dealer

Beat the Market

The Go Giver


Want More Help With Storytelling?

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 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Apply for The StorySales™ Accelerator, an exclusive 6-week program for boutique fund managers who want to craft compelling stories and confidently raise capital | https://www.havenercapital.com/accelerator

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3 months ago
1 hour 13 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
107: Bob Lind, Co-Founder of Lind Capital Partners, Specialist in Off the Run Credit Investments on Building an Investment Boutique Around Non-Rated Municipal Bonds

What do you do when the market tells you there’s no room for another fund? You tell a better story and carve your niche anyway.

In this episode, Stacy sits down with Bob Lind, Co-Founder of Lind Capital Partners, a boutique manager specializing in one of the most overlooked corners of the credit market: non-rated municipal bonds.

They dive into how Bob went from selling himself into his first research job to building a firm around a misunderstood asset class and why ditching the pitch helped him find the right investors. 

They also cover: 

  • Why non-rated doesn’t mean “junk” (and how Bob spots value where others won’t look)
  • The inflection point that sparked the launch of Lind Capital (hint: it involves a friend, a Fidelity broker, and a missed opportunity)
  • How Bob went from BlackRock-comparison pitches to founder-forward storytelling
  • The power of showing up as yourself and why authenticity wins with allocators

Plus: how to listen better in meetings, the magic of behavioral discovery questions, and the one Bruce Springsteen song that got Bob through everything.


About Bob Lind: 
Bob is a co-founder of Lind Capital Partners. He has built the firm around his passion for finding opportunities in inefficient markets and providing innovative ways to deliver access to individual investors. With nearly 40 years of experience in the municipal bond market, there is little Bob has not done. Today, he leads the portfolio management team and strategic initiatives for LCP.

Prior to founding Lind Capital Partners, Bob managed a $500 million high yield municipal bond portfolio for Deutsche Bank, where he leveraged his prior sell-side experience and institutional relationships. Bob began his career as a municipal analyst at Nuveen before moving into institutional sales and trading at Kemper Securities and Raymond James, where he underwrote, traded and sold municipal bonds.

Bob received a BA in History from Kenyon College and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago. He is a passionate bread baker/pizza maker, feeding and nourishing his 25+ year-old home-grown starter. Outside of the office and the kitchen, he enjoys paddle tennis, golf and telemark skiing.


Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership

Show more...
3 months ago
53 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
106: Want That Investor Lunch? Here’s What to Do First | Story Snack Series

Headed to a new city and thinking, “Should I try to book lunch with that allocator?” Not so fast.

If your first email is a wall of text with your bio, your strategy, and your lunch plans all crammed in… it’s probably going straight to the trash.

The good news is that there’s a better way to warm up new prospects, and in this episode, Stacy is breaking down exactly how she extends invitations to brand new contacts without coming across as pushy. 

She’s covering: 

  • Why your outreach isn’t landing and how to fix it
  • Stacy’s “give, give, give, ask” framework for landing meetings (even with complete strangers) 
  • Smart, simple ways to show up before sending your invitation (so it doesn’t feel like a pitch slap) 

This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership



- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership

Show more...
3 months ago
5 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
105: Liz Fritz, Co-Founder of F2 Strategy, a Boutique Tech Consultancy on Leading with Authenticity in the Wealth Space While Building a Thriving Family

Picture this: You’ve got a big job in finance, two tiny humans at home, and a brutal 90-minute commute. Then one day, you trade it all in to start a business with your husband.

That’s exactly what Liz Fritz did.

In this Episode, she joins Stacy Havener to chat about: 

  • Taking the leap from corporate to co-founder (with two babies in tow)
  • What it’s actually like building a company with your spouse 
  • Why staying in your lane is the secret to growing fast without burning out
  • How story and authenticity help you stand out in the wealth management world
  • The future of AI in finance 
  • Owning her voice in a male-dominated industry (and the resource that helped her do it)


More about Liz:
Liz Fritz is the Co-Founder and legacy CMO of F2 Strategy, the largest pure-play wealthtech consultancy in the U.S. With nearly 20 years of experience leading marketing for HNW and UHNW brands like Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and BNP Paribas, Liz knows how to turn strategy into real business growth—especially in the entrepreneurial and M&A space. She's a frequent industry speaker, a fierce advocate for women in wealthtech, and a champion of workplace well-being. Liz lives just outside Chicago with her husband (and F2 co-founder) Doug, their two boys, and one very lovable Labradoodle.


Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 


The Hard Thing About Hard Things 

The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance---What Women Should Know 

Blue Mind



Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership

Show more...
4 months ago
54 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
104: Simon Evan-Cook, Downing Fox – The Role of Luck and Skill in Successful Fund Management and Business Building

What if luck plays a bigger role in fund success than anyone wants to admit?

Simon Evan-Cook isn’t just throwing that idea out there. He’s lived it.

He spent years on the allocator side, vetting fund managers and learning what really sticks (hint: it’s not just your track record). 

Now that he’s a fund manager himself, he’s pulling back the curtain on the truth no one wants to say out loud…

Yes, being good at what you do matters, but so does luck, timing, and learning how to stack the odds in your favor. 

In this Episode, Simon and Stacy dig into: 

  • Why some of the most skilled fund managers don’t always win
  • 13 ways emerging managers can make their own luck
  • What allocators actually remember after your pitch
  • And why being honest, even when it’s uncomfortable—is the real differentiator


Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 

Influence by Robert Cialdin

About Simon Evan-Cook
Simon Evan-Cook is an award-winning multi-asset fund manager. In 2022 he joined Downing to set up and manage the Downing Fox range of funds. Before that he built his reputation at Premier Asset Management from 2006, where he was a senior member of their highly successful multi-asset team. He began his career with Fidelity in the late 90s, before joining Rothschild Asset Management and then Gartmore.

Simon also writes on investment (and beyond), including a monthly column for Citywire Magazine and his investment blog on Medium.com. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family and dog, devouring movies and books, and superficially damaging European golf courses.

Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership


- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership

Show more...
4 months ago
1 hour 1 minute

Billion Dollar Backstory
103: From Ranch Life to Running a $3B Firm — Meet Eric Flynn, CFA of Compound Planning

Forget what you think you know about finance careers. Eric Flynn didn’t come up through Wall Street. He grew up on a ranch in Montana. An actual 20,000-acre ranch, wrangling cattle before most of us were out of bed. 

Today, he’s the EVP and Head of Wealth Management at Compound Planning, a $3 billion digital family office built by tech founders who believe wealth management should feel a lot less clunky and a lot more human.

Eric’s story is part Yellowstone, part Wall Street, and all about finding the courage to own your different.  

In this Episode, Eric and Stacy dig into: 

  • Why he ditched computer science for accounting (and why neither felt like a forever fit)
  • How growing up on a ranch shaped his work ethic, mindset, and ability to fix just about anything
  • What it’s really like building your chops at a boutique family office where you do everything
  • Why Compound’s approach to tech, AI, and client experience is changing the game for advisors
  • The power of owning your story, especially in an industry that’s slow to celebrate what makes you different

About Eric Flynn:
Eric is a tenured financial professional with over 23 years of experience in the wealth management space. At Compound Planning, Eric leads the Wealth Management business and is responsible for executing the strategic vision, leading the advisory team, and harmonizing the service offerings for an exceptional client experience. Eric’s background is in advising higher net worth clients and providing family office services as well as consulting to firms in the wealth management industry. 

Eric received a Masters in Professional Accountancy from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana and is a CPA and CFA Charterholder. Prior to joining Compound, Eric was a Principal of multiple registered investment firms, and also helped build a national consulting team catering to the wealth management industry. 

He has a passion for helping people and leading/growing teams. Outside of work, Eric enjoys most anything outside after having grown up on a large family ranch in Montana. He also has a passion for giving back to the community and serves on multiple boards including the Montana State University College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, Bozeman Health Foundation Board, and is the President’s Council Representative for the Western Region CFA Societies to the CFAInstitute Board of Governors


Want More Help With Storytelling?

 +  Subscribe to my newsletter to get a weekly email that helps you use your words to power your growth:https://www.stacyhavener.com/subscribe  

 - - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros.Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership



- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

- - -
Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital’s exclusive membership

Show more...
4 months ago
55 minutes

Billion Dollar Backstory
Host Stacy Havener brings you the storytelling tips, sales strategies, behavioral secrets, and inspirational stories that help YOU turn your words into dollars. Learn from sales and marketing experts. Meet finance and investment leaders, founders and fund managers who have made it, and the ones on the rise. Because there are people behind the portfolios. Their stories matter. So does yours. Presented by: Ultimus Fund Solutions // www.ultimusfundsolutions.com GemCap // www.geminicapital.ie @stacyhavener // www.billiondollarbackstory.com