Billion Dollar Backstory

You thought you nailed the meeting. The conversation went well, heads were nodding, and everyone seemed engaged. Then you followed up with a thoughtful email and… crickets. Or maybe you got hit with the four words every fund manager dreads hearing: "We’ll watch you." Most people take either of those as signals to retreat and move on. But what if they're actually something else entirely? In this ep...

You made it to the final investor meeting again. You were sure this one was yours because your pitch was on point (no surprise, given that you rehearsed every line).  But still... no deal. What gives? Why are you always the bridesmaid but never the bride?  In this episode, Stacy is breaking down why so many fund managers find themselves stuck in this frustrating loop.  Listen in to learn:  Why try...

If you’re like most founders, “creating a yearly business plan” is one of those tasks you keep bumping to the bottom of your to-do list.  Maybe you tell yourself you’ll get to it when things slow down, but they never do.  And before you know it, you’re steamrolling into the new year without a plan, which leads to overthinking every single decision and drowning in busy work.  And somehow you end th...

Everyone loves a success story, but what we don’t talk about enough is what it costs to get there. And what it’s like before the money is wired or anyone cares.  Before all of that, there was a guy with a phone, a thesis, and a long list of people telling him no. That guy was Cole Wilcox. In this episode, Stacy Havener sits down with Cole, CEO & CIO of Longboard Asset Management, to talk about...

“Be authentic.” “Own your story.” “Sharpen your edges.” We say these things at Havener Capital all the time (and Stacy says them a lot ). But here’s the real question: do they actually move the needle? Mike Denklau, founder of Dorset Agriculture, is here to tell you they do. Today, he’s giving us a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when you stop code-switching… and start building from your re...

In this industry, everyone talks about innovation. But innovation rarely starts in a conference room. It starts when a client hits a wall. When they’re overwhelmed, under pressure, or staring at an opportunity they can’t quite reach alone. That’s where Ultimus Fund Solutions steps in. This team doesn’t just throw tech at the problem. They roll up their sleeves, pick up the phone, and build real so...

Panels are weird. Everyone’s trying to look smart without sounding rehearsed.  And somehow you’re supposed to introduce yourself and tell memorable stories in just a matter of minutes.  It’s not easy, and it’s not something you want to wing (especially if you want to make sure your participation is worth your while). That’s why, in this episode, Stacy’s breaking down her top dos and don’ts for sho...

Most people love to talk about the “boutique advantage,” but very few can show you what it actually feels like from the allocator’s side of the table. Seb Stewart can. Seb is Partner and Head of US Institutional BD at Pacific Asset Management (~$20B AUM) and Chair of IMI, the global think tank for specialist firms.  In this episode, Seb and Stacy sit down at NASDAQ Studios to discuss what allocato...

If your firm’s outside the U.S. and you’re thinking about bringing your fund here, you’ve probably already started googling and found yourself a million new to-dos.  But before you start checking off all of the boxes (structure, fees, compliance, product, etc.), make sure you’re not skipping the vital first step most fund managers miss. In this episode, Stacy breaks down the underrated first step...

You know those Wall Street movies where young, hungry salespeople make 500 dials a day? That was real life for Devon Drew. He built his career in distribution at some of the biggest asset managers in the world—including Vanguard—before walking away from it all to launch AssetLink, a tech platform designed to disrupt how fund distribution gets done. Because Devon realized something: the model wasn’...

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...

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 wi...

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 lead...

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...

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 & P...

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...

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 peo...

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 par...

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 g...

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 e...

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...

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-l...

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 indu...

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 Investment...

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....