Five in Five with Miller and Mango

This month, we're talking to a Raleigh native who turned a basketball career cut short into a 13-year run leading one of the area's top consulting and staffing offices. Josh Haymond is a CPA, a former Millbrook High School and Elon basketball player, the leader of Vaco's Raleigh office, and the founder of Beyond Basketball, a nonprofit that prepares young players for life after the gam...

This month, we're talking to a guest who's helped families collectively earn more than $80 million in scholarships and get thousands of students into some of the most selective schools in the country. Shellee Howard is the founder and CEO of CollegeReady, a 2026 Global Educational Consultant of the Year, a two-time bestselling author, and host of the podcast Parents, Is Your Teen College R...

This month, we're talking to a guest who's built not one but two businesses before turning 25 and figured out how to make them work together. Mary Esposito is the founder of Purple Pear, a crochet brand she started as a teenager, and the creator of Money with Mary, a personal finance platform built around bringing more young women into investing and money conversations. Host Mike Manganill...

This month's theme is back to school, so we flipped the script and put a high schooler in the guest chair. Jack Adkins just wrapped up his summer internship at TradeWinds, and before that, he was figuring out money the same way most students do: mostly on his own. Host Mike Manganillo sits down with Jack, an incoming senior at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, to talk through how a teen...

In this episode of Beyond the Balance, Mike Manganillo sits down with Tim Whitney, founder and CEO of TradeWinds to explore what it really takes to bet everything on independence. Tim shares his path from junior advisor working under his father and mentor to founder of his own firm, the slow burn of frustrations that led him to leave a major wirehouse, the risk he and his wife Kate took on togethe...

From Moneyball-obsessed finance student to NC State's Assistant General Manager, Patrick Stacy's path into college basketball is anything but traditional. In this episode of  Beyond the Balance , host Ralston Turner sits down with Patrick, a 40 Under 40 honoree in college basketball, to trace the journey from building baseball models in his Loyola dorm room to running roster analytics for...

What does it take to walk away from a CEO title and leap into something entirely different? In this episode of Beyond the Balance , host Mike Manganillo sits down with Abha Bowers: 20-year marketing veteran, former CEO of Walk West, certified nutrition coach and personal trainer, and now Head of Strategic Partnerships at CED (Council for Entrepreneurial Development) in the Triangle. Abha's story i...

Tim Humphrey went from 200 rejection letters and a $13.50/hr IBM co-op to Chief Analytics Officer and then walked away from it all to become a Provost at Wake Tech. In this episode, the NC State alum and 30-year tech veteran joins host Ralston Turner to talk leadership through crisis, the real relationship between data and human intuition, and what it feels like to finally trade a career for a cal...

What does it take to walk away from your dream job and discover a better one on the other side? In this episode of Beyond the Balance , host Ralston sits down with Marc Campbell, a former UNC Tar Heel and national champion, professional player overseas, longtime NBA shooting coach, and now a rising Raleigh real estate agent for a candid conversation about identity, reinvention, and the kind of bal...

Host Mike Manganillo welcomes Bill Coppel, Chief Client Growth Officer at Trade PMR, for a candid conversation about what really drives meaningful growth in wealth management. With over three decades in the industry and a background as a former nationally ranked triathlete, Bill shares why most firms get growth wrong, how AI is reshaping the role of the human advisor, and his philosophy that advis...

In this episode of Beyond the Balance, Jeb Bowie and Miller Hoffman tackle 6 common money myths that can quietly derail financial progress. From taxes and dividends to diversification, Social Security, debt, and the “Magnificent 7” stocks, they break down what people often get wrong — and what actually matters when building a thoughtful financial plan. If you’ve ever wondered whether paying the le...

In this episode of Beyond the Balance , Mike Manganillo sits down with Ralston Turner, a former Division I and professional basketball player turned financial advisor to explore what it really means to build a meaningful life after the game. Ralston shares his journey from growing up in Alabama to playing at LSU and NC State, and how lessons from basketball, discipline, mindset, and resilience con...

In this episode of Beyond the Balance , Mike Manganillo sits down with Larry Long Jr., a global keynote speaker, author of Jolt , and former University of Maryland baseball player to explore what real growth looks like beyond titles and numbers. Larry shares his path from athletics to sales, the mindset shift that came after getting let go in 2021, and how coaching, mentorship, and intentional rel...

In this episode of Beyond the Balance, host Mike Manganillo talks with Shannon Thomas, co-founder of Fratelli's Delicatessen in Apex, North Carolina, about what it really takes to start a business while maintaining a full-time corporate career. Shannon shares her journey from international finance and Wall Street to IT tech sales at Red Hat and Pure Storage—all while launching a family-owned d...

In this episode of Beyond the Balance , host Mike Manganillo sits down with Matthew Snider —investor, advisor, entrepreneur, and founder of Block Three Strategy Group—to explore where traditional finance meets the rapidly evolving world of digital assets. Matthew shares his journey into Bitcoin and Web3, explains why understanding blockchain technology matters beyond the headlines, and breaks down...

What does “balance” really look like over the course of a long career? In this episode of Beyond the Balance , host Miller sits down with Bruce Groce , a recently retired tech leader who spent 32 years at SAS , rising through the ranks while navigating the realities of work, family, leadership, and personal fulfillment. Bruce shares candid reflections on what it means to be the kind of employee wh...

"Beyond the Balance," featuring host Miller Hoffman and guest Gretchen Curtis from Integrated Funding, a mortgage brokerage. The discussion centers on Gretchen Curtis’s career path in the lending world, detailing her transition from large banks to the brokerage model and the personal and professional advantages of that move, including better rates for clients and increased autonomy. The...

In this weeks penultimate episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: 📊 Takeaways from Federal Reserve meeting 🤖 World’s first AI law 🗳️ Election Update 🏅 Olympics 💬 Explain it to me like a 4th grader – What does “writing it off” mean to a business owner?  *TradeWinds LLC. is an investment advisory firm that is registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango change up the format and answer the five most common questions people often ask a Financial Advisor and Marketing Executive. *TradeWinds LLC. is an investment advisory firm that is registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. TradeWinds will not accept trade offers online, and any...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: 💼💰 I’m turning 40 and realizing that I need to start saving for retirement… Will I be ok? 🎉💸 Balancing between enjoying life and saving money in your 20s 📊💸 What are the most common tax errors people make? 💸🤔 What’s a huge waste of money but people keep buying it? 🤓💬 Explain it to me like a 4th grader: Why do people g...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: 📉 The Big Short is Back! Are zero down mortgages making a comeback? 🔧 NYSE glitches cause chaos. Are clients protected by glitches? 🌟 Is everything bigger in Texas? The soon to be established Texas Stock Exchange hopes it is. 🎬 The history of summer blockbuster movies 📚 Explain it to me like a fourth grader: What does owni...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: 🎯 Target is lowering prices on 5K of their frequently bought items. 📈 Dow closes at record high 40K. 👵 More Americans are turning 65 this year than ever before. 🌞 Memorial Day Weekend = Unofficial start of summer 🧑‍🎓 Explain it to me like a fourth grader: What is a credit score? *TradeWinds LLC. is an investment advisory...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: 🤔 Three things investors probably don’t know, but should 🚴 What happened to Peloton? 💸 Americans can’t stop "spaving" 📺 The future of Netflix live after the Tom Brady Roast 👦🏽 Explain it to me like a 4th grader: Meme Stocks *TradeWinds LLC. is an investment advisory firm that is registered with the Securities Ex...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: 💪 The strength of the US dollar 📉 Tesla shares are tumbling 📚 Financial Literacy Month 🎤 Swiftonomics: The Economic Influence of Taylor Swift 🧒 Explain it to me like a 4th grader: What’s private equity? Should I invest in it? *TradeWinds LLC. is an investment advisory firm that is registered with the Securities Exchange Co...

In this weeks episode Miller and Mango cover the following hot topics: Are we about to enter a bear market?  What happens if you don’t file your taxes by April 15th?  The top 10 fastest growing industries in the US, what should we watch out for?  The Masters  Explain it to me like a 4th grader: Which is better, a tax credit or a deduction?  *TradeWinds LLC. is an investment advisory firm that is r...