Money Tales

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Steven Foster. Steven began his career with a singular focus on making as much money as possible. By age 26, he was doing just that. Steven was one of the most successful dance music producers in the world, running a record label and hosting live events that drew crowds of 30,000 people. The financial risks were enormous, and the rewards seemed even gre...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Steven Atneosen. Steven describes himself as a husband, a father, a citizen of Earth and a lifelong optimist who is focused on leveraging technology and data to improve the quality of life. He’s a passionate advocate for fairness and equity for all. Steven’s commitment to justice and respect stems from his experiences being bullied as a child. This shap...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Marla Sofer. Marla had an epic career in financial services and fintech. Along the way she developed an entrepreneurial itch that wouldn’t go away. Realizing she only has one life to live, Marla decided to align her work with her values and leapt into entrepreneurship. A key motivator was her daughter, who, after hearing Marla's dreams, asked, "When are...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon. Darnyelle grew up facing tough challenges – both of her parents struggled with addiction. She knew she had to make her own money and started working at McDonald’s at age 13. Darnyelle was a diligent saver who was shocked when one day she opened her bank statement to see that there was no money in the account. Without apology...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Derrick Miles. Like many of us, Derrick has experienced the highs and the lows during his pursuit of happiness and purpose. Starting from humble beginnings, Derrick's mom always encouraged him to dream big. He believed that becoming a CEO and making a lot of money would bring him happiness, and while he achieved that dream and made millions, Derrick fel...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Graham Rowan. In the 1990s when Graham's career was taking off, he started accumulating wealth and not having the time to manage it. A colleague referred him to a financial advisor. Graham trusted this advisor, who promised to navigate the complexities of the market on his behalf. As the dot-com bubble swelled, so did Graham’s investments, which were co...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Grifan Cayce. Grifan began her career in the teaching profession. She was driven by a deep love for education. As Grifan immersed herself in the demanding world of high school teaching, she encountered a stark reality: the disconnect between her efforts and her financial compensation. Teaching multiple AP classes in a competitive school district, Grifin...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is AJ Schneider. At just four years old, AJ's world was forever altered when her sister was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a golf ball. The family found themselves facing a nightmare. In the face of adversity, AJ's family fractured. As AJ tells us, there was no unity, only separation. For her, this pivotal moment solidified every negative belief...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Julia Cancro. Years back, Julia was dining with a friend at restaurant in New York City. Amidst bites of food, her friend shared that she started to accumulate savings, but she was unsure of what to do with the money beyond keeping it in a standard checking and savings accounts. Julia went into action, offering to point her friend toward resources that...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Mirela Sula. At the age of 16, Mirela found herself in her home country of Albania, engaged to be married. Not because of a teenage romance or a whirlwind courtship, but because of something much darker – the risk of being sold into prostitution. Upon accepting the proposal, Mirela made her fiancé promise that he would allow her to continue her studies....

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Nina Israel. Earlier in her career, Nina found herself juggling two roles at a company, accounting and human resources. As she tells us, her salary seemed fair, until the company brought on a new hire to take on the HR function. Nina was astonished to discover that he was being paid twice Nina’s salary for doing half the job she had been doing. Nina bec...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Allison Kinnear. In 2007, Allison found herself in Silicon Valley, working at Google, the epicenter of innovation. She was part of a team providing early childhood education to families of Google employees. While Allison was surrounded by the creation of immense wealth, her pay wasn’t anywhere close to the tech professionals at the company. As those cow...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Laura Moreno Lucas. Laura arrived in the United States from Mexico when she was seven years old, unable to speak a word of English. With her parents tirelessly working to make ends meet and facing their own language barriers, Laura found an unexpected mentor in the form of a janitor at her elementary school. Day after day, this janitor stayed behind aft...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Rena DeLevie. As Rena looks back on the early days of her career, she regrets her harsh leadership style at the time, which she attributes to learning from those around her. To quote Rena, “I was an asshole. I learned from the best and I really threatened and intimidated. It did not feel good.” By the time she hit her mid-thirties, Rena was done. The as...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Jennifer Guynn. After years of career success as a real estate developer, Jen decided to step away to raise her three children. She describes this as a scary jump for her and her husband because she was making good money, and it would be an adjustment to live on one income. Fast forward to when their youngest child went off to Kindergarten, Jen was read...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Mariana Saddakni. Mariana is a Latina trailblazer in technology innovation. Her cross-cultural money journey started in Argentina where her family considered their wealth to be their intellect and capacity to learn. That was their status, not the money in the bank. Mariana’s ambition to learn more took her to the United States for graduate school. Her g...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Jodi Morris. Jodi is a fierce advocate for education and empowerment, especially for girls around the globe. From her own struggles navigating the financial aid system when she applied to college, Jodi recognizes the immense challenges faced by girls in less privileged parts of the world. She shares with us her passion for leveling the playing field and...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Sarah “Sharky” Harkness. We dive into Sharky’s extraordinary journey where she narrowly escaped death not once, not twice, but three times. Sharky shares the raw moments of facing mortality, finding strength in the depths of despair, and embracing a no quit mindset. From battling through over two dozen surgeries within four years to shedding layers of s...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Ann Oleson. Ann embarked on her entrepreneurial journey in 2011. When she started her first business, Ann found herself navigating uncharted territory as a female entrepreneur. She craved role models and networks to guide her along the way. She was specifically looking for women founders of companies generating over a million dollars a year in revenue....

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Robert Rao. Rob describes being raised by immigrant parents who came to this country with limited resources, as living in the shadows. It was easy to blend in and not be recognized for his potential. Rob had a key ally helping him persevere. He describes his mother as an incredible dreamer who thought bigger of her children. Rob did not disappoint. He’s...

Manisha Thakor is our guest in this episode of Money Tales. Early in her career, Manisha earned big year-end bonuses at work. That caused her to begin to quate her self-worth with her net worth. As Manisha looks back, she sees that her identity was wrapped up in her work, and bonuses were an indication of how well she was doing. She kept her head down, kept working hard, and tried to meet society’...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Karen Mangia. Once, when navigating an unstable job, Karen faced job loss panic. Her rational mind could not control her wild imagination that she might not work again and wouldn’t have enough money for food. This shook Karen to her core because it wasn’t true. She had already created a financial safety net and her financial advisor demonstrated that sh...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Robert Farrington. When he was 16, Robert got a job at Target. As he headed off to college, he kept that job and continued to work his way up the store’s leadership ladder. Robert decided to stick around after he graduated because the work was easy, fun and paid well as he ultimately became store manager. Meanwhile, on the side, he created an online pla...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Dr. Rene Caissie. Rene is a visionary in the realm of technology, Artificial Intelligence, and big data within the medical field. His journey took an unexpected turn when his daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, CRPS. At that moment Rene found himself uniquely positioned, having built a platform for clinical research that intersected with his dau...

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Diane O’Connell. Diane had a successful career as an attorney for nearly two decades and then she began struggling with a silent culprit—generalized anxiety disorder. It wasn't a tangible injury with a straightforward recovery plan. Diane's journey to healing was like navigating an uncharted path where the source of her anxiety was elusive. Through trea...