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
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 46 minutes
- Episodes
- 114
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
33: New School Marketing Strategies Power a $420 Million RIA Led by Matt Blocki and Jamison Wealth, Partners of EWA | How Content Marketing Can Grow a Boutique | Why Specialization Creates More Opportunity (Not Less)
If you're tired of the same old business strategies (that don’t even work for boutiques) and want to carve a path to uncommon success, it's time to challenge the status quo.
Not sure how? You’re in …
32: $1.2B Manager of Managers Turned Fintech Founder Lucy Walker of AM Insights on the Power of Data in Distribution | How Meetings are Improved When Fund Managers Ditch the Pitch | Why Different is Better than Better in Fund Selection
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 spe…
31: $30B RIA Platform Co-Founder Scott Colangelo on Entrepreneurship in Financial Services| Why Collaboration is the Future of Growth | How to Innovate Product Development and Put People First
Ever wondered how the giants in financial advisory scale? Today, join Stacy and Scott Colangelo, Chairman and Managing Partner of Prime Capital Investment, a $30B powerhouse, for an exclusive look be…
30: The Psychology of Sales w/ Dr. Daniel Crosby and Stacy Havener | The Scientist & The Storyteller | Why Typical Fund Managers Tell Terrible Stories (and How to Make Sure You Nail Your Narrative)
Fund managers, buckle up! In Part 4 of 'The Scientist and The Storyteller' series, Dr. Daniel Crosby, a behavioral psychologist is back and ready to tell you the cold hard truth about why your brain …
29: Should You Launch an Investment Boutique? Answer These 5 Questions
If you’re a talented fund manager you’ve probably asked yourself, “Should I start an investment boutique?” at some point or another.
And I get it - the idea of being an entrepreneur sounds incredible…
28: Value Investing Specialist Sean Peche of Ranmore Funds on Building a Boutique After Years at $35B Bigs | How Boutiques Will Win with a Different Playbook (and LinkedIn Is In It) | Why Numbers and Narrative Can Vibe Together
Let’s be real: boutique building is no walk in the park; it's a rollercoaster of gutsy moves and unexpected comebacks.
Today, we’re sitting down with a guest who knows all about that. Meet Sean Peche…
27: $250B AUM Leadership & Talent Exec Michael Futterman on Preventing Founder Burnout | Why Performance is Table Stakes | How to Stay in the Game Even When It’s Difficult and Celebrate the Small Wins
Building a boutique is no cake walk. But it’s easier to stay on the grind when your mindset is in check.
Today’s guest, Michael Futterman – the brains behind leadership development for mammoth asset …
26: From Start-up to $6B Specialist CEO Robin John of Eventide on Building a Boutique | The Power of Founder-Led Sales | Why Every Fund Manager Needs a Mission Bigger Than Themselves
Meet Robin John, the CEO of Eventide, a $6B asset management firm.
Robin and his co-founder defied the odds, launching Eventide in 2008 with no track record, no assets, but unwavering belief. 15 yea…
25: From a $20B RIA to One of the World’s Largest Family Offices John Tennaro Still Has an Eye for Boutiques | Why Boutiques Need to Specialize | The Power of Qualitative: Analysts Can Get the Data, Tell Them Stories
Some say only small allocators invest in boutiques. Not true.
Today's guest, John Tennaro has worked for some of the largest RIAs and family offices in the world, managing double-digit billions and mo…
24: $1.2B Boutique CEO Manish Khatta of Potomac Fund Management on The Power of Branding for Boutiques | Insights into His Modern Marketing Playbook He Used to Add $1B in 3 Years
The investment world has evolved. Success on Wall Street isn’t reserved for middle-aged white men in fancy NYC offices making deals and dollar calls like old cliches would have you believe.
Our guest …
23: $1.1B RIA / Venture Capital Co-Founder Spencer Kelly of Regatta Capital on Organic Growth | Lessons Learned from Door-to-Door Sales | Why Every Business is a People Business
Meet Spencer Kelly, co-founder of Regatta Capital. He knows the grind; his early days in door-to-door sales taught him the value of grit, genuine connections, and patience.
For Spencer, it's all about…
22: Start-up Vibes at a $7.5B Wealth Manager w/ EVP Adam Cox | Rethinking Technical Expertise in Finance | The Power of Authentic Storytelling (and Podcasts) | Why Introverts Make Great Salespeople
At the start of his career, our guest, Adam Cox, learned an important lesson - success in financial management is about more than delivering flashy stats, sales pitches, and charm.
It’s about earnin…
21: The Psychology of Sales w/ Dr. Daniel Crosby and Stacy Havener | The Scientist & The Storyteller | Three Behavioral Biases That Sabotage Sales | Why Fund Managers Miss the Mark in Business Storytelling
If 'speaking to the heart of your client' has always sounded like fluff to you, this episode is your reality check.
Today, In part 3 of the Scientist and The Storyteller mini-series, Dr. Crosby takes …
20: How to Tell a Story That Sells
What if I told you that just telling your story is not enough?
The way you tell it matters. Delivery is everything if you want to make the kind of impact that leads to sales.
That’s why today, Stacy …
19: Portfolio Manager for $18B Long/Short Hedge Fund to President of $4B+ Wealth Mgmt Platform, Shannon Spotswood President of RFG Advisory on the Power of the Pivot | How to Lead with Authenticity | Why Your Personal Brand is an Asset
Imagine, you’re a woman – one of very few women even in hedge funds. And you’ve got your dream job, a high powered hedge fund manager for a double-digit billion specialist hedge fund.
Now, imagine wha…
18: $4.5B Boutique CEO, Steve Rogers of Shelton Capital Management, on Why Business is Personal | The Future for Boutiques and the Role of M&A | Why Performance is Table Stakes Not a Differentiator
Crossing the billion-dollar mark in the entrepreneurial rollercoaster is no joke, but today, we've got Steve Rogers, CEO of Shelton Capital Management, who not only did it but skyrocketed to $4 billi…
17: From $50B Private Bank CEO to Boutique Founder Specializing in Private Credit, Gloria Nelund of TriLincGlobalShares Her Story|How Private Credit and Impact Investing Align| Why SMBs are the Future of Growth in Emerging Markets
Gloria Nelund saw that there’s an over a six trillion dollar gap in financing for businesses in developing economies and she said, “Hold my … coffee. I have a private credit firm to build.”
Her 10-ye…
16: Marketing Expert Samantha Russell of FMG on the Founder’s Journey from Bootstrap to Exit | Why Specialization is Powerful for Start-ups | What Digital Marketing Strategies Work Well in Financial Services | How to Ramp Sales with Stories
99% of fund managers are doing social media wrong. Stale and stagnate. Nobody wants that. How do you get to the 1% that stops the scroll? Put some fun back in your fund game.
Today, Samantha Russell…
15: The Psychology of Sales w/ Dr. Daniel Crosby & Stacy Havener | The Scientist & The Storyteller | What Makes a Powerful Narrative in Financial Services and Investments | Does Your Corporate BrandStory Need a Villain (spoiler alert: yes, yes it does)
Here’s the deal: stories sell. Powerful narratives lead to big investments. They also lead to something far less flashy yet far more valuable long-term – team buy-in.
Whether you’re a start-up or sca…
14: CEO of a $400B Fund Admin Gary Tenkman Shares His Journey From Blue Collar Roots to White Collar Boardrooms | How He Manages Being an Introvert as a CEO | What Specialization Means As You Scale | How Client Service Can Be Your Edge in Investment Management
How did Gary Tenkman go from a first-generation college graduate who felt like a fish out of water in finance to CEO of Ultimus Fund Solutions, a $475+ AUI award-winning fund?
It sure wasn’t easy. It…