Billion Dollar Backstory

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 timeThis 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

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 pandemicThe honesty-over-perfection strategy that made her brand stand out on LinkedInWhy LinkedIn is still the most underrated platform for introverts + thought leadersSmart AI hacks to turn posts, podcasts, and raw ideas into publishable contentThe 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

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 peopleWhy 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 managementLessons from 40+ deals that apply to any founder looking to growThe real ROI of relationships, connection, and shared valuesMore 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/j4ZWvk2Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game — Michael Lewis | https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393324818The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine — Michael Lewis | https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393338827The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds — Michael Lewis | https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393354776Want 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

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 kidsWhy walking the “listening tour” isn’t just smart, it’s essentialHow storytelling shaped his career in this number-obsessed industry What CAIA’s member-first strategy can teach every founder and fund managerWhy 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/2msVUSwThe 6 Types of Working Genius — Patrick M. Lencioni | https://a.co/d/15S3sKWTribes: We Need You to Lead Us — Seth Godin | https://a.co/d/ajf88KPWant 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

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… fuzzyThis 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

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

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

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 PeccatielloAlfonso (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? +  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- - -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

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 firmHow his passion for connecting people and numbers drove him into small-cap investingHis 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 investingStrategies for maximizing return on time in small-cap investingThe challenges of climbing the ranks in the fund worldKey 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

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 40What second-gen operators really need to carry on the family legacy successfully How they help families turn work ethic into generational wealthWhy 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/acceleratorAbout 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 DealerBeat the MarketThe Go Giver 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- - -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