Billion Dollar Backstory

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 allocators actually value, why boutiques win when they stop acting like large platforms, and how human behavior (not products or performance) raise real funds. In this episode, you’ll hear about:Why fundraising is really about selling people and behavior, not productsThe underestimated trust dynamic between PMs and fundraisersThe behavioral cues allocators read before they ever open your deckWhy boutiques win on access, alignment, independence, and specializationKey insights from IMI’s landmark research on what truly sets boutiques apartWhy distribution and story remain the biggest choke points for boutiques More About Seb:Prior to joining Pacific as Head of US Institutional Sales, Seb spent 11 years at emerging market specialist, Somerset Capital Management LLP where he had been a Partner, Head of Client Services and latterly Deputy Head of Marketing. Seb helped grow the firm from $1.5bn to $10bn in AUM, working with institutional and wholesale clients across the world, with a particular focus on pension funds, foundations, endowments, family offices and investment consultants in the US. ---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus- - -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

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 that sets successful firms apart when they expand into (or out of) the U.S. and why the smartest managers start with who, not how.You’ll learn: • The mindset shift that saves months of frustration • How co-creating with investors builds traction early • Who to call when you’re entering or exiting the U.S. market • A smarter way to test your idea before spending a dimeThis 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. ---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus- - -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

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’t just archaic, it was broken.Now, he’s putting powerful tools in the hands of fund managers who’ve been overlooked for too long and giving wholesalers a way to work smarter, not harder.In this episode, Stacy and Devon discuss: What it’s really like to go from Wall Street to founder lifeWhy the old-school “spray and pray” sales model needs to goHow AssetLink is making sales teams more efficient (and more human)What Silicon Valley taught Devon about innovation (and what Wall Street can learn from it)His experience with Google’s accelerator program and what it means to build “tomorrow, today”More About Devon:Devon Drew is the Founder & CEO of AssetLink, an AI-powered platform modernizing fund distribution.With 18+ years in asset management and over $30B raised, his career spans major players like:Merrill Lynch & J.P. Morgan Chase (Financial Advisor)Fred Alger & American Century (VP, Wealth Management Sales)Vanguard ($10T AUM, Sr. Exec in Broker/Dealer Sales)In 2021, Devon founded DFD Partners, the early version of what would become AssetLink, a tool built to help under-resourced managers compete and win in distribution.Drew has been recognized for his innovative work, receiving several accolades, including:• Top 25 Founders of 2025 by Founders Square• 2025 AWD Pioneer Award• Top 10 to Watch in 2024 by wealthmanagement.com• Finalist for the Wealthies Award in 2023, 2024 & 2025 ---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus- - -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

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 was never that strong to begin withThis 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. ---Running a fund is hard enough.Ops shouldn’t be.Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus- - -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

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 wild backstory of how raising $4.5M for an IMAX film on whales sparked Chat’s lifelong mission to fuse capital with purposeWhy Chat walked away from traditional finance (and how that shaped his view on sustainable investing)The truth about ESG, what Wall Street got wrong, and how Reynders McVeigh is doing it differentlyThe power of curiosity, clarity, and staying true to your story (especially in a world full of productized sameness)How declaring your firm’s identity can fuel growth both externally and within your teamWhether you're a founder, an investor, or someone trying to align your money with your mission, this conversation will get you thinking.More About Chat: Chat Reynders is the Chairman and CEO of Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management, a $4B RIA he co-founded in 2005. With over 25 years of experience in investment management and social venture investing, Chat is known for blending fundamentals with forward-thinking strategies—and for being a true pioneer in values-driven investing.Beyond finance, he’s raised over $150 million through public/private partnerships to support cultural and environmental initiatives worldwide. A longtime producer of socially conscious IMAX films (including the Oscar-nominated Dolphins), Chat’s passion for impact extends to his work on the board of the MacGillivray Freeman Educational Foundation and other nonprofits.His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Barron’s, and Business 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- - -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

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 leading billion-dollar deals in corporate AmericaWhat made him walk away from all of it with no backup plan, just a gut feeling that he was meant for more Why “success” can still feel empty (even when everything looks great on paper)What it really means to outgrow your life (and how to know when you’ve hit that point)The freedom that comes when you stop pretending and finally get honest with yourselfAnd the surprising patterns he’s seen after thousands of coaching convos with top performers who feel stuck, tooThis one’s real, raw, and full of truth.If you’ve ever thought “there’s gotta be more than this,” hit play.More About Lon: Lon Stroschein is the founder of Normal 40®—a movement for elite providers who’ve built success but feel quietly stuck. He helps high performers trade the life they’ve outgrown for one they actually want.A fourth-generation South Dakota farm kid, Lon’s values were shaped by early mornings, hard work, and quiet grit. He spent six years working for a U.S. Senator, followed by six years in private banking and finance, then 14 years as a public company executive—leading strategy, growth, and M&A, including a $2.1B transaction.In 2022, Lon made The Trade—leaving the title, income, and image behind, without a backup plan. No resume. No safety net. Just a belief that his work there was done, his best decade was in front of him, but that it wasn’t going to be found where he was standing. Since his resignation, Lon has coached thousands of elite professionals—physicians, executives, entrepreneurs, attorneys—who feel stuck at the top. Through 1,000+ confidential coaching calls (Rambles), he’s built the world’s most honest library of career transformation—and a library of some of the most incredible stories you will never hear. What he’s learned is simple: most people aren’t lost—they’re just done pretending.Lon’s best-selling book, The Trade, continues to reshape the lives of people he will never meet.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- - -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

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 – How growing up in SoCal shaped his belief in “actionable faith in possibility”Why he left a law partnership to help build an RIAThe cultural ethos that scaled Enso Wealth to $2B AUM and an eventual exitWhy he launched Uplifting Capital and how it’s redefining access to values-aligned private marketsA storytelling framework any fund manager can use to stand out (hint: it starts with “we’re not that.”)About Toussaint Bailey:Toussaint’s career has been built on a belief in the promise of possibility. As Founder and Managing Partner at Uplifting Capital, this belief manifests itself as investment in “Impact Alpha,” funds, and companies that produce compelling financial performance through gap-closing solutions in critical areas like education, healthcare, affordable housing, and renewable energy.  Prior to founding Uplifting Capital, he was CEO and Chairman of Enso Wealth Management, a private wealth firm with a mission to translate wealth into fulfillment for clients and advisors. Toussaint joined Enso shortly after its formation in 2017, overseeing the firm’s rapid growth to nearly $2 billion of assets under management and its eventual acquisition. Before financial services, Toussaint spent over a decade as a practicing attorney. Toussaint has served in several advisory and board capacities, including Impact Investment Subcommittee of the Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association; Investor Advisory Board of HBCU Founder Initiative; Advisory Board of Catalyst Housing Group; Advisory Board of SIY Global; and Board of Regents of Saint Mary’s College of California. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Book: Finding Meaning by David Kessler (the “sixth stage” of grief: finding meaning).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- - -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

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 & President of PALIO, Joe coaches executives in wealth, finance, and investing, helping them make high-stakes decisions with clarity, speed, and trust.In this episode, Joe sits down with Stacy to discuss: Why he left the chaos of Wall Street to coach the C-suiteHow being a husband and father of five reframed his definition of successWhat Wall Street taught him about leading with clarity and speed The future of AI in Finance More about Joe:Joseph Greco is the Founder & President of PALIO, where he coaches high-performing leaders and teams in finance and beyond. A former NYSE trader and media commentator, Joe blends financial acumen with behavioral insight to drive growth, alignment, and leadership transformation.He’s also an active investor in commercial real estate and global sports teams, including Campobasso 1919, Ascoli FC, and Brooklyn FC.Joe lives in Larchmont, NY with his wife and five daughters, and brings a spirit of faith, adventure, and continuous growth to everything he does.Books Mentioned in This Episode:Rerum Novarum: Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII On Capital and Labour | https://a.co/d/dW1CdSUWant 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- - -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

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- - -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

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- - -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