Podcast
Billion Dollar Backstory
Hosted by Stacy Havener · EN
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
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
150: The Biggest Mistake First-Time Fund Founders Make in Year One | Story Snacks Series
2w ago00:10:37Tap to summarizeSix months into launching your fund and already feeling like you're making every mistake in the book?You're in good company. That's exactly how the founder who wrote in is feeling. And honestly, year one can do that to a person. The chaos is real. The second-guessing is real. The wondering-if-anyone-will-ever-take-you-seriously is very, very real.In this Story Snack, Stacy Havener tackles the fear that tends to sit underneath all of it:"I'm too early to be taken seriously."It's not irrational. It's just not the whole story. And if you believe it too hard for too long, it might be the thing that keeps you invisible when you could be building real conversations.Listen in to hear:The year-one myth Stacy calls BS on: “don’t market until you have 3 years of track + $100M–$200M AUM”Why year one gets derailed more by business decisions than investment decisions (products, partners, hires, marketing choices)Who you should be talking to early (innovators + early adopters) and why they don’t play by the “come back later” rulesThis 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
Transcribe →149: “Emerging Markets” Is Misbranded. Sloane Robinson, CIO, Edward Lam on Scaling from £1M to £3.5B and Rethinking EM Risk.
3w ago01:15:14Tap to summarizeWhat if the biggest problem with “Emerging Markets” is the name?Edward Lam thinks that label has been doing the category a disservice for decades.Today, he’s sitting down with Stacy to zoom out and question the category…then zoom back in to what that means for portfolios, risk, and real alpha.Edward grew up in Hong Kong, went to boarding school in the UK, and landed in EM in 2004. He had no training program or mentor, just four walls of books he was determined to read. By the time he left, he’d taught himself accounting, built a research function from scratch, and was running a fund that grew from £1M to £3.5B.Listen in to hear: How Edward built his own training program from scratch and why that became one of his biggest edgesWhat "subordinate currency regimes" means and how it changes everything we thought we knew about EM risk The tension between building something investable and staying true to the thesisWhat scaling from £1M to £3.5B actually looks like when you have to earn every rung yourselfWhy he walked away from asset management, what the gap taught him, and what brought him backMore About Edward Lam: Edward Lam entered the fund management industry in 2004 as an analyst at Emerging Markets specialist Lloyd George Management, covering Taiwan and technology. In 2007, he co-founded Somerset Capital Management, where he served as Head of Research and chaired the investment committee. In 2010, he launched Somerset’s EM Dividend Growth strategy, scaling it from a ~$1.5M seed to nearly $4B AUM. Edward left Somerset in 2020, then joined Sloane Robinson in 2023, became CIO, and launched the SR Ocellus fund in 2024.In his free time, he enjoys reading about the history and philosophy of finance, including many areas that others (based on feedback) find boring. ---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
Transcribe →148: The LinkedIn Comment Strategy That Actually Builds Trust | Story Snacks Series
4w ago00:09:58Tap to summarizeCommenting is one of the most underrated relationship builders on LinkedIn, especially if you want to stay on people’s radar without cranking out content nonstop.But most people comment in a way that does nothing, or worse, makes things weird.You know the two classics: 1. “Great post!” (nothing burger)2. And the thoughtful comment followed by an immediate pitch DM. (instant ick)In this Story Snack, Stacy Havener breaks down how to comment in a way that actually builds familiarity and trust over time, without sounding awkward, annoying, or desperate. Listen in to hear:How to choose which posts to comment on so allocators and prospects start seeing you everywhere (in a good way)The “what NOT to do next” move that instantly turns goodwill into cringe (and what to do instead)The mindset shift that will help you stop overthinking and start commenting like a real friend giving out high-fives (not weird pitch slaps) Because the people who’ve consistently shown up for Stacy on LinkedIn? She’d run through a wall for them. That’s what you’re building toward when you do this the right way. Tune in to learn the right way to approach commenting on LinkedIn. This 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
Transcribe →147: He Found Finance Through One Thin Thread of Chance. Now He's Making Sure Others Don't Have to. Meet Laurie Robathan, Founder of Fairfield.
Apr 2901:12:47Tap to summarize93% of the population. Almost entirely locked out of an industry that says it wants the best talent.Laurie Robathan grew up on the wrong side of that statistic. He was raised in inner-city Bristol, went to a state school, and grew up in a single-parent family. He found his way into finance through one thin thread of chance, and he's never forgotten how easily it could have gone the other way.At some point, that thread started to feel less like luck and more like a problem. Because what about everyone who never gets that thread at all?So Laurie walked away from a successful career in finance and built Fairfield in its place. It's a charity on paper, but really it's a business proposition designed to fix what he calls an inefficiently functioning labor market. Because when 80% of senior finance leaders come from just 7% of the population, that's not meritocracy. That's a pipeline problem.And he's not solving it from a boardroom. He's on trains, in school assemblies, at North London career fairs at 8pm. Doing the work.In this episode, Stacy Havener sits down with Laurie for one of those conversations that stays with you long after it's over.Listen in to hear:Why finance doesn't have a talent problem, it has an access problem Why the best person for the job may never make it to the interview room How Fairfield prepares students to belong before they ever walk through the doorWhat individuals and firms can do to helpMore About Laurie Robathan:Prior to his retirement from the finance industry, Laurie worked in the City for over 15 years, the last 10 years being at Kepler Partners LLP as Senior Partner. Before Kepler, he had roles at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Close Brothers Bank. As a member of Kepler’s management committee, Laurie had input into all areas of the asset management business. He holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and has an MSc in Finance & Investment from the University of Bristol. ---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
Transcribe →146: Overcome Your Fear of Being Judged on LinkedIn | Story Snacks Series
Apr 2200:09:15Tap to summarizeYou want to post more on LinkedIn. You know it matters. You've probably even got a draft sitting there.But the fear of being judged, specifically by people who already know you in real life, keeps stopping you cold.In this Story Snack, Stacy Havener breaks down exactly why that happens, why your brain is making it bigger than it is, and how to move through it without just white-knuckling your way to the post button.Listen in to learn:The behavioral bias that makes the fear of being judged feel so intense How to make peace with your posts not being everyone’s jamThe art of owning who you are online and letting the wrong people opt outThis 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
Transcribe →145 The £800B+ Advisor Who Thinks Nature Is the Asset Class We Missed: Meet Robert Gardner, Co-Founder of Rebalance Earth
Apr 1501:07:04Tap to summarizeRobert Gardner has built four ventures in financial services, including Redington, the UK investment consultancy that’s advised on £800B+ in assets.Now he’s taking on a new category: Natural Capital.Because nature has always been “investable”, just usually as a commodity.The old way looks like squeezing every ounce of value out of the Earth without any regard for long-term consequences. The playbook was essentially cut it down, harvest it, extract the value, and move on. Robert thinks that model is outdated, and he’s building the alternative, making nature an investible asset class (more like real estate or infrastructure), where the value comes from what nature does, not what you can take from it.In this episode, Stacy Havener sits down with Robert to get concrete about what investing in nature looks like in the real world.Listen in to hear:What changes when you’re not raising money for a strategy… but for a new asset classHow Robert translates Natural Capital into familiar investing language (property/infrastructure)A real case study (Nestlé + oyster reefs) and the incentive chain behind itWhat underwriting looks like when your revenue is tied to nature doing its jobWhy legitimacy comes from repetition + simplicity (not complexity)The early-stage trust-building lesson every emerging fund manager needsMore about Rob Gardner:Robert is Co-Founder & CEO of Rebalance Earth, the UK’s largest dedicated Natural Capital asset manager. He previously served as Investment Director at St. James’s Place and co-founded Redington, Mallowstreet, and RedSTART. His work is focused on making nature an investible asset class and proving finance can be a force for good. ---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
Transcribe →144: If Conferences Feel Like a Time Suck, You’re Doing This Backwards | Story Snacks Series
Apr 800:09:45Tap to summarizeLet's talk about conference season.You showed up and collected a gazillion business cards. You smiled until your face hurt. And three days later you got home, looked at that stack of business cards, and thought… now what?If that sounds familiar, this Story Snack is for you.In this episode, Stacy breaks down why conferences tend to feel like a huge waste of time. She’s sharing what she’s learned over the years about what it actually takes to make a conference worth your time. Listen in to learn: What most people get backwards about conference ROIThe pre-work that changes who you meet (and how those meetings feel)How to turn “great meeting you” into “let’s keep talking”Why doing less on-site and more upfront is the moveThis 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
Transcribe →143: She's Sat Across From Hundreds of Managers. Here's What Actually Earns the Yes. Meet Shannon Saccocia, CIO of Neuberger Berman Wealth.
Apr 101:10:57Tap to summarizeShannon is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Wealth at Neuberger Berman, a firm with north of AUM, and she's spent years on the other side of the table, sitting through roughly 300 manager meetings a year. She knows exactly what earns credibility fast. And she knows exactly what kills it.In this episode, Stacy Havener sits down with Shannon to pull back the curtain on what allocators are actually looking for, and why the managers who win aren't the ones performing. They're the ones listening.Because the real answers don't come out when you're trying to sound smart, they come out when you're genuinely trying to understand. And the questions you ask say a lot more about you than the vocabulary you use.Shannon also gets into what it actually means to build solutions from real client problems instead of copying the industry playbook and why a $560B firm can still feel boutique when the mindset is right.Listen in to hear:Why courage almost always precedes confidence What 300 manager meetings a year taught her about what allocators really care about How she asks questions that make people drop the script Why focusing on trying to sound smart backfires for PMs in meetings Why complexity bias can quietly hurt your distribution What allocators mean when they say "help us help you" Why simple, repeatable messaging wins, especially when someone else has to retell your storyMore About Shannon Saccocia:Shannon Saccocia, CFA, is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Wealth at Neuberger Berman, a global investment manager with north of $560B AUM. As a member of the firm's global Asset Allocation Committee, she works closely with investment leadership to establish market views, strategic and tactical asset allocation, and portfolio recommendations for Wealth clients.Before joining Neuberger Berman in 2023, Shannon served as Chief Investment Officer at SVB Private and Boston Private Wealth, overseeing portfolio construction, manager selection, and asset allocation. She has also held senior roles at Banyan Partners and Silver Bridge Advisors focused on manager selection and portfolio construction.Shannon holds a BA in Economics and History from Brandeis University and has earned both the CFA and CIMA® designations. She is a longtime CNBC contributor and is regularly featured across financial media. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and two children. ---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
Transcribe →142: From BlackRock to Boutique, Ellen Bockius of JLAM on Career Pivots, Boutique Building, and Overlooked Markets Big Funds Ignore
Mar 2500:55:21Tap to summarizeWhat do a Notre Dame finance degree, a brief detour into ninth-grade teaching, a Merrill Lynch internship, and 20 years at BlackRock have in common?They’re all plot twists on the road to finding exactly where you belong.In this episode, Stacy sits down with Ellen Bockius, Head of Business Development & Marketing at JLAM, a boutique real estate investment firm focused on the Mid-Atlantic coast, an area big institutional money often overlooks.Ellen shares what it’s like to build a career by raising your hand and moving across businesses… and then suddenly have the “scaffolding” that held your career together at a big shop disappear. She doesn’t gloss over that chapter. She walks right into it.Listen in to learn:How Ellen went from “maybe I’m meant to be a teacher” to getting recruited into BlackRock (back when it wasn’t a household name)What it was like to be a right-brained creative in a sea of left-brained people at BlackRock What happens when the company that felt like your identity is suddenly no longer part of your story Why moving from a big shop to a boutique is harder than people think JLAM’s edge: operating experience + overlooked secondary/tertiary markets where big funds won’t even pick up the phoneThis one is for anyone who’s ever wondered if the push they didn’t ask for might actually be the gift they needed.More about Ellen Bockius: Ellen Bockius is the Director of Business Development & Marketing at JLAM, where she leads investor relations, capital raising, and strategic partnerships. She previously spent 20+ years at BlackRock in senior marketing and client leadership roles, including Managing Director and Head of Institutional Client Marketing. A native Delawarean and proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Ellen is also deeply committed to education and community service. She serves on the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington School Board and has been actively involved in various industry and philanthropic organizations. When she’s not helping shape the future of JLAM, she’s raising four incredible children with her husband, Troy, her most rewarding and fast-paced role yet. ---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
Transcribe →141: The VC Model Was Built for Tech. Healthcare Needs Something Else. Buffy Alegria of Loud Ventures on building what’s missing.
Mar 1801:12:48Tap to summarizeWhat if the questions you ask say more about you than the answers you give?Two weeks before graduating from college, Buffy Alegria walked into a bank job interview knowing basically nothing about banking. But she did walk in with four pages of questions on a yellow legal pad.They hired her before she finished the first page.That moment set the tone for everything that came after.Today, Buffy is the co-founder of Loud Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm built on a simple (and kind of radical) belief:The traditional VC model was designed for tech, and Healthcare doesn’t play by those rules.After years in commercial banking, negotiating remote work way before it was normal, raising a women’s health fund entirely virtually during COVID, serving on a rural health board for more than a decade, and learning firsthand (as a patient) what happens when systems break down… Buffy and her co-founder Navin decided to build something different…Venture capital for healthcare, by healthcare.In this episode, you’ll hear:The interview move that changed her trajectory (and why four pages of questions is a power play)How she negotiated remote work postpartum before remote work was a thingWhat it was really like raising a women’s health fund as a first-time manager… on Zoom… during COVIDWhy “underserved” isn’t a buzzword at Loud Ventures (women’s health + rural health as a serious lens, not a niche)What it actually means to be loud and active beyond the checkA real-world example of innovation meeting reality: pediatric anesthesia in dental offices, reimbursement pathways, and why “great idea” isn’t enoughBuffy’s diligence philosophy: why qualitative signals like curiosity and adaptability can matter more than early numbersIf you’re building in healthcare (or allocating to it), this one will make you think differently about what “good” looks like.More about Buffy Alegria:Buffy Alegria doesn't just invest in healthcare: she's lived it. From the NICU to the boardroom, her path through banking, women's health venture, and hospital governance taught her that real progress takes more than a check. As Managing Partner of LOUD Ventures, she’s proving that healthcare venture can be done differently by building alongside founders with capital, clinical depth, and operational grit. When she's not building the future of healthcare, she's skiing, hiking, or water skiing in the Pacific Northwest with her two dogs. Oh, and wearing her newest hat: dedicated college campus road-tripper cheering on her athlete daughters. ---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
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