Podcast Summary: Financial Advisor Success Ep 430

Episode Title: Navigating The Fast-Growth Hiring Challenges Of Scaling From Scratch To $5M Of Revenue In Just 7 Years (with AJ Ayers)
Host: Michael Kitces
Guest: AJ Ayers (Co-Founder, Brooklyn FI)
Release Date: March 25, 2025

Overview:

In this episode, Michael Kitces interviews AJ Ayers, co-founder of Brooklyn FI, an RIA that scaled from scratch to $5M in annual revenue in just seven years. AJ candidly details Brooklyn FI’s meteoric rise, driven by its focused equity compensation niche, the hiring blitz sparked by the IPO boom, and the growing pains of hypergrowth. She discusses their innovative talent development and onboarding approaches, the evolution of their business model and leadership structure, the technological systems they’ve built, and personal reflections on leadership and founder identity during transitions. The episode offers a transparent look at the real challenges and rewards of scaling a modern, niche-based advisory firm.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Journey and Growth Milestones

• Brooklyn FI’s Evolution (06:21, 08:36)

  • Launched in 2018, with 150 clients and $1M revenue by 2021 (six team members).
  • By 2025: $5M in revenue, 400+ clients, 18 team members, and $370M AUM.
  • Fastest growth during the 2020–2021 “IPO bonanza” (averaged 14 new clients/month); now growth is steadier but still strong.
  • "We think about Brooklyn Fi as like software releases: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and now we're in release 4.0." (06:29, AJ)

• The Niche Advantage (06:54, 08:36, 31:18)

  • Specialization in equity compensation—particularly during major IPO waves—helped fuel both client acquisition and process/system repeatability.
  • "If you are an employee there, we can help you. We are the firm for you." (08:36, AJ)
  • “You told us to do a niche in 2017, and we listened.” (31:18, AJ to Michael)

2. Hypergrowth Hiring: Approach, Process, and Hurdles

• Hiring Out of Necessity (12:40, 14:24)

  • When client demand surged, partners refused to pay external recruiters, opting for a proactive, self-managed hiring blitz using LinkedIn Recruiter:
    • "We bought a LinkedIn recruiter subscription... I would message a bunch of CFPs who had mentioned the word tax and financial planning somewhere in their LinkedIn profile." (12:53, AJ)
  • Most hires came from outbound messaging rather than inbound applicants.
  • "When you're hiring that quickly... not everyone is going to be an amazing long term fit." (15:32, AJ)

• What Attracted Candidates? (16:17)

  • Fully remote team since March 2020.
  • Excitement and challenge of serving equity-comp clients in their 30s and 40s, rather than retirees.
  • Ready-to-serve client base; no business development required initially.

• Compensation and Career Path (19:46, 21:37)

  • Salaries for CFPs ranged from $100K to $200K, plus revenue sharing.
  • Career tracks aligned with designations (advancement as skills/certifications build).
  • “The promise of these big, long career paths with lots of opportunity to grow...” (19:57, AJ)
  • Revenue share initially struggled to match workload but has since become a meaningful incentive.

3. Development & Systems: Training in a Technical Niche

• Onboarding Program (23:32, 24:34)

  • Intensive mix of in-house video training, external coursework (e.g., myStockOptions.com), and immediate exposure to client meetings.
  • Utilized the Trainual platform for asynchronous, self-guided learning.
  • “A year or two of advisory experience could come to Brooklyn Fi and be client facing in as little as a year.” (24:38, AJ)
  • Associates support data prep, observe meetings, and get “at-bats” as lead advisors early, rotating roles for rapid progression.

• Tech Leveraging: AI in Meetings (26:12)

  • Experimented and adopted AI note-taking tools (Zox), reducing low-value admin duties for associates.

4. The Highs and Lows: Burnout, Delegation, and Leadership

• Fast Growth Burnout & Systems (28:58, 33:55)

  • “We lost a lot of trust with certain employees and clients for sure. And just like, oops, we made a mistake that was the wrong way to do this.” (28:58, AJ)
  • “We made a lot of good decisions, and we were able to pivot really quickly...” (34:15, AJ)
  • Early mistakes in hiring (should have delegated sooner), process overload and over-serving clients.
  • “As soon as we started delegating, things started to even out a little bit.” (33:20, AJ)

• Transitioning to Enterprise Leadership (35:27, 38:14)

  • Vision has always been to create an enterprise firm, not founder-centric.
  • Handed day-to-day leadership to Managing Partner (John), department leads for planning/tax, and other promoted leaders.
  • “The first thing we did is... blocking off my calendar on Monday and Friday... We’re not available.” (38:14, AJ)

5. Fee Model Innovation for Equity Compensation Clients

• Multi-tiered, Multi-service Fees (58:04, 58:19, 61:50)

  • Three-part structure: complexity-based planning fee, AUM fee (1% on first $1M+), and separate tax preparation fee ($1200+).
  • At breakpoints ($500K, $1M, $2M), planning fees reduced/disappear—AUM takes over.
  • For ultra-high-net-worth ($10M+), elite tier with expanded services (incl. tax).
  • "It’s three separate fees, which is kind of confusing to explain in a discovery call. However...we just put everything on our website." (61:50, AJ)

• Balancing Margins and Mission (67:45, 69:15)

  • Margins in early years were lower than traditional AUM shops, but AJ sees a long-term play:
    • “I just need to get them in the door. I need to establish their trust. I need to deliver them amazing service for the first two years. I need them to tell all of their friends in their Slack panel at work...” (67:45, AJ)

6. Systematization & Technology: Internal Tools

• Gemini Software (28:58, 50:34, 51:49)
  • Developed proprietary tool (Gemini) to extract, analyze, and model complex equity comp grant data and create actionable strategies for clients.
  • Now intending to market Gemini to other advisory firms.
  • “The tool... will read a PDF from Schwab or Morgan Stanley... analyze their entire history of grants... create trading plans..." (51:49, AJ)

7. Remote Culture: Maintaining Engagement at Scale

• Team Communication and Cohesion (70:48, 72:16, 74:34)
  • Heavily reliant on Slack, Zoom, and both personal and group channels to foster daily interaction.
  • Regular in-person all-company retreats, tax/planning team off-sites, and fun virtual culture events.
  • Hired a dedicated HR/People role as the firm hit 17 employees to handle engagement, benefits, and special projects: "That was a really great, great hat to delegate. Jessica is going to knock that one out of the park..." (71:44, AJ)
  • Retrospective: Focus less on “overdo” on retreat agendas, let people simply connect.

8. Personal Growth, Imposter Syndrome, and Reflections

• Imposter Syndrome & Overcoming It (80:35, 83:02)

  • “I have crippling imposter syndrome. I'm in a client meeting and a client asks me a question and I don't know the answer yet. I look to Shane for the answer. I hated that feeling.” (80:35, AJ)
  • Overcame it through experience (“at-bats”), education (CFP, EA, CSLP, CEP) and positive client feedback.
  • Advice: Start earlier, keep building even while succeeding elsewhere; get extra designations, build business plans nights and weekends.

• Rewards & Surprises (77:05, 89:30)

  • Most surprised and gratified by building something that attracted “smart interested people who want to change the world and want to be financial planners.”
  • “Success for me now... When someone has success, we have a channel in Slack called Wins and everyone's encouraged to shout out someone else's success. And I just love that channel.” (89:30, AJ)

• Advice for Advisors Entering the Equity Comp Niche (86:19)

  • “It requires a whole other level of expertise... You have to be able to provide tax services. You have to be preparing the tax return yourself.”
  • The niche is rewarding but chaotic, requiring both technical mastery and emotional intelligence.

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote & Context | |-----------|----------------| | 06:29 | "We think about Brooklyn Fi as like software releases: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and now we're in release 4.0." — AJ Ayers, on iterative firm evolution | | 12:53 | “We bought a LinkedIn recruiter subscription... and I would message a bunch of CFPs who had mentioned the word tax and financial planning somewhere in their LinkedIn profile.” — AJ, on proactive hiring | | 19:57 | “The promise of these big, long career paths with lots of opportunity to grow to join a firm like Brooklyn Fi...” — AJ | | 28:58 | “We lost a lot of trust with certain employees and clients for sure. And just like, oops, we made a mistake that was the wrong way to do this.” — AJ, on the challenges of scaling fast | | 33:20 | “As soon as we started delegating, things started to even out a little bit.” — AJ, on the key organizational shift | | 38:14 | “I said to Shane, I'm blocking off my calendar on Monday and Friday... that was the first step.” — AJ, describing stepping back operationally | | 51:49 | “The tool... will read a PDF from Schwab or Morgan Stanley. It will analyze their entire history of grants and exercises and sales... create trading plans...” — AJ, on their Gemini software | | 61:50 | "It’s three separate fees, which is kind of confusing to explain in a discovery call. However...we just put everything on our website." — AJ | | 69:15 | “In terms of like traditional AUM shop industry benchmarks... we're not where I would like them to be, but we're absolutely going in the right direction.” — AJ, on business margins | | 77:05 | “The fact that I'm still alive, Michael, honestly.” — AJ, on what surprised her the most about the journey | | 80:35 | “I have crippling imposter syndrome. I'm in a client meeting and a client asks me a question and I don't know the answer yet. I look to Shane for the answer. I hated that feeling.” — AJ, on founder vulnerability |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 06:21 — Brooklyn FI’s “software release” mentality & recap of growth journey
• 08:36 — Impact of the 2021 IPO wave & tactics to manage rapid client inflow
• 12:40–14:49 — AJ’s DIY outbound recruiting blitz using LinkedIn Recruiter
• 16:17 — Remote work and the allure of their target client
• 23:32–24:34 — Intensive in-house training program for new advisors
• 26:12 — Use of AI (Zox) to automate meeting notes
• 28:58 — Burnout, challenges, and the need for delegation
• 35:27 — Vision for founder exit and transition to enterprise model
• 38:14 — Practical tactics for stepping back (“I blocked off my calendar on Mondays and Fridays”)
• 50:34–53:47 — Brooklyn FI’s Gemini software explained
• 58:04–62:47 — Evolutions in the firm’s three-part fee structure
• 70:48 — Building and maintaining remote culture and the HR/People role
• 80:35, 83:02 — AJ’s struggles and growth with imposter syndrome
• 86:19 — Advice for entering the equity compensation niche
• 89:30 — Defining success through team development and culture

Conclusion

AJ Ayers’ honest narrative reveals that building a high-growth, niche-focused advisory firm is exhilarating but fraught with risk, burnout, and hard-earned lessons. Brooklyn FI’s story is a playbook on how systems, technology, and deliberate culture can help a young firm survive—and thrive—through the chaos of hypergrowth. For both emerging advisors and established practitioners, AJ’s reflections on hiring, delegation, and founder identity offer inspiration as well as practical wisdom.

For more detailed notes or to hear these insights in AJ’s and Michael’s own words, listen to the full episode.