June 08, 2025

639: Katie Gatti Tassin (Money with Katie) - Building A Media Business, The Morning Brew Acquisition, Knowing Your Retirement Number, & Living Up To High Expectations

55 minutes

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes

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Katie Gatti Tassin is the author of the "Money with Katie" newsletter and podcast, both acquired by Morning Brew in 2022. Katie provides fresh personal finance advice with a unique outlook, coupled with deep, self-taught knowledge. Before founding Money with Katie in 2020, she worked professionally in marketing and user experience design for Southwest Airlines, Dell Technologies, and Meta. She’s the author of Rich Girl Nation: Taking Charge of Our Financial Futures.

Notes:

If you’re not curious about it, you’re not going to give it your all. But if you are, you can become relentless. Chase your curiosity and obsessions with great rigor. That passion and love for whatever the thing is can lead to big opportunities in your life.
Do you want 100% of a grape or 25% of a watermelon? Advice Katie got when she was considering accepting the offer to be acquired by Morning Brew.
The importance of having a coach. Katie talked about the life-changing impact her coach, Elizabeth, has had on her. Ambitious, motivated people who have high standards need help, too. In fact, maybe as much as anyone. It’s worth it to invest in yourself and find a person to talk with 1 on 1.
Parents - High expectations, straight A's or bust. Driven, hard to turn it off.
The Morning Brew acquisition - Money with Katie. Worked at Meta and did Money with Katie at the same time. Left for the acquisition. Austin Rief (CEO) DM'd her on Twitter and made an offer during their first 30-minute conversation.
- Big lesson - Your IP is everything.
Book Dedication - “To the anonymous guy who 'works in finance' that used to relentlessly comment on my nascent website in 2018, urging me to quit writing about money and 'keep it to myself. I hope you’re well."
Acknowledgments - “Mom, for all those quiet days spent sitting on the floor of the Lents branch library or wandering the stacks at Barnes & Noble. Dad, for spending your time after work at the kitchen table with me every time my homework involved numbers, and for being my number one fan.”
How much money do you need to be financially free? Katie breaks down the 4% rule, why it works, and how it can be personalized and optimized for each person’s retirement needs.
High Standards Can Be a Double-Edged Sword – "I am an incredibly driven person because of the people who raised me... But I also have a really hard time with turning it off. I can become very narrow-minded and obsessive about the things that I'm doing."
Turn Critics Into Fuel – Katie dedicated her book to an anonymous finance professional who told her to "quit writing about money" and "keep it to herself." Sometimes the best fuel comes from those who doubt you.
Money Transparency in Families Creates Advantages – Katie's parents openly discussed finances, including sharing their income. "I never really thought of it as something that was taboo... made it a lot easier for me now as an adult."
The Power of Life Coaching for Entrepreneurs – After initial skepticism, Katie found a life coach who told her, "You are way too in your head. You are way too concerned with the minutia. You don't even know where you wanna go yet."
Intellectual Property is Everything in Negotiations – "Your intellectual property is the most valuable thing that you are negotiating over... The primary value of the thing that I'm spending 60 hours a week working on needs to be accruing to me."
The 25x Rule for Financial Freedom – Based on the 4% withdrawal rule: "Once you have accumulated 25 times your annual spending... You should theoretically be able to use 4% of that amount every year, withdraw it, and live on it."
Marriage Changes Everything Financially – "Marriage is the most legally significant thing you will do in your life other than die, and you don't get so much as a leaflet about how your rights have just changed."
Prenups Aren't About Distrust – They're about legal protection, especially for anyone who might leave the workforce. "If you spend decades out of the workforce... You need to ensure that if your partnership ends someday... You will have a certain amount of income."
Desire Drives Excellence – "If you're not curious about it, you are not going to give it your all... There is such a difference in outcomes. If I am really into something that I'm working on, it's gonna be second to none."

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