In this powerful and deeply human episode of Don’t Do That, Kelly Waltrich sits down with history-making Broadway star Sandra Joseph to explore the pressure of performing at the highest level—and the dangerous temptation to hide behind perfection.

Sandra holds the record as the longest-running leading lady in The Phantom of the Opera, spending more than a decade in one of the most demanding roles in theater history. But at the pinnacle of her career, on the night Phantom became the longest-running show on Broadway, Sandra found herself staring at the fire escape outside her dressing room, wanting to run.

That moment sparked a deeper reckoning: If success doesn’t silence self-doubt, what will?

Since leaving the stage, Sandra has built a second career as a keynote speaker and author of Unmasking What Matters, bringing hard-earned lessons about vulnerability, burnout, imposter syndrome, and authenticity to leaders across industries - including financial services. Together, Kelly and Sandra unpack what it really takes to perform at a high level for the long haul, why perfection is a mask that blocks connection, and how leaders can better connect the head and the heart in their work.

This episode is a masterclass in authenticity, emotional connection, and sustainable success - for advisors, executives, entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ever felt the pressure to get it “right.”

About Our Guest:

Sandra Joseph is a history-making Broadway star, a #1 international Amazon bestselling author, and a TEDx and keynote speaker. Her legendary run as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera spanned ten years and over 1,500 performances. She holds the record as the longest-running leading lady in the longest-running Broadway show of all time. Sandra has appeared on many national broadcasts including The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, The Today Show, Dateline, The Early Show, The View, and Oprah: Where Are They Now? Sandra is a member of The Transformational Leadership Council, an invitation-only group of 125 top thought leaders. Among the luminaries who endorse her work are Jack Canfield, Mark Nepo, Martha Beck, Marci Shimoff, and Geneen Roth. Sandra is the author of Unmasking What Matters: 10 Life Lessons from 10 Years on Broadway. She is also the co-author, with five-time New York Times best-selling author Caroline Myss, of Your Creative Soul: Expressing Your Authentic Voice.

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In this thoughtful and energizing episode of Don’t Do That, Kelly Waltrich sits down with Bonnie Treichel, Chief Solutions Officer at Endeavor Retirement and Endeavor Law, to explore why retirement planning—and entrepreneurship—should never follow rigid, one-size-fits-all rules.

Bonnie shares her path as a multi-business founder serving financial advisors in the retirement plan and wealth management space, including why she chose the title “Chief Solutions Officer,” how listening to clients led to launching a second business, and where advisors continue to misstep around compliance, ERISA, and participant communication.

The conversation centers on Bonnie’s upcoming book, Your Retirement Sketchbook (co-authored with Jamie Hopkins), which reframes retirement as a flexible, evolving journey shaped by personal values, emotions, and life transitions—not just spreadsheets. Together, Kelly and Bonnie discuss how advisors can better support clients through both the financial and human sides of retirement, the power of “what-if” planning, and why failure has been one of Bonnie’s greatest teachers.

About Our Guest:

Bonnie Treichel is the Founder and Chief Solutions Officer of Endeavor Retirement, a consulting firm that helps plan sponsors, advisors, and service providers solve complex challenges in the retirement plan industry. Drawing on her background as both an ERISA attorney and advisor, Bonnie delivers practical governance and compliance solutions for the day-to-day realities of running successful retirement plans.

Bonnie is also a Partner at Endeavor Law, where she advises financial services firms on retirement plan-related documentation, regulation, compliance, and litigation. A recognized thought leader in retirement plan governance, she has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, InvestmentNews, PlanAdviser, 401(k) Specialist, Ignites, NAPA Net Daily, and the Journal of Pension Benefits.

Her accolades include InvestmentNews 40 Under 40 (2023), the ABA’s On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers Award (2022), and NAPA Top Influencers (2024, 2025). Bonnie is an active member of the American Retirement Association and the American Bar Association’s Tax Division, serves on RISA’s advisory board, and is a board member of the FinServ Foundation. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, running, biking, spending time with her golden retrievers, Sadie and Sunny, and volunteering with Make-A-Wish.

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In this inspiring and heartfelt episode of Don’t Do That, Kelly Waltrich sits down with Matt Schulte, the longtime head of financial planning at eMoney Advisor, who recently retired after 25 remarkable years. Together, they explore what it takes to build a world-class financial planning platform, the power of advisor-driven innovation, and why staying close to your clients is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Kelly and Matt cover:

00:00 Don’t Stop Listening to Your Clients

00:45 Meet Matt Schulte, Head of Financial Planning at eMoney Advisor

01:17 Early Days at eMoney: From Minnesota to Philadelphia

04:06 Startup Life and Learning from Ebbs and Flows

06:39 Timing, Opportunity, and Taking the Leap

08:19 Balancing Passionate Founders and Steady Execution

12:50 Pioneering Interactive Client Planning

16:11 The Role of Advisory Boards in Shaping eMoney

18:19 Work Hard, Play Hard: Culture and Fun at eMoney

20:30 Emotional Reflections on Retirement

27:09 Building the University Program and Fostering Financial Planning Education

31:04 The Future of Planning and AI as an Advisor Partner

38:14 Don’t Stop Doing Discovery on Your Clients

41:54 Advisor Co-Creation and Building Meaningful Integrations

47:58 The Gravitational Pull: Why eMoney Was a Life’s Work

51:16 Closing Thoughts and Final Reflections

About Our Guest:

Matthew Schulte was Head of Financial Planning at eMoney Advisor and a member of the company’s executive leadership team, where he helped guide the strategic direction of the organization. A founding employee of eMoney Advisor, Schulte spent 25 years playing a central role in defining and evolving the firm’s market-leading financial planning platform. He has worked extensively with firms and enterprise clients on platform implementation, adoption, and best practices, helping advisors deliver more comprehensive, client-centered planning.

With 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Schulte brings deep expertise across financial planning strategy, advisor workflows, and technology-enabled advice. Prior to joining eMoney Advisor, he served as an Advanced Marketing Consultant at Prudential Securities, focusing on insurance and estate planning across the Northeast. Schulte holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas with a concentration in financial services, and the CFP®, CLU®, and ChFC® professional designations.

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In this candid and deeply thoughtful episode of Don’t Do That, Kelly Waltrich sits down with Dani Fava, Chief Strategy Officer at Carson Group, to unpack leadership, AI, career growth, and one of the most common (and dangerous) professional traps: building your identity around being needed.

Dani shares how Carson is using AI to radically increase advisor capacity, why data infrastructure is the real foundation of innovation, and what it actually takes to build a scalable, valuable firm. But the heart of the conversation lands on Dani’s powerful “Don’t Do That” lesson - why being indispensable can limit your growth, burn you out, and destroy enterprise value, and why true leaders focus on becoming valuable, not needed.

Kelly and Dani cover:

00:00 Don’t Build Your Identity Around Being Needed
00:51 Meet Dani Fava, Chief Strategy Officer at Carson Group
01:56 How Carson Is Becoming an AI-Native Organization
02:47 Creating Advisor Capacity Through AI
04:35 How AI Expands Advisor Capacity and Enterprise Value
06:07 Dani’s Early Vision for AI in Financial Services
08:26 Why AI Adoption Is Accelerating Now
09:30 Why This Tech Wave Is Different
11:38 What It Takes to Build AI Capabilities
13:40 Data Ownership as the AI Differentiator
15:15 Looking Outside Financial Services for Innovation
17:32 AI’s Role in Compliance and Risk
19:56 The Premise of “Don’t Do That”
20:29 Don’t Build Your Identity Around Being Needed
21:59 Why Being Needed Is a Leadership Trap
23:37 Becoming a Multiplier, Not a Bottleneck
25:15 Trust, Failure, and Leadership Culture
29:33 Building Enterprise Value Without Being the Product
31:53 Leadership, Parenting, and Letting Go
35:15 Final Takeaways on Value and Growth

About Our Guest:

Dani Fava serves the pivotal role of Chief Strategy Officer at Carson Group, wielding over two decades of experience in wealth management to drive our strategic direction. Charged with enhancing the client experience through differentiated products and services, Dani's leadership is instrumental in shaping innovative growth strategies and advancing the industry on financial advice and the use of AI. Before joining Carson Group, Dani held influential positions at Envestnet and TD Ameritrade, where she spearheaded initiatives such as digital onboarding, strategic partnerships, and AI integration. 

Dani's contributions include the development of advisor technologies like iRebal and the Model Market Center, reflecting her commitment to empowering advisors with cutting-edge tools and insights. Her impact and forward-thinking vision earned her a spot on FinTech Magazine's Top 100 Women in FinTech (2021), InvestmentNews' Women to Watch (2020), and ThinkAdvisor's 2020 IA25, underscoring her status as a trailblazer in wealth management innovation. In addition to her professional achieve

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In this candid, hilarious, and deeply insightful episode of Don’t Do That, Kelly Waltrich turns the microphone on longtime friend and industry creative force Matt Ackermann. Known for asking the questions, Matt opens up about his unconventional career path - from financial journalism and multimedia storytelling to shaping brand, culture, and content inside one of the fastest-growing RIAs in the industry.

At its core, this conversation is about ownership: owning your enthusiasm, owning your growth, and owning the need for people who can protect you from yourself. If you’re in financial services - or any industry craving more creativity, humanity, and joy - this one’s for you.

00:00 – Opening reflections: risk-taking, curiosity, loving what you do, and the show’s no-fluff philosophy
00:01:43 – Matt Ackermann: career origin story, journalism, InvestmentNews, Practice Makeover, and the pivot to RIAs
00:04:18 – Career inflection points: impact, culture, trust, leadership, and finding the right home
00:08:09 – Creativity at work: the “10% rule,” bold ideas, annual meeting experiences, and financial literacy for kids
00:11:28 – Storytelling in financial services: trade media fatigue, Secret Life of Advisors, authentic advisor stories
00:16:03 – Behind-the-scenes chaos: houseboats, flyboarding, job satisfaction, and bringing the right energy
00:19:56 – People and connections: redefining value, seeking joy, favorite interviews, trust, and authenticity
00:24:05 – Helping advisors shine: concierge-level creativity, compliance collaboration, and creative momentum
00:29:31 – Creativity vs. corporate policy: expense reports, protecting yourself from yourself, and unchecked excitement
00:36:32 – Planning and reflections: rallying for creativity in 2026, balancing ideas with outcomes, and closing thoughts

About Our Guest:

Matt supports the firm’s growth by creating content that enlightens, informs, and entertains. He is passionate about shining a spotlight on the incredible advisors and thought leaders at Integrated Partners and enjoys leveraging blogs, podcasts, and multimedia to showcase the firm’s talent. He has always believed he has a fun job wherever he goes, spending his career coloring inside - and at times outside - the lines to create compelling content. Through strong storytelling, Matt helps show and tell the impactful work advisors are doing from coast to coast.

He has spent the past 20 years working for leading wealth management media outlets, producing content that stands apart. Before joining Integrated Partners in 2020, he served as Director of Multimedia at InvestmentNews, where he earned 15 ASPBE awards for digital content creation. His work included Practice Makeover, a reality series focused on helping financial advisors jumpstart their businesses, and a documentary on impact investing that debuted at the United Na

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In this powerful and wildly insightful episode, Kelly Waltrich sits down with Jack Devine, former CIA spymaster, intelligence expert, and the man who helped shape some of the most pivotal moments in modern geopolitical history. Jack opens up about the guardrails of intelligence work, the chaos of today’s global landscape, how wealth managers can navigate uncertainty, and why, despite everything, he believes we are heading toward a more stable world.

He also shares stories from the field, what Hollywood gets wrong, what it gets surprisingly right, and the one operation he’s most proud of (hint: it changed the direction of the Cold War). And yes… we even find out how he feels about Jack Bauer.

Connect with Kelly Waltrich:

• LinkedIn: Kelly Waltrich
• LinkedIn: Intention.ly
• X: Intention.ly
• Instagram: Intention.ly

Connect with Jack Devine:

• LinkedIn: Jack Devine
• Website: https://thearkingroup.com/

About Our Guest:

Jack Devine, founder and chairman of The Arkin Group, is a 32-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where he served as both Acting Director and Associate Director of the CIA’s operations outside the United States as well as chief of the Latin American Division, the head of CIA’s Counternarcotics Center and the head of CIA’s Afghan Task Force. He was awarded the CIA’s Meritorious Officer Award for this accomplishment and is the recipient of the Agency’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and several meritorious awards. 

Jack has written widely on intelligence including his two books, Spymaster’s Prism: The Fight Against Russian Aggression and Good Hunting: An American Spymaster’s Story, along with Op-Ed articles for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. He has also made guest appearances on CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg News, and is frequently called-upon to share his opinion on myriad geopolitical events.  Jack is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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What happens when you inflate your firm's numbers in a press release? 

Jimmy Moock, Managing Partner at StreetCred, has a simple answer: reporters will check, you'll get caught, and the damage will spread fast. In this episode, Jimmy and host Kelly Waltrich cut through the noise to reveal what actually makes news in financial services and what should stay in the drafts folder.

Kelly and Jimmy cover:

00:00 – How Kelly and Jimmy met during their Orion days 

01:32 – The client-PR dynamic 

04:36 – The Fosberry Flop: Eric Clark's thought leadership genius 

08:38 – Has fintech innovation news been replaced by M&A headlines? 

11:35 – AI fatigue: Are reporters over it or just more skeptical? 

14:47 – What people think is news (but isn't)

15:13 – New hire announcements: When they matter and when they don't 

19:41 – Being first vs. being an option in enterprise deals 

21:14 – Event announcements: User conferences vs. trade shows 

24:25 – Dropping news at events and fighting for attention 

27:32 – Jimmy's personal "Don't Do That": The Wu-Tang Clan email incident 

31:29 – The big Don't Do That: Never lie or inflate numbers to reporters 

33:32 – Why the ADV is easily checked and credibility is everything 

35:17 – Kelly's reminder: The world is too small for even little lies 

36:26 – Jimmy's final advice: What to look for in a PR firm 

37:57 – The power of great PR and marketing working together

About Our Guest 

Legend has it that during Jimmy’s public relations internship during the summer of 1998 he landed a client on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” during his first week on the job. He spent the following six years in the fast-paced, high energy, creative New York City public relations environment where he worked closely with numerous C-level executives on their business communications initiatives. Clients ranged from Fortune 500 conglomerates to dotcom start-ups that focused on everything from consumer finance to broadcast television cameras to content delivery. He even launched one of the first DVD recorders in case anyone still uses one of those. For each client, Jimmy was responsible for publicizing multiple launches, product lines or service offerings while also aiding in the overall enhancement of his clients’ communications needs and objectives.

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What happens when talented advisors spend significant money on marketing but see little to no results? For Lara Galloway, Head of Growth at Elevation Point, the culprit is a common misconception: mistaking activity for strategy. Volume won't fix a lack of vision, and good intentions paired with tactical execution but no underlying plan leave money on the table.

In this episode, Lara and host Kelly Waltrich explore how RIAs can build intentional growth strategies that actually move the needle. They discuss why so many firms invest heavily in marketing without clear goals, how to identify your ideal client before you pick your channels, and why rallying the whole team around a shared vision makes more of a difference than hiring the fanciest agency.

Kelly and Lara cover:

00:00 – Lara’s journey to Elevation Point and her intentional next move
01:35 – What Elevation Point does: taking minority stakes in RIAs to fuel growth
04:00 – Choosing the right leader and cultural fit
07:58 – Two leadership types: those who support vs. those who grow advisors
08:53 – Lara’s process: business planning, marketing consulting, accountability
10:48 – Why many firms don’t know what they’re working toward
11:38 – The “top 15 clients” exercise: ideal client profiling
13:07 – Why “What’s your unique value prop?” is the wrong question
14:21 – Helping firms articulate what they actually do best
16:24 – When firms get most excited: clear goals + 12-month activity plan
19:32 – What’s working: brand alignment and leveraging natural skill sets
21:32 – Preparing for 2026: FAQ content + LLM optimization
24:20 – Why metrics, dashboards, and accountability matter
25:06 – Lara’s “Don’t Do That”: Activity ≠ strategy. Volume won’t fix vision.
29:32 – Real examples: $50K+ marketing spend with no segmentation or results
32:35 – The baseline activity every firm needs—even on small budgets
33:21 – The “LinkedIn Five and Five”: five things, five minutes daily
40:45 – Identifying good-fit clients: collaborators vs. hands-off types
44:44 – The moral tug-of-war between what clients want vs. need
46:07 – Final advice: do an end-of-year audit of what’s working

About Our Guest:

Lara Galloway is the Head of Growth at Elevation Point, where she helps elite independent RIAs design and execute tailored growth strategies. Many of the firms she works with are former wirehouse advisors and top producers who’ve gone independent to build the firms they’ve always envisioned. Others are established RIAs seeking to break through growth plateaus. Lara combines coaching, consulting, and marketing expertise to help them scale intentionally while maintaining their independence.

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What's the career mistake that can derail your confidence, drain your energy, and impact every area of your life? For Graham Thomas, Chief Revenue Officer at The Compound Media, it's falling in love with a job before asking the hard questions.

In this episode, host Kelly Waltrich sits down with her friend and industry peer Graham to discuss the evolution of digital media, the power of relationship building, and the lessons learned from career missteps. They explore what makes Compound Media unique, from the genuine personalities behind the shows to the disciplined content creation process and why most RIAs shouldn't try to replicate it.

Kelly and Graham cover:

00:00 – Introduction to Graham Thomas and Compound Media
02:07 – The evolution from financial advisor to media sales leader
03:41 – How Graham rode the wave of digital transformation in B2B media
06:47 – The challenge of sales leadership in the modern digital marketing era
07:46 – Why people want to interact with personalities, not brands
09:11 – The disciplined content creation process behind Compound's success
12:07 – The reality of podcast production and why 90% fail
13:21 – The importance of helping people find the right roles
15:50 – Being respectful to younger professionals and the changing guard
17:07 – Dealing with rude clients and setting boundaries
19:41 – Why most RIAs shouldn't try to replicate Compound Media
21:33 – The genuine personalities and truth that drive viewer loyalty
24:15 – Finding a niche and starting slow with content
25:00 – The trap of thinking your financial planning process is differentiating
26:29 – How AI content is polluting major financial sites
28:47 – Graham's "Don't Do That": Don't fall in love with a job before doing your due diligence
30:31 – The importance of asking the right questions during interviews
35:00 – Graham's personal story: leaving a great job for a bad fit
36:04 – Having a panic attack during a sales pitch and what it taught him
38:08 – The "hug your company" era and appreciating what you have
39:12 – Using Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and other tools for due diligence
40:00 – Why skill test checks matter when hiring marketers
42:12 – Questions to ask: understanding day-to-day expectations and past performance
43:43 – Being transparent about the hard parts of a role
46:41 – Why you'll only truly love a small percentage of jobs in your life

About Our Guest:

Graham Thomas is the Chief Revenue Officer for The Compound Media Inc. With 25 years of sales experience, he has held leadership positions in Media, Data and Software, mostly in the B2B space. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife, 2 daughters, a dog and a cat.

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What does it take to build a platform that attracts entrepreneurial advisors while simultaneously making strategic acquisitions that most firms wouldn't even consider?

In this episode, host Kelly Waltrich sits down with Nate Lenz, CEO and Co-Founder of Concurrent, to discuss scaling with purpose, avoiding the trap of busyness, and why the best growth strategies often come from solving problems you see right in front of you.

Nate shares Concurrent’s unconventional path, from launching a minority equity investment program to acquiring a $10B retirement plan consulting business to targeting platform consolidation as their next major play. He reveals how his college football days shaped his leadership philosophy, why he'd rather his team work five productive hours than 80 busy ones, and how "speaking things into fruition" has become a secret weapon for execution.

Kelly and Nate cover:

00:01 – The non-linear reality of entrepreneurship + Concurrent’s momentum
 01:47 – What makes Concurrent different
 03:30 – Advisor centricity & celebrating independence in a consolidating industry
 07:19 – Why the pendulum swung: aging demographics, mainstream PE & strategic FOMO
 09:12 – How discipline + growth-mode bias protect returns
 11:30 – Strategic logic behind acquiring Next Retirement Solutions
 14:23 – Why firms should pursue creative acquisitions beyond AUM roll-ups
 15:41 – Next play: targeting RIAs supporting 10–50 advisors needing scale
 16:02 – How to identify true growth-mode firms beyond financials
 18:33 – What drives organic growth: niche focus, not “anyone with $2M”
 20:40 – Creating content that shows who you really serve
 22:13 – Nate’s “Don’t Do That”: never mistake activity for achievement (wisdom from college football coach & John Wooden)
 24:06 – Building a culture rejecting the “cult of busy” and focusing on outcomes
 25:35 – The quarterly exercise: what’s the one thing that moves the needle?
 26:30 – Don’t let perfect block good: launching Wealth Select + iterating on feedback
 28:32 – Speaking solutions into existence: how socializing ideas drives innovation
 31:09 – Framework for imperfect launches: define problem, incorporate authorship, iterate
 36:48 – Kelly’s reminder: write down your goal and look at it daily
 37:02 – Nate’s office philosophy: “No window is safe” when you need a whiteboard

About Our Guest: Nate Lenz, CEO & Co-Founder, Concurrent

Nate Lenz is the Co-Founder and CEO of Concurrent, bringing nearly 2 decades of experience in financial services and a singular focus on empowering advisors to have a meaningful impact on those they serve.  

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