Knowing Me, Knowing You

In this episode, I sit down with Natalie Taylor, CFP®, nationally recognized financial planner, fintech consultant, and founder of the Goodland Group, to explore what it really means to deliver advice that works in real life and not just on paper. With over 20 years in financial planning and a decade building inside fintechs like Learnvest, SoFi, Monarch Money, and Ellevest, Natalie brings a rare and refreshing perspective on what human-centered planning actually looks like in practice.

We talk about why the "do it with you" model is the underserved middle ground that clients actually want, how defining a range of good decisions replaces the pressure of a single right answer, and why co-creating goals with clients leads to dramatically higher follow-through. Natalie also shares her "choose your regrets" framework for equity compensation decisions, how she uses base hit versus home run goal buckets to establish risk capacity, and why she sees goals not as a fixed destination but as an evolving container.

If you are an advisor looking to move beyond the hundred-page plan and build relationships where clients actually implement the advice, this conversation will shift how you think about discovery, empowerment, and what it means to truly know your client.

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee
• Natalie Taylor on LinkedIn
• The Goodland Group

In this episode, I sit down with Wesley Rowlands, partner and advisor at Atikan Wealth Partners, to explore a different approach to financial planning that starts with purpose, not products. With nearly two decades of experience and a deeply personal connection to the impact of money, Wes brings a perspective rooted in both technical expertise and lived experience.

We talk about why most advisors start in the wrong place, how his education-first process changes the dynamic with clients, and why redefining risk is critical in today’s world of self-funded, multi-decade retirements. Wes also shares how behavioral finance, vulnerability, and values-based conversations create stronger, more meaningful client relationships.

If you are looking to deepen your discovery process or rethink how you guide clients through complex financial decisions, this conversation will challenge you to focus less on tactics and more on understanding the person behind the plan.

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee
• Wesley Rowlands on LinkedIn 
• Atikan Wealth Partners

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Daniel Crosby, psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and Chief Behavioral Officer at Orion Advisor Solutions. Daniel has spent nearly two decades bridging the gap between academic behavioral science and the real-world work of financial advisors, and the conversation we had is one I know you'll return to again and again.

We explore why behavioral finance has over-indexed on bias and what advisors are leaving on the table by ignoring the positive side of the ledger. Daniel breaks down the four meta-biases driving most financial mistakes: ego, emotion, attention, and conservatism, and why the most powerful use of behavioral science isn't a window onto your clients, but a mirror onto yourself. We also dive deep into his latest book, The Soul of Wealth, and what the research actually says about money, meaning, and human flourishing.

If you're an advisor who wants to move beyond portfolio-centric conversations and connect with clients on what truly drives their decisions, this episode will give you both the science and the soul to do it.

Connect with us! 

• Dr. Daniel Crosby on LinkedIn
• Orion Advisor Solutions
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Goren, a driving force behind the modern financial planning education movement. As Chief Strategy Officer at Danko Education and director of curriculum at the Global Financial Planning Institute, Matt helps shape how the next generation of advisors learns, thinks, and serves clients across borders. 

We explore how psychology and behavioral finance fit into hands-on planning, why Cross-Border financial planning is more important than ever, and what it takes to train planners who can truly understand clients, not just crunch numbers. We also talk about how AI is reshaping education and client relationships, and why the human connection remains the centerpiece of great financial advice.

If you’re involved in training, advising, or building financial relationships across countries, this conversation will challenge you to think bigger about who you’re serving and how you teach it. 

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee
• Matt Goren on LinkedIn

Financial institutions are great at planning for the predictable, but what happens when life doesn't follow the plan? A divorce, a medical crisis, a leaky roof. These are the moments that reveal whether the financial system was really built for the people inside it.

In this episode, I sit down with Amanda Estiverne-Colas, Director and Head of Payments Practice at Proficient, founder of AGE Advisors, and one of fintech's most passionate advocates for fairness by design. Amanda has spent over 20 years working behind the scenes on the infrastructure, the plumbing, to expand access and build a financial system that actually listens to consumers.

We explore why planning for the unplanned is the industry's biggest blind spot, how the Fair Digital Finance Framework is challenging institutions to embed transparency and inclusivity into their products, and why trust isn't just a nice to have. It's the foundation everything else is built on. Amanda also shares why empathy isn't soft, it's structural, and how community banks and credit unions are quietly modeling what the rest of the industry needs to learn. Plus, she pulls back the curtain on The Front Row, her Substack series bringing the conversations that happen outside the conference room to everyone who couldn't be there.

If you're building financial relationships with clients, with communities, or with technology, this conversation will challenge you to ask, who are we building it for?

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee
• Amanda Estiverne-Colas on LinkedIn

Every advisor knows the feeling. A promising prospect sits across from you, nods through the whole conversation, says it was helpful, and then disappears. Most advisors chalk it up to competition or timing. But what if the real problem happened before anyone walked through the door?

In this episode, we explore why the moment that determines whether a prospect converts isn't the first meeting. It's the fragile space between curiosity and trust that comes before it. With organic growth in wealth management averaging around 2% in recent years and trillions of dollars shifting between generations, the stakes have never been higher. Yet most firms are still relying on first meetings to do the heavy lifting of discovery, connection, and differentiation all at once.

We dig into what the research actually shows about advisor-client communication gaps, why generic discovery questions produce surface-level answers, and what the advisors who consistently convert prospects do differently. The answer isn't a better pitch. It's a better setup, one that helps prospects reflect before they ever sit down with you, so that the first meeting feels less like an intake and more like the beginning of a real relationship.

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee

If you’re an advisor trying to grow your firm while still buried in the day-to-day of clients and operations, this episode will hit home. Steven Tenney has spent over three decades in wealth management, from building his own RIA to advising leaders on how to grow, scale, and create firms that last.

In this conversation, Marla and Steven break down the shift most advisors never fully make: moving from technician to owner. They explore why succession planning gets ignored, and what it takes to build real, transferable value. They also unpack what actually drives durable growth: trust, team alignment, and client relationships that extend beyond a single advisor. Most firms are more fragile than they think, especially with massive generational wealth transfer and rising pressure to differentiate.

This is a conversation about building something that endures.

• Why most advisors never build a business that outlives them
• The risks in how firms handle client relationships and succession
• How to scale without creating operational drag
• The mindset shift from revenue to enterprise value

Tune in, grab a copy of Steven’s new book, Succession Alpha, and connect with us! 

• Steven Tenney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steventenney/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee: https://knomee.com/

Tim Hamilton has spent nearly two decades helping builders - entrepreneurs, founders, and high-growth professionals - navigate the complex side of wealth. From managing concentrated assets to life-changing events like home purchases, new children, or business exits, Tim helps clients align their financial decisions with their values, psychology, and long-term goals.

In this conversation, Marla and Tim explore how AI and technology can make advisors more effective, why independence is resurging in wealth management, and how human empathy and behavioral insight create relationships that last. You’ll hear about serving complex clients, articulating your value as an advisor, and lessons from Tim’s own life that show wealth is about more than numbers, it’s about living in alignment with your purpose.

Connect with us! 

• Tim Hamilton on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-hamilton-financial-planner
• Compound Planning: https://compoundplanning.com/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee: https://knomee.com/

Shaun Williams started his career in one of the fastest environments in finance, trading options on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. Then he did something a little off script for someone in that world: he stepped away from the trading floor and went out to see the world, eventually reaching all seven continents…without flying!

His travel changed his beliefs about money. He paid attention to people, their stories, and the different ways they define a good life.

Marla and Shaun talk about the trading floor, the trip that took him across the globe, and how his unique experiences shaped the way he works with families today. You won’t want to miss this conversation about values, financial planning, and building a fast-growing advisory business.

Connect with us! 

• Shaun Williams on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunwilliams25/
• Paragon Capital Management - https://www.paragoncapitalco.com/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee - https://knomee.com/

Most firms assume advisors leave for a bigger payout. That assumption is costing them.

In this conversation, Shelby Nicholl shares what actually pushes advisors to make a move. Sometimes it’s compensation, but more often than not it is a slow drift from belonging, a lack of clarity about the future, or feeling undervalued despite driving revenue.

Shelby sits at the intersection of where advisors are and where they want to go. She’s helped teams break away, launch RIAs, negotiate transitions, and rebuild practices from the ground up. What she’s seen is consistent: the advisors who thrive after a move aren’t chasing a check. They have a clear story about why they’re leaving and what will be better for their clients on the other side.

This episode goes deeper than transition mechanics. It explores identity, purpose, compensation blind spots, and the subtle signals leaders miss before their best people start looking elsewhere. 

If you’re leading a firm, acquiring firms, recruiting advisors, building your own RIA, or just wondering what’s next, this conversation will challenge the story you’ve been telling yourself about why advisors move.

Connect with us! 

• Shelby Nicholl on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbynicholl/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee - https://knomee.com/