Money Memories

Meet Alejandra Lozano, a dedicated Financial Wellbeing Coach for Operation HOPE, located inside Wells Fargo’s HOPE Inside center in South LA. With over seven years of experience in the finance industry, Alejandra is passionate about uplifting black and brown communities and empowering their financial journeys. Alejandra shares how her childhood experience with "la caja de los zapatos" (the shoe box) reflects the sentiment that many communities in the US feel about financial institutions. She also shares some of the most powerful stories of transformation that Operation HOPE was able to provide.

Hans Koch is the CEO of the augmented reality platform MyXR. Hans shares poignant memories of growing up in Southwestern Michigan, reflecting on his early money lessons and the influence of his father’s entrepreneurial spirit. He delves into the impact of his father's battle with ALS, which in turn shaped his outlook on life and business. Hans recounts his first ventures into real estate and technology, the founding of Owners. com, and his current role at MyXR. The discussion spans topics from early entrepreneurial inspirations to the latest tech innovations. Hans offers insights on mistakes made along the way and lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of efficient scaling and strategic financial planning.

Tosin Mills is the product and growth strategy manager at Microsoft. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Tosin shares how her experience of moving from Nigeria to the United States played an important role in her understanding of the value of money, and what her favorite money slogan is.

Bonus: I found an NFT expert to answer your pressing questions about how this hot new fintech innovation actually works.

This episode originally aired on February 16th, 2022.

In this episode, guest John Hill reflects on his childhood lessons in saving and the importance of compound interest instilled by his family in Western Pennsylvania. Transitioning to a career in asset management, John shares insights into founding Quorus, a technology-enabled asset manager aimed at personalizing investment portfolios. John also offers beginner tips for financial wellness, and when it's OK to reach out to a professional for financial planning help.

Leslie Gillin is the Chief Growth Officer of Pagaya, a lending platform that uses artificial intelligence to improve credit decision-making. Leslie shares how her mother instilled the importance of financial independence early on, and the challenges she faced around unconscious biases as a woman in the C-suite. This is an archival episode from October 2023.

A conversation with Michael Hershfield, CEO of Accrue Savings. From his humble beginnings in Canada to his entrepreneurial ventures and eventual founding of Accrue, Michael shares poignant insights into the importance of financial literacy, responsible spending, and the mission to revolutionize savings behavior in America. We talk about Michael’s lessons learned from failed ventures, and his vision for a future where every American can achieve financial wellness.

This episode originally aired on July 13th, 2022. As a new college graduate living in New York City, Aja Evans thought she had made it. She quickly realized, however, that the weekly bottomless brunches add up. Eventually, she took control of her spending habits. Today, Aja is a licensed mental health counselor specializing in financial wellness. She shares how her personal journey informed her decision to offer this unique angle to her therapy practice.

We talk to Caesar Sengupta, the founder of Arta, a technology platform revolutionizing the world of personal finance. We delve into Caesar's background and his journey from growing up in India to studying computer science at Stanford and eventually joining Google. Caesar shares his early money memories and the shift in his mindset towards money as he discovered the financial superpowers of the ultra-rich. The conversation explores the founding of Arta and its mission to unlock these financial opportunities for everyone, providing insights into investing, alternative assets, and the importance of starting early to build generational wealth.

Brian Barnes is the founder and CEO of the wealth management platform M1 Finance. Founded in 2015, the company uses digital tools to help customers automate the way that they invest and save. Brian shares how a stock pitch competition in school shaped his passion for investing, and how this experience later influenced his philosophy for M1. He also shares his three key tips for long-term financial wellness.

Eryn Schultz is the founder of pHERsonal Finance Day, a platform that offers courses and content tailored to high-earning women. Eryn is a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Business School. She discusses what inspired her to plunge into entrepreneurship, and answers your questions about student loans.

This episode is an archival episode from February 24th, 2021.