Money Tales

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Tanaha Hairston. Tahana always had a curiosity about money. But when life threw her an unexpected curve, she found herself at a financial crossroads. A former computer engineer who had stepped away from her tech career to raise three children, Tahana realized she needed to take control of her financial future. So, she made a bold move to enroll in graduate school and study finance. That decision opened a surprising door; 100 investors, all men, urged Tahana to run their investor network. What began as a personal hedge turned into a powerful mission.

Tanaha Hairston supports investors in building portfolios that reflect their values, deliver passive income, and drive measurable impact. As the founder of IIC Capital, she curates and shares private investment deals across real estate, sustainable ventures and tax-optimized private offerings that deliver both returns and purpose.

She also leads RISE, a nonprofit organization that educates private investors—especially women—across all asset classes. RISE empowers its members with community, education, and access to vetted opportunities that build both profit and purpose.

A published author (Changing the Game of Venture Capital – The Journal of Private Equity), MBA focused on Finance graduate from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering.

Tanaha brings decades of experience as an entrepreneur, impact investor, and impact strategist. She’s also a successful founder who built and exited a company before shifting her focus to building legacy through capital.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is John Dinsmore, PhD. Fear of failure can be a powerful motivator. John never intended to become a marketing expert. During college and beyond John was in a rock band called "Fried Moose." He tells us that, at the time, he was so afraid of letting his bandmates and family members down as he pursued a career in music that he threw himself into band promotion and merchandising. That fear-driven hustle accidentally built the exact skills that would later land John his first marketing job and eventually make him a professor who is focused on financial decision-making.

John Dinsmore is a Professor of Marketing at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and author of The Marketing of Debt: How They Get You.

He is regularly featured in publications such as Forbes, CIO, CBS Marketwatch and US News & World Report for his market commentary and is a frequent conference speaker at organizations such as the American Marketing Association and the Association for Consumer Research.

At Wright State, Professor Dinsmore teaches a variety of courses including Digital Marketing, Strategy and Creativity & Problem-Solving, garnering multiple teaching awards. He has provided executive training services to the United States Air Force and Speedway Corporation. His academic research primarily focuses on financial decision-making, methods of payment, and mobile applications, having been published in academic journals including Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Business Research and International Journal of Research in Marketing. He also recently wrote a chapter for the Handbook of Experimental Finance.

Dinsmore has published business cases designated at “Best Sellers” by Harvard Publishing focusing on strategy and analytics. These cases are taught in MBA programs across North America, Europe, Asia and South America at institutions such as University of Chicago, Peking University and King’s College. This Fall, he will be a featured speaker at TEDx-Dayton to discuss his research on financial decision-making.

Prior to earning his PhD, John Dinsmore worked in the marketing industry for 14 years in various roles. Dinsmore holds a BA in Political Science from James Madison University, an MBA in Marketing & Finance from University of Georgia, and a PhD in Marketing from University of Cincinnati. He lives in Dayton, Ohio with his wife, two sons, and a gigantic bulldog named Creed.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Leisa Peterson. What happens when financial chaos becomes your childhood normal—when repossessed cars and lost homes are a typical week, and your grandmother is the only thing standing between your family and complete collapse?

For Leisa, this wasn't a cautionary tale but the foundation of her life's work. Instead of letting scarcity define her, she became obsessed with understanding it. What makes some people live in fear of never having enough, while others thrive with less? Leisa shares her journey from financial survival to soulful abundance, and how she's now helping others rewrite their money stories, one mindset shift at a time.

Leisa Peterson is an author, financial educator, and money coach who helps entrepreneurs revolutionize their relationship with money. Author of “The Money Catalyst” and “The Mindful Millionaire,” Leisa was recognized by Forbes as one of the pioneering “10 Women Driving Growth in Wealth Management and Investing.”

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Filipa Lancastre, PhD. Filipa is someone who has never been afraid to do things differently. While most young adults in Portugal stay under their parents' roof until their 30s, Filipa took a different route. As a rising McKinsey consultant, she bought her own place, got her parents to guarantee the loan, and walked away five years later with a 50% return. But that was just the beginning.

Filipa is an Assistant Professor (adjunct) of Strategy at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. She holds her PhD in Management from NOVA SBE. Filipa was a senior researcher and faculty at Nova SBE and Universidade Europeia. Prior to her academic activities, Filipa worked in telecom, serving as advisor to the board at ZON and leading the customer relationship management department at TV Cabo. She was also a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company. Filipa is an Industrial Engineer from Instituto Superior Técnico (Universidade de Lisboa) and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Gregory Roll. What happens when parents tell their two children they can afford to send only one of them to college—so they aren’t going to send either? Greg shares how this pivotal family moment became a guiding lesson for his future money conversations and decisions, especially within his own family. This milestone 250th episode of Money Tales is all about fairness and family dynamics.

Greg is, above all else, curious. An optimistic agent of change, he is a champion of the principle “Show, don’t tell,” and a firm believer in the power of creativity and clarity to drive transformation. Whether summiting mountains or navigating complex business terrain, Greg approaches challenges with a spirit of exploration—always seeking new paths to insight and innovation.

A passionate brand strategist, Greg believes that in today’s crowded and often commoditized investment and wealth management landscape, differentiation is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. As the needs of high-net-worth individuals and families grow in sophistication and complexity, so too must the strategies that serve them. Greg is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, founders, and business leaders define and execute brand and growth strategies that set them apart and support purposeful, sustained growth.

Greg’s career has been devoted to crafting growth strategies for many of the nation’s most prestigious multi-family offices and leading RIA firms. He brings deep experience working with multi-generational families, focusing on the complex dynamics at the intersection of family, enterprise and wealth. His work often involves direct engagement with high-net-worth families to understand the key factors influencing their decisions around wealth management, investment strategy and family office services.

He has developed particular expertise in data aggregation and consolidated wealth reporting and keeps a close eye on emerging technologies and platforms reshaping the industry. As a management consultant, Greg has partnered closely with a wide range of trusted advisors, including estate attorneys, CPAs, philanthropic strategists and family governance consultants.

Greg is a frequent presenter at industry events hosted by Family Office Exchange, Family Wealth Alliance, and Worthy Circles. He also plays a behind-the-scenes role in shaping thought leadership initiatives for MFO and RIA firms launching their own events for families and advisors. He serves as an Advisory Board Member to StoryKeep and Tapestry, two specialized providers supporting high-net-worth families and is a longtime judge for the Annual Family Wealth Report Awards.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Nancy Davis. At age 8, Nancy watched her mother make what she instinctively knew was a terrible financial decision—buying an excessive number of Persian carpets from a traveling merchant parked in a semi-truck on the side of the road. While most kids would have stayed quiet, Nancy spoke up. She not only convinced her mother that the purchase was reckless, but she also successfully negotiated a return of the carpets her family couldn't afford and didn't have room for. That early lesson in financial prudence shaped much of what followed, from Nancy’s decade at Goldman Sachs to founding her own investment firm, Quadratic Capital, in 2013.

Nancy Davis founded Quadratic Capital in 2013. Nancy is the portfolio manager for The Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF (NYSE Ticker: IVOL) and The Quadratic Deflation ETF (NYSE Ticker: BNDD).

Prior to founding Quadratic, Nancy spent nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs primarily with the proprietary trading group (Goldman Sachs Principal Strategies) where she rose to become the Head of Credit, Derivatives and OTC Trading and headed the team for about 5 years for the prop desk. She also served as a portfolio manager at JP Morgan’s hedge fund and in a senior executive role at AllianceBernstein.

Nancy has been the recipient of numerous industry recognitions. Barron’s named her to their inaugural list of the "100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance." Institutional Investor called her a "Rising Star of Hedge Funds." The Hedge Fund Journal tapped her as one of "Tomorrow's Titans."

Nancy has been profiled by Forbes, and interviewed by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. Nancy is a frequent guest on financial television including CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business. She is a sought-after speaker for industry events.

This episode of Money Tales is about the balancing act between time and money. Our guest, Lauren DiCerbo, watched her mom pause a career to raise kids—then start over as a temp to rebuild it. That experience shaped Lauren’s approach when she faced the same fork in the road as a new mom during the pandemic. Instead of choosing between work and parenting, she built a consulting business that values flexibility over income.

Lauren DiCerbo is the founder of Magenta Mountain, a consulting practice focused on fractional investor relations for fund managers and strategic operations for founders. She brings a thoughtful and pragmatic lens to her work, shaped by a career spanning alternative investments, institutional asset management, and early-stage fund operations.

Lauren began her career in finance at a fund of funds investing in hedge funds and private equity, giving her foundational exposure to a wide range of managers, strategies, and investor expectations. Most recently, she served as Head of Investor Relations at a quantitative global equities fund, where she was a strategic partner to clients including family offices, foundations, pensions, and other institutional investors.

She works with emerging and established managers across private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds—bringing a cross-functional perspective to investor relations and fund infrastructure. Earlier in her career, Lauren held client service and human resources roles at global firms, deepening her understanding of how organizations scale and operate effectively. Motivated by the challenge of building clarity, efficiency, and long-term relationships, she enjoys partnering with funds and founders to drive operational and strategic decision-making that enables growth.

Lauren holds a BS in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University and currently serves as Co-Chair of 100 Women in Finance, Northern California—where she leads programming and community-building for women in the financial sector. Lauren lives in the Bay Area and enjoys hiking in the redwoods with her family.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Brenda Campbell. Imagine receiving a hysterical phone call from your college-bound daughter: five small purchases under $5 each have just triggered $195 in overdraft fees—$39 per transaction for what seemed like innocent mistakes. For Brenda, this became an opportunity to calmly help her daughter learn an invaluable financial lesson. Brenda takes us from her childhood in a family of seven where mac and cheese was stretched into soup to feed everyone, through her journey as the first in her family to attend college, to becoming Wisconsin's leading advocate for teen financial literacy. Her story reveals how well-timed money conversations paired with financial literacy can transform someone's entire financial future.

Brenda Campbell is the President and CEO of SecureFutures, a nonprofit she has led since its inception in 2006. Under her leadership, the organization has grown into a leading force for teen financial empowerment, impacting more than 126,000 teens and young adults through innovative programs and community partnerships. Brenda drives SecureFutures' strategic vision while overseeing daily operations, program development, board engagement, and fundraising. She also serves as the organization’s spokesperson, sharing her insights widely as a writer and speaker.

With a professional background spanning financial education, workforce development, and child welfare, Brenda brings decades of experience in program design, management, and evaluation. She was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Capability in 2021 and currently serves as Chairperson. A passionate advocate for women in leadership, she also serves on the boards of Milwaukee Women Inc. and TEMPO Milwaukee. Brenda was named a Milwaukee Business Journal Woman of Influence in 2010 and received the Governor’s Financial Literacy Award in 2017.

What do flying Navy helicopters in the Philippines, founding an investment company and steering unmanned ocean drones have in common? They're all part of one woman's incredible journey. Today's guest, Julie Cane, takes us on a remarkable journey from Navy pilot to entrepreneur to startup mission manager. She reveals how the absence of money talk in her childhood led to some of her most powerful financial discoveries as an adult.

Julie Cane is an impact-driven defender of democracy, in both financial markets and on the high seas. Her adventurous career began as a US Navy helicopter pilot conducting combat search and rescue training exercises and torpedo recovery in the Philippines and Coronado. After serving, Julie spent 20 years in financial services developing market leading innovations at Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, SEI Investments and Autodesk Ventures.

Five years ago, Julie became the CEO and co-founder of Democracy Investments, a registered investment advisory firm focused on promoting democracy in international markets. The firm serves as the advisor to the Democracy International Fund, an ETF listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker DMCY). She has presented the firm's democracy weighted international (ex-US) strategy on Bloomberg, The Economist Magazine’s Summit and at the 7th Annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, alongside pro-democracy politicians and diplomats focused on the global fight for freedom.

This year, Julie took on an additional role of Mission Manager at Saildrone, a Bay Area startup that designs and deploys autonomous surface vehicles to be the eyes and ears for maritime safety and freedom on oceans around the world. She grew up sailing, racing both dinghies and large yachts and has enjoyed bringing this expertise along with her Naval Operations background to the day-to-day mission management of Saildrones for domestic and international customers.

For the last 10 years, Julie has been Chairman and served on the Board of Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit helping 3,000 military veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Anderson School of UCLA. In her spare time, she enjoys mountain biking, trail running and protecting the future of democracy.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Mike Shannon. Picture this: On a Friday night, you're 22 years old, standing in front of 8 million viewers on Shark Tank, shaking hands with Mark Cuban after closing a deal for your startup. The next morning? You're back in the Chicago Bulls locker room, folding towels and doing laundry like nothing happened.

This is the extraordinary double life that our guest Mike Shannon lived while building his first company. By day, he was pitching investors and building a start-up. By night, he was mopping floors during Bulls games and running errands for NBA superstars. It's a story that perfectly captures the wild contradictions of entrepreneurship—where dreams and reality collide in the most unexpected ways.

Mike Shannon is the CEO and co-founder of Impruve, an AI-native operating system built for financial advisors. Before launching Impruve, he co-founded Packback, an AIpowered education platform used by millions of students and recognized by TIME as a Top EdTech Company and by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies.  Over 12 years, he scaled the business from scrappy startup to $20M ARR and a $50M+ acquisition. Earlier in his career, Mike appeared on Shark Tank and secured a deal with Mark Cuban.

His entrepreneurial journey began—uniquely—while living a double life as an NBA ball boy and evolved through years navigating the highs and lows of startup life. Those stories are captured in his upcoming book, Sweaty Equity: A Ball Boy, a Billionaire, and the Bonkers Startup Tale You’ve Never Heard.

Mike holds a B.S. in Finance from Illinois State University and sits on the board of directors for Future Founders, a nonprofit supporting thousands of aspiring young entrepreneurs nationwide. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two young boys.