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 ...
Jul 02, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Dana Garnett. What happens when a privileged life built on international corporate success suddenly implodes? Dana discovered the high cost of poor communication during conflict when she and her ex-husband burned through $270,000 in legal fees to get through their divorce. That was equivalent to the money they had saved for their daughters' college educations. But Dana's story doesn't end there. As a former Coca-Cola executive turned mediator, she tra...
Jun 26, 2025•28 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Jamie Yuenger. At 17, Jamie explicitly told her mother not to buy her a car because the family couldn't afford it—yet came home to find one in the garage anyway. When she pressed about insurance, her mother assured her it was covered, but after the car was totaled in an accident, Jamie discovered the insurance had been canceled. Next, Jamie was told she'd have to stay home from school to pay back the damages. In that pivotal moment, just two months be...
Jun 19, 2025•33 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Margaret Katz Cann. Most of us carry our family systems into adulthood without even realizing it, from how we parent, to how we think about success, to how we handle money. But what happens when those inherited patterns stop working - when life hands us something so unexpected, we’re forced to question it? Margaret calls it the 'family force field', that invisible pull to repeat what we grew up with, even when it no longer serves us. Margaret shares h...
Jun 12, 2025•29 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Caroline Lewis. Caroline was checking all the boxes for her career: climbing the corporate ladder, leading big teams at Nike, and chasing the next promotion. Then, suddenly, she was off the ladder entirely. Caroline shares the moment her fast-moving, say-it-like-it-is style clashed with corporate politics, and how that unexpected exit became the launchpad for a more purpose-driven, powerful relationship with money. Caroline is the MP and founder of Ro...
Jun 05, 2025•37 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Sophie Bertin. You know that feeling when everything looks good on paper, a great job, supportive colleagues, a solid paycheck, but something inside keeps whispering, this isn’t it! That was Sophie. She had a comfortable life, but comfort wasn’t enough. It took a spark - an unexpected stat about entrepreneurs from a business school dean when Sophie was at a less-than-satisfying moment in her career - for her to realize: “Why am I in the 50% who haven’...
May 29, 2025•30 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Dr. Marianne Cooper. Marianne has built a career exposing inequality, while living inside it. As a sociologist and parent in Silicon Valley, she’s seen firsthand how even the wealthy fear falling behind, and how families across the spectrum quietly hustle to secure their children’s futures. In this episode, Marianne shares what it’s like to understand exactly how privilege is reproduced while trying to avoid passing it on herself. Marianne Cooper, Ph....
May 22, 2025•35 min
What happens when you leave a thriving medical practice—not because you’re burned out, but because your definition of success changes? Rishma Walji, our guest this week on Money Tales, spent two decades as a doctor where she helped others navigate emotionally complex decisions about life, hormones and healthcare. But when her own crossroads arrived, Rishma made a bold pivot choosing family, personal growth and intentional living over her credentials and paycheck. Rishma shares the emotional calc...
May 15, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is John Anderson. What happens when the rockstar lifestyle starts to feel more like a death sentence than a dream? For John, the parties, the wealth, and the wine cellar full of excuses were all just masks for something much darker. He had it all—or so it seemed—until two tragic losses and one haunting realization stopped him in his tracks: If I don’t change, I’m next. This is a conversation about money, privilege, and the moment you realize that real we...
May 08, 2025•34 min
When people talk about climate change, they’re focused on saving the planet. This episode of Money Tales is about the economic possibilities that addressing climate change can open. Our guest this week is Tito Jankowski. For Tito, climate change isn’t just a crisis, it’s one of the biggest opportunities of our time. When he looked at the scale of carbon removal needed, he saw a trillion-dollar industry on the horizon. Tito realized this global challenge could be a launchpad for innovation, impac...
May 01, 2025•30 min
Picture this: You’re a kid shivering in your home, which never goes above 68 degrees in the winter. And you decide right then– your future includes a thermostat set at 72. That desire sparked Shellye Archambeau’s life’s ambition. Shellye is our guest this week on Money Tales. Her experience spans from being the new kid at school in seven states to breaking barriers as a Black woman CEO in Silicon Valley. Shellye talks about the intentional financial decisions that shaped her path and the raw, co...
Apr 24, 2025•33 min
This episode of Money Tales is all about being different. Sarah Peterson is our guest this week on Money Tales. What happens when a high-achiever realizes that the things she was chasing—salary, status, and sparkle—aren’t what truly fill the cup? Sarah found herself right in that spot. She spent her early twenties pursuing high-paying jobs and glamorous roles, only to end up buried in credit card debt and disconnected from her values. The financial wake-up call that changed everything included t...
Apr 17, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Marlis Jansen. Marlis was one of our first guests and shared her money tales in episode number five. She joins us this week to talk about the HEARTS framework she developed for achieving financial wellbeing. Marlis describes financial wellbeing as possessing solid financial skills and deep emotional intelligence about money, so that we can meet our financial responsibilities, reduce stress and live more purposeful, joyful and impactful lives. We go de...
Apr 10, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Barry Ritholtz. From his early days navigating chaos on a trading desk to building a $5 billion advisory firm, Barry shares why investing is simple, but not easy—and how mastering your emotions may matter more than mastering the market. These are the lessons Barry covers in his most recent book How Not To Invest: The ideas, numbers, and behaviors that destroy wealth - and how to avoid them. Barry is the co-founder, chairman, and chief investment offic...
Apr 03, 2025•40 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Lata Gullapalli. Lata has seen firsthand how, when one woman gains financial independence, she lifts an entire community with her. What started for Lata as quiet, behind-the-scenes mentorship has now become a movement, spanning from rural India to the Middle East to the UK. With the right support, women who were once financially dependent are now building businesses, securing their futures, and rewriting their roles in society. Lata is an investment b...
Mar 27, 2025•32 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Joel Franks. On his daily commute from Westchester to New York City, Joel befriended a man—let’s call him Ben—who seemed to have it all together. Confident and well-dressed, Ben earned close to a million dollars a year, yet he was financially stretched, juggling an expensive lifestyle. That’s when Joel realized financial success isn’t just about income. It’s about behavior. Joel is the founder of FinWizdom and an adult financial literacy facilitator. ...
Mar 20, 2025•30 min
This episode brings you a raw, firsthand experience of a female start-up founder in the consumer-packaged goods – or CPG - space. Zoë Levin is our guest this week on Money Tales. Unlike digital startups that can scale at lightning speed, Zoë’s company, Bim Bam Boo, faces a different reality, one where every roll of toilet paper requires strategic financial maneuvering. With investors chasing AI and capital for consumer goods in short supply, she’s had to be resourceful, resilient, and relentless...
Mar 13, 2025•32 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Brett King. What if, in 50 years, money as we know it no longer exists? Futurist Brett King believes we’re heading toward a world where artificial intelligence automates nearly everything from jobs to healthcare to supply chains. As AI disrupts industries at an unprecedented scale, traditional employment may no longer be the main way people earn a living. Universal Basic Income, once a radical idea, may become essential just to keep economies running....
Mar 06, 2025•31 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Bronson Hill. From delivering newspapers in the rain to earning $15 an hour in high school, Bronson learned early on that trading time for money wasn't the path to wealth. His real breakthrough came years later when Bronson realized money isn't just about the hours you work, it's a tool to create value, help others and transform lives. As the Managing Member of Bronson Equity, Bronson is a general partner in 2500 multifamily units worth over $250M. Br...
Feb 27, 2025•32 min
This Money Tales episode is all about how the messages we learn in our youth and the experiences we have with money as we’re growing up shape and orient our relationship to money. Our guest this week is Sue Bevan Baggott. Growing up with home haircuts and hand-sewn clothes, Sue learned early the value of frugality. But it was her and her husband’s decision to live on one salary while investing the other that laid the groundwork for Sue to transition from corporate executive to purpose-driven ang...
Feb 20, 2025•33 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Avery Moore Kloss. Have you ever been in a place where you knew deep down something had to change, but fear kept holding you back? That's exactly where Avery found herself, watching her husband, an entrepreneur at heart, slowly lose his spark in the corporate grind post-pandemic. Avery candidly shares how she wrestled with the fear of losing financial stability, realizing that she was the one holding him back from his dreams. In this episode, we dive ...
Feb 13, 2025•34 min
This episode of Money Tales is all about how our self-worth can get deeply entangled in our work that we get so caught up in what we do for a living that we lose touch with who we are as an individual. Our guest this week is Ashley Paré. As an HR insider with access to tech's most guarded secrets - C-suite dynamics, salary data, and negotiation playbooks - Ashley started her career fearlessly advocating for her worth. As she said, "I had bills, I was valuable, I had an education - why not ask?" ...
Feb 06, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Anthony Thomson, who also goes by his initials “AT”. Anthony is a marketing professional who transitioned into entrepreneurial banking with one key belief: the power of data to create opportunity. Athony tells us a heartwarming story about a Metro Bank initiative that made banking exciting for kids: coin-counting machines that turned their loose change into a guessing game with prizes. This is a conversation about how small innovations can make a big ...
Jan 30, 2025•34 min
This episode is all about the unwavering search for purpose and fulfillment. Hugh Massie is our guest this week on Money Tales. From accountant to behavioral specialist, Hugh realized that what truly drives financial decisions isn’t just the numbers; it’s the human behavior behind the numbers. From observing patterns in how people act under pressure to bringing in a behavioral psychologist to decode money habits, Hugh’s story is about blending expertise with empathy. He even uprooted his life to...
Jan 23, 2025•30 min
In this episode of Money Tales, we sit down with bestselling author, Daniel Pink, who shares the bold decisions that transformed his life and career. At a pivotal moment in his early 30s, Dan made the choice to leave his job as a political speechwriter to pursue his passion for writing. His leap of faith wasn’t blind. With his wife’s support, careful planning, and a frugal mindset, Dan charted a rational path through uncertainty, balancing existential and financial risks. Dan is the author of fi...
Jan 16, 2025•32 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Sara Eversden. Sara grew up in a neighborhood where labels like 'the lower-income side of town' were casually tossed around. But for her, it wasn’t about what her family didn’t have, it was about what they gained. In a community rich with diversity, both socioeconomically and racially, Sara developed a deep comfort and appreciation for being in all kinds of environments. That early exposure shaped how she navigates the world today, including her relat...
Jan 09, 2025•28 min
Today’s Money Tales episode is about purpose. Purpose is something we often talk about on Money Tales because, in our experience, when people align their relationship with money to their purpose, they make more satisfying and confident money decisions. Dr. Jordan Grumet joins us again on Money Tales. Since we last spoke with him, Jordan has been spending a lot of time talking and speaking about purpose. When he shared his message about purpose with audiences, he encountered something surprising:...
Jan 02, 2025•36 min
This episode of Money Tales is about grit and pushing yourself and others forward. We’re joined by Shira Yevin, a fearless disruptor who’s never been afraid to challenge the status quo. When she noticed a glaring lack of women on stage at the Vans Warped music tour, she didn’t just ask questions. Shira took bold action. Crashing the festival in a pink RV with her band, Shira ultimately created a platform that showcased over 300 female-fronted bands, including legends like Paramore and Joan Jett,...
Dec 26, 2024•29 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Ashli Sims. Ashli is a reporter turned nonprofit fundraiser, who takes us into the complex world of asking for support. Ashli’s current journey began with a Kickstarter campaign to fund a storytelling project in Tanzania, where the ask was clear and the purpose was powerful. But when her career evolved into professional fundraising, the stakes got higher, and so did the challenges. Ashli shares how she learned to focus on impact rather than the dollar...
Dec 19, 2024•30 min
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Patrick Grimes. Patrick thought he had struck gold with a high-risk, high-reward pre-development real estate project that promised big returns. But 2009 hit, and instead of achieving riches, he lost it all: the property was foreclosed, the IRS came calling and Patrick was left to rebuild from scratch. In today’s episode, Patrick shares the hard-earned lessons that reshaped his entire financial philosophy to one of cautious leverage and diversification...
Dec 13, 2024•28 min
