Our guest for this episode has a marketing career that started with ads about cheese and orange juice… She’s Mary Kate Gulick, and her journey from journalism student to fractional CMO is anything but predictable.

She fell in love with financial services by leading marketing at TD Ameritrade Institutional, which led her to start her own firm. Ever since, she’s believed strategy is a non-negotiable in every growing financial business, and empathy is the cornerstone of her leadership.

Mary Kate’s story is also a reminder that growth comes from knowing what matters and finding the right people to help with it, instead of trying to do it all yourself.

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Mary Kate Gulick on LinkedIn

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

This one is for every woman who has ever been told it wasn’t her moment yet.

Jess and Mark have an honest conversation with Courtney Ranstrom, co-founder of Trailhead Planners, and all we can say is: what a story! She overcame the feeling of being “just a paraplanner” at her dad’s firm and built her path to having a business and a voice of her own, a luxury in the financial field today.

She hates promoting herself, but she’s definitely not playing small. The woman who would sit by the phone waiting for an opportunity call is now a leader who speaks out for other women in an industry that wasn’t exactly built with them in mind.

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Courtney Ranstrom on LinkedIn

Trailhead Planners

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

What do Greenpeace, tarot cards, and financial PR have in common? Elena Krasnow, our guest on this episode of How Did We Get Here?

She had it figured out: a college degree in environmental studies, a life-changing trip to Madagascar, and a job at Greenpeace. Fighting climate change and working with communities was the plan! But COVID happened, and all her expectations were laid off alongside her, figuratively and literally.

No job, empty streets, protests on hold. What now?

Somehow, Elena found herself planning press releases and shaping marketing strategies in the financial industry. No PR experience, no marketing background, and yet, she nailed it.

Join us to hear about Elena’s journey.

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Elena Krasnow on LinkedIn

StreetCred PR

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

Matt Hobson's career journey feels like a cross-country hike. He went from studying spotted owls in Oregon's forests to importing lumber from New Zealand, and ended up helping people with their financial decisions.

He is the ninth child of thirteen siblings. Yes, you read that right, thirteen! They didn’t call themselves "the wilderness" of Eastern Oregon for nothing. That ninth kid was shy in his youth, but soon discovered he had a special talent for connecting with people and making friends that would be useful later…

When the 2008 financial crisis demolished his lumber import business and his ability to provide for his family, he decided to start working in a promising field: financial advice. His entry point? A position with Ameriprise and a phone book as a welcome gift. Yep, old-fashioned cold calling.

If you want to know how he went from that to mentoring advisors and being a reference in the financial industry, tune in now!

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Matt Hobson on LinkedIn

Eagle Wealth Management

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

Meet Phil Pearlman, a former special education teacher with a trading background. He is now dedicated to helping people improve their health to boost their business and life results. In this conversation, he goes from explaining the current bird flu cycle and how it affects egg prices to a mindful parenting masterclass, and believe it or not, he ties it all back to health.

Irreverent, politically incorrect, and fun, Phil teaches with his own example how intentional habits and wise choices can transform a life for the better. Join us for the advice, stay for the laughs!

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Phil Pearlman on Twitter

Pearl Institute

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

Ashley Quamme's path in financial advice was not the most typical one, but there were some early signs, like the fact that she was born on “Tax Day” and used to offer counseling to her classmates in the lunch line. Later, she worked as a mental health therapist until she discovered a new way to use her skills: advising advisors. If we add that she is married to a CFA and is the daughter of a CPA, now it makes way more sense.

Let’s dive into Ashley’s journey and see how a psychological background and a lot of money conversations turned into a new way of financial advising.

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Ashley Quamme on LinkedIn

Beyond the Plan

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

What if the real reason people hire you has nothing to do with money?

In this conversation, keynote speaker Dennis Moseley-Williams shares how his background in anthropology shaped a completely different approach to financial advising and business building. He explains why clients crave fulfillment, connection, and transformation more than they care about financial metrics.

For Dennis, rejecting traditional business models, focusing on fairness, and creating memorable client experiences has helped him build a practice people want to be part of. He also shares why we are now living in a transformation economy, where doing work worth talking about matters more than any marketing funnel.

If you are ready to start creating real impact, tune in to hear how you can build something people seek out naturally.

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Dennis Moseley-Williams on LinkedIn

Moseley-Williams Strategic Consulting

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth

John Stoj’s career took some unexpected turns—Wall Street trader, sushi entrepreneur, and reluctantly, a financial advisor. Along the way, he realized he loved helping people with money, just not in the way big firms do it.

This may just be the least straight-line journey we’ve gone through yet! Stay tuned as we get into John’s story, where he “kicked and screamed” his way into a rewarding career.

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John Stoj on LinkedIn

Verbatim Financial

Jess Bost on LinkedIn

Lake Avenue Financial

Mark Newfield on LinkedIn

Journey Strategic Wealth