Taxes are one of the biggest expenses successful people face—and too many people wait until tax season to think about them. In this episode of Million Dollar Problems, Luke Lloyd and Chris Hjelm break down how high-income earners, business owners, and investors can use proactive tax planning to keep more of what they make.

From Roth conversions and retirement accounts to business deductions, capital gains, charitable strategies, trusts, and estate planning, we discuss the difference between tax preparation and actual tax planning—and why the biggest opportunities often come from making decisions years before the tax bill arrives.

Because making a million dollars is one problem. Keeping more of it is another.

Should You Own Bitcoin? How Should You Pick a Financial Advisor?

Bitcoin continues to make headlines, but does it deserve a place in your portfolio? In this episode, Luke Lloyd and venture capitalist Chris Hjelm break down the role of Bitcoin in a long-term investment strategy, who should (and shouldn't) own it, and the biggest mistakes investors make when approaching digital assets.

The conversation then shifts to one of the most important financial decisions you'll ever make: choosing a financial advisor. They discuss the questions every investor should ask, the differences between advisors, common red flags to avoid, and how to find someone whose incentives are aligned with your financial goals.

Whether you're curious about cryptocurrency, looking for better financial guidance, or simply want to make smarter money decisions, this episode is packed with practical insights to help you navigate your own million-dollar problems.

Topics Covered:

• Should Bitcoin be part of your portfolio?
• The risks and opportunities of digital assets
• How to evaluate a financial advisor
• Fiduciary vs. non-fiduciary advisors
• Questions to ask before hiring an advisor
• Common investing mistakes and how to avoid them

Subscribe to Million Dollar Problems for candid conversations about investing, entrepreneurship, markets, technology, and solving the financial challenges that matter most.

Million Dollar Problems is the podcast for entrepreneurs, investors, business owners, and ambitious professionals who know that success creates a whole new set of challenges.

Hosted by financial advisor Luke Lloyd and venture capitalist Chris Hjelm, each episode explores the biggest questions surrounding wealth creation, investing, entrepreneurship, technology, artificial intelligence, the economy, and the decisions that shape financial success.

From navigating volatile markets and building businesses to understanding emerging technologies and avoiding costly financial mistakes, Luke and Chris bring real-world experience, thoughtful conversations, and practical insights—without the hype.

Whether you're growing your net worth, scaling a company, preparing for retirement, or simply trying to make smarter financial decisions, Million Dollar Problems delivers the conversations that matter most.

Because making your first million is hard. Managing it—and everything that comes with it—is a whole different problem.

Welcome to the first episode of the Million Dollar Problems Podcast, where Luke Lloyd, founder of Lloyd Financial Group, and Chris Hjelm, a venture capital investor, take on the biggest financial, investment, economic, and business questions facing successful people today.

In this debut episode, Luke and Chris introduce the format of the show and discuss how they plan to break down the major issues impacting markets and wealth every week—from inflation, interest rates, geopolitics, and the macroeconomy to specific companies and the financial planning challenges that can come with building significant wealth.

The conversation explores the psychology of investing, market volatility, the dopamine rush of checking your portfolio, and the dangers of turning investing into day trading simply because technology has made it easier than ever to buy and sell securities.

Luke and Chris also discuss the differences between public and private market investing, the importance of maintaining a long-term investment time horizon, and why having conviction in an investment can be difficult when prices are constantly moving on your phone.

The episode's featured “Million Dollar Problem” focuses on a SpaceX employee who accumulated approximately $60 million in company stock after working there for 15 years. How do you diversify a concentrated position? How do you manage the risk of a major decline in a single company? And how do you address the potential tax consequences of selling a highly appreciated asset?

Those are the kinds of real-world financial challenges Luke and Chris will tackle every week.

The goal is simple: identify the million-dollar problems—and find ways to solve them.

In this episode:

• The format and structure of the Million Dollar Problem Podcast
• Inflation, CPI, PPI, oil prices, Iran, and geopolitical risk
• Why markets have become increasingly headline-driven
• The psychology and dopamine of checking your portfolio
• The dangers of becoming an accidental day trader
• Public markets versus private markets
• The importance of investment time horizons and conviction
• The risks of concentrated stock positions
• The SpaceX employee with approximately $60 million in company stock
• Diversification, taxes, and managing concentrated wealth

Subscribe and tune in each week as Luke and Chris bring million-dollar financial, investment, and wealth-management problems front and center.

Because building wealth is one problem. Knowing what to do with it is another.