Billion Dollar Backstory

Hosted by Stacy Havener

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163

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Host Stacy Havener brings you the storytelling tips, sales strategies, behavioral secrets, and inspirational stories that help YOU turn your words into dollars. Learn from sales and marketing experts. Meet finance and investment leaders, founders and fund managers who have made it, and the ones on the rise. Because there are people behind the portfolios. Their stories matter. So does yours. Presented by: Ultimus Fund Solutions // www.ultimusfundsolutions.com GemCap // www.geminicapital.ie @stacyhavener // www.billiondollarbackstory.com

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60 recent

August 19, 2026Episode 1635 min

163: Why Great LinkedIn Posts Flop (And When to Run Them Back) | Story Snacks Series

Should you ever repurpose an old post on LinkedIn? Short answer: yep. Slightly more annoying answer: it depends. Before you copy, paste, and send that post back into the wild, figure out why it flopped the first time. Was it actually a good post the algorithm didn't push out? Or was the post itself a little off? Those are two very different problems. In this Story Snack, Stacy gets into how she decides which posts deserve another shot, which need a tweak first, and which she'd leave alone. Listen in to hear: The one reason NOT to repost that Stacy isn't buying How to distinguish a reach problem from a writing problem When a few tweaks will do, and when you need more than that Why her short Tuesday posts aren't just chopped-down versions of longer ones What working with the LinkedIn algorithm right now This is Story Snacks: a bite-sized series for fund managers who want to get better at strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

August 12, 2026Episode 16259 min

162: Encore: Simon Evan-Cook, Downing Fox – The Role of Luck and Skill in Successful Fund Management and Business Building

What if luck plays a bigger role in fund success than anyone wants to admit? Simon Evan-Cook isn’t just throwing that idea out there. He’s lived it. He spent years on the allocator side, vetting fund managers and learning what really sticks (hint: it’s not just your track record). Now that he’s a fund manager himself, he’s pulling back the curtain on the truth no one wants to say out loud… Yes, being good at what you do matters, but so does luck, timing, and learning how to stack the odds in your favor. In this Episode, Simon and Stacy dig into: Why some of the most skilled fund managers don’t always win 13 ways emerging managers can make their own luck What allocators actually remember after your pitch And why being honest, even when it’s uncomfortable, is the real differentiator This is Billion Dollar Backstory: Encore, because some conversations are just too good not to bring back. About Simon Evan-Cook: Simon Evan-Cook is an award-winning multi-asset fund manager. In 2022 he joined Downing to set up and manage the Downing Fox range of funds. Before that he built his reputation at Premier Asset Management from 2006, where he was a senior member of their highly successful multi-asset team. He began his career with Fidelity in the late 90s, before joining Rothschild Asset Management and then Gartmore. Simon also writes on investment (and beyond), including a monthly column for Citywire Magazine and his investment blog on Medium.com. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family and dog, devouring movies and books, and superficially damaging European golf courses. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

August 5, 2026Episode 1615 min

161: From Random to Rapport: What to Do After You Post on LinkedIn | Story Snacks Series

Waiting for LinkedIn leads to fall from the sky, land in your DMs, and show up in your funnel? You might be waiting a while. Posting matters. But there's a missing piece between the post and the people who engage with it, and that's where you go from random strangers to actual rapport (and maybe even grabbing coffee IRL). Stacy Havener has a weekly habit to help you fill the gap, and it's not a heavy lift. In this Story Snack, she's sharing: The habit she calls "clearing the deck," and why responding days late still counts What she DMs people who engage, without asking for a single thing How she follows up when a commenter isn't in her network yet Why a lot of the power of LinkedIn is in the shadows, with the people who never comment The note she sends profile viewers, and the one question that gets them talking If your LinkedIn strategy is basically post and pray, this one's for you. You’ll walk away with quick tips that’ll help you stop waiting around for leads and start going after them (without feeling spammy or weird). This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized series for fund managers who want to get better at strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

July 29, 2026Episode 16026 min

160: The Art of Differentiation in the Investment Industry | Allocators Want Different Not Better | How to Identify Your Edge and Find Your Fascinating to Raise Capital

Different > better. Especially in an industry that loves to rank, chart, compare, and benchmark errrthing. Because when everyone is trying to prove they're better, everyone starts sounding pretty much the same. In this Encore episode, Stacy is bringing back one of her favorite conversations about what it actually takes to stand out. She’s covering: Why leaning into what makes you different means going to the edges and getting radical Why 80% of executives think their company is differentiated, while only 10% of customers agree How to create a category of one What differentiation is, and what it absolutely is not Why you must be brave enough to attract and repel This is Billion Dollar Backstory: Encore, because some conversations are just too good not to bring back. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

July 22, 2026Episode 1595 min

159: How to Work With Compliance Without Killing Your Content | Story Snacks Series

You want to post on LinkedIn. Compliance wants to hit the taboo buzzer. Cool. Now what? In this Story Snack, Stacy Havener shares how to stop treating compliance like the department of "no" and start bringing them into the growth conversation. Because yes, we live in a culture of compliance. And yes, we have business goals too. Listen in to hear: How to get compliance out of "department of no" mode The question to ask so you know what topics are actually off-limits How to use safer language without sanding off your entire point of view Why LinkedIn is possible in a regulated industry, even if your team is nervous This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

July 15, 2026Episode 15832 min

158: No Fancy Degree, No Problem: Lindsey Stewart on McDonald’s, Morningstar, and Making Finance Make Sense

Most people assume a successful career in finance starts with the "right" degree. Lindsey Stewart's started behind the counter at McDonald's. At 18, he made the decision to skip university, avoid student debt, and learn by doing. Years later, that path led him to Morningstar, where he now helps some of the world's largest institutional investors turn complex data into better decisions. In this episode, Lindsey and Stacy discuss: Lindsey’s backstory – from an investor relations firm to a Big Four acquisition to Morningstar Why he put McDonald's back on his LinkedIn profile after years of leaving it off What nearly broke him about the CFA exam, and what finally helped him pass The bias he sees across the finance industry (and why it may be holding talented people back) Why "sounding smart" and being understood are not the same thing More About Lindsey Stewart: Lindsey Stewart, CFA, is Director of Institutional Insights at Morningstar, where he leads content and outreach for institutional investors. His 25-year career spans investor engagement, financial regulation, and communications at firms including KPMG and the UK Financial Reporting Council. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and holds the CFA designation, and was a Senior Leader Finalist at the 2021 Black British Business Awards. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

July 8, 2026Episode 1576 min

157: What Asset Managers Get Wrong About LinkedIn | Story Snacks Series

Your company's LinkedIn page is not the main character. It matters. It has a job. But if your LinkedIn strategy is built around the logo doing all the talking, Stacy Havener has thoughts. In this Story Snack, Stacy breaks down the biggest LinkedIn mistake she sees asset managers make: treating the platform like something it was never built to be. And there's a stat behind it that might make you rethink who's actually posting on your firm's behalf. So yes, "our employees share the company posts" technically creates activity. Whether it creates trust is a different question. Listen in to hear: What LinkedIn actually is, and why most firms are using it backwards The stat that should make you rethink who gets the microphone Why employee advocacy falls flat when it turns into copy-paste content What LinkedIn is cracking down on right now, and why it matters How to show up more human without abandoning professionalism This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

July 1, 2026Episode 1565 min

156: Ditch the Pitch. Now What? | Story Snacks Series

"Ditch the pitch" is easy to say. But it's hard to do when you're staring at a calendar invite and realizing you've been leading with the deck for years. And you start thinking, “Okay, if I'm not presenting, what am I actually doing in there? Am I just… winging it?” Nope. In this Story Snack, Stacy’s breaking down what your meetings will actually look like once you put the deck aside and why ditching the pitch is probably a lot easier to pull off than you think. Listen in to learn: How the typical pitch backfires in meetings Why the allocator should always be the hero of the meeting The meeting structure that works from a behavioral science standpoint How that structure actually removes the pressure to perform This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

June 24, 2026Episode 1554 min

155: The Story Allocators Need Before They Say Yes | Story Snacks Series

Every fund manager wants the story that gets allocators to lean in and say yes every single time they tell it. So, this is often a hard pill to swallow…A story that actually works doesn't always get you a yes. A powerful story either gets you a heck yes or a heck no, but never a maybe. And even though hearing heck no is uncomfortable, getting closure in sales is everything (so you don’t waste your time on allocators who’ll never be the right fit). That’s why in this Story Snack, Stacy’s sharing the one kind of story that gets allocators off the fence without fail. She’s also breaking down how to own the sharp edges in that story that’ll help allocators finally decide: this is for me. Or it isn't. Listen in to learn: Why "maybe" is the outcome you should be trying to avoid How to connect who you are, why you invest the way you do, and who your strategy is built for Why your differentiators need to attract and repel A question that’ll help you find your sharp edges fast This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

June 17, 2026Episode 15411 min

154: Want More Allocator Meetings? Start Here. | Story Snacks Series

The capital-raising memo says: pitch harder, send the long intro email, and voilà, meetings. Stacy Havener never got that memo. She came into this industry as an English lit major who wanted to be a college professor. Finance was a means to an end, not the whole plan. She had no idea there was a "right" way to do capital raising. So she just led with what she knew best, which was storytelling and creating human connection. It wasn't until someone tapped her on the shoulder and said, "What are you doing? Because you keep raising money," that she realized what she was doing was different. Different, and working. She took her high school soccer coach's fund from $1M to $500M in two years. Then joined a firm at $17M and helped grow it to $5B in three. In this Story Snack, she's breaking down exactly how and why the answer is never more volume, more cold emails, or more at-bats. Listen in to learn: Why "get more meetings" is the wrong goal if the meetings you’re getting aren't converting How to use small, genuine "gives" to build trust before you ever ask for a meeting Why give, give, give, ask beats pitch, pitch, pitch every time This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week. --- Running a fund is hard enough. Ops shouldn’t be. Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus