Behind The Advisor

Real Stories. Real Strategies.

Behind the Advisor, an XYPN Podcast, takes you behind the scenes of what it really takes to launch, run, and grow a successful fee-only financial planning firm. Through candid conversations with industry leaders and real-life advisors, we uncover the challenges, victories, and lessons learned along the way.

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Episode No. 13 | April 08, 2026

Starting a Firm From Scratch With No Experience

With Matt Becker

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What if you didn’t need years of experience to start your own firm… just the right perspective and a willingness to figure it out as you go? This week, I’m sitting down with Matt Becker, founder of Mom and Dad Money and, honestly, one of the best writers and brand builders I’ve seen i …

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Episode No. 60 | March 25, 2026

Financial Life Coaching

With Garrett Philbin AFC®, CMC®

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Can you build a sustainable business by working with clients who spend more than they earn? That’s the question I put in front of Garrett Philbin, founder of Be Awesome Not Broke. He’s not chasing high-net-worth households. He’s working with clients who are in negative cash flow, peop …

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Episode No. 329 | March 11, 2026

What the First Six Months of Running an RIA Are Actually Like

With Stefanie Pickard, CFP® & Chao Zhang

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Today on Behind the Advisor (formerly XYPN Radio), we’re talking with advisors at a stage we don’t usually feature: the first six months of launching their firms. Chao Zhang and Stefanie Pickard are right in the thick of it, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, as their new firms …

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Episode No. 86 | February 25, 2026

Building a Virtual Paraplanning Business

With Jen Pritchard, CFP®

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What if you could build a career in financial planning that didn’t require launching your own firm but still gave you autonomy, recurring revenue, and real impact? On this episode of Behind the Advisor (previously XYPN Radio), I sit down with Jennifer Pritchard, who has built one of t …

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Episode No. 82 | February 11, 2026

Scaling Your RIA

With J.D. Bruce

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What does it really take to move from a founder-centric firm to a professionally managed business? This week on Behind the Advisor (formerly XYPN Radio), J.D. Bruce, President of Abacus Wealth Partners, shares what it takes to grow a firm from a solo practice into a scaled organizatio …

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Episode No. 105 | January 28, 2026

The Importance of Self Care for Surviving Entrepreneurship

With Meg Bartelt, CFP®, RICP®

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What do we not talk about enough when starting your own RIA? We spend a lot of time on the vision, the flexibility, the impact, but today, I wanted to dig into the less glamorous (and incredibly important) parts of building a firm. In this episode of Behind The Advisor (previously kno …

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Episode No. 163 | January 14, 2026

From $30K to $330K in One Year: How to Handle Explosive Firm Growth

With Kyle Moore, CFP®

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What does it really take to bet on yourself and grow faster than you ever imagined? On this episode of Behind the Advisor (previously known as XYPN Radio), I’m sitting down with Kyle Moore, founder of the fee-only financial planning firm Quarry Hill Advisors. Kyle has led his firm thr …

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Episode No. 114 | December 31, 2025

How to Track Your Key Performance Indicators as You Start Your RIA

With Shawn Tydlaska, CFP®, MBA

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Are you actually using data to make decisions in your firm, or are you just going with your gut? In this episode of Behind The Advisor (previously known as XYPN Radio), we’re joined again by Shawn Tydlaska to talk about why tracking your metrics matters more than you think, especially …

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