Billion Dollar Backstory

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.

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Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus
- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

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
- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

When an allocator says "We only work with established managers," it can feel like a door closing in your face. 
And the natural instinct is to pry it back open by explaining yourself, defending your track record, and making a case for your fund. 

Stacy Havener's advice: don't go there.
Because handling objections to close deals is a thing. It's just not the right thing in this moment.
That’s why, in this episode, Stacy’s breaking down what to do instead when you keep hitting the same wall in meetings.

Listen in to learn:
Why "too small" or "too new" is usually a timing mismatch, not a hard no 
The three words that change the whole vibe: "Tell me more." 
The questions that uncover real requirements around AUM, allocation size, and track record 
How to capture their language so your follow-up actually lands when the timing is right

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
- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

If you’ve ever thought, “Okay, I have to cover process… but I can literally see their eyes glazing over,” you’re not alone. 
Because when you walk through your process like everyone else, allocators don't hear "rigor." They hear "table stakes," and they're already half checked out by the time you get to the good part.
In this episode, Stacy Havener breaks down how to fix that without scrapping the slide entirely. 
Listen in to hear:
How to cover process without just reading the boring slide out loud
The fastest way to make your process feel different (even if the slide isn’t)
The one line Stacy wants you to stop using when talking process (because it’s a big fat nothing sandwich) 

---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus
- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap

At 15, Harald Berlinicke got a front-row seat to Black Monday during a bank internship outside Berlin. It was total chaos, with people yelling "SELL!" and a 20% drop in a single day.
Most people would have run away from that pressure. But Harald ran toward it. And that's the day he knew he wanted to be in finance.

Decades later, he's the guy on the other side of the table as a fund selector and family office CIO, with a surprisingly impressive LinkedIn presence for someone who will tell you straight up that he's an introvert.
In this episode, Stacy sits down with Harald to talk about the human side of selection and why "give, give, give" beats "pitch, pitch, pitch" every single time.

Listen in to hear:
Harald's Black Monday origin story and how that early chaos shaped his view of markets and decision-making 
Why "people do business with people" is painfully true in fund selection 
His playbook for building relationships on LinkedIn as an introvert 
The provocative CFA poll he ran and what that debate says about where the industry might be headed

More about Harald Berlinicke: 

Harald Berlinicke, CFA is CIO of the fifth-generation Max-Berlinicke-Erben family office in Berlin, where he oversees a multi-asset portfolio with a focus on asset allocation and manager selection. He co-founded New Bond Street Asset Management in London and served as Partner and Head of Structured Credit Investments, growing the boutique to a peak of €8B AUM. He later spent 2014–2023 at Scope Group as Director of Alternative Investments and now advises independently-owned investment boutiques. A CFA charterholder since 2003, Harald is also a long-standing CFA Institute volunteer and a widely followed voice on LinkedIn known for making complex investment topics accessible.

---
Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus
- - -
Thinking about expanding your investor base beyond the US? Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to find out if your firm is ready to go global and get all the info at billiondollarbackstory.com/gemcap