Billion Dollar Backstory

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.

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Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

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.

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Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

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.

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Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

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.

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Running a fund is hard enough.
Ops shouldn’t be.
Meet the team that makes it easier. | billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus

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