I couldn't wait to take my first job dog walking as a 3rd grader, marching $7 to Wells Fargo every Friday to deposit in my savings account. I started investing at 17 (which was a bit of a disaster). After college I rapidly paid off student loans by living simply and budgeting like a maniac on a pastor's salary.

I grew up in the Bay Area, surrounded by tech companies promising to disrupt and democratize everything. When I had the chance to join BrightPlan, a fintech startup created to bring trustworthy financial planning and wealth management to everyone, I jumped at the opportunity. 

At BrightPlan I became persuaded that the traditional financial advisory model is at worst predatory, and at best prohibitively expensive for most people. But financial literacy is so low that many people blindly trust advisors without realizing there is a better way. While giving over 100 presentations to companies about a wide range of financial topics I discovered a massive need for financial literacy and an ocean of opportunity to provide trusted guidance. 

My wife Jordan and I got married in 2016. After our daughter was born in 2021 I became eager to use the financial freedom we had built to redesign my career around more than just maximizing income. Redwood Money is the result of our family's financial plan which was years in the making. Owning the business allows me to doing meaningful work for people I care about while being available to my family the way I want to.

Ultimately, a financial plan is not just about having more dollars in your bank or investment account. It isn't boring nonsense about efficient frontiers or charts on a screen. A good financial plan facilitates a life well lived. As a financial advisor my role is to discover your values, clarify your goals, and help you make choices that move you steadily towards the life you want.