Episode 168: Hue Partners Co-Founder Emily Blue on M&A, Selling While You're Still Growing, and What to do When Your Old Story Stops Working
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In the world of M&A, deals tend to get reduced to spreadsheets long before anyone asks about the story or the actual people underneath.
Emily Blue built her whole career on believing maybe we’ve got that backwards.
She started out as a nursing major (until an anatomy syllabus sent her running ), failed the CFA before she passed it, and eventually found herself sitting across the table from some very fancy investment bankers. Then one afternoon, she was standing in an airport after a pitch that had gone really well... wondering why she felt so flat.
A phone call with her friend Ryan Halls changed everything. Eventually, that conversation became Hue Partners, an M&A advisory firm that works exclusively with sellers.
In this episode, Emily and Stacy get into:
The airport phone call that turned into a firm
Why Hue said no to every buyer who wanted to hire them
What happened when a banker called Emily "soft" (and Ryan’s PERFECT comeback)
Why younger, fast-growing firms are exploring partnerships earlier, and why waiting too long can cost you
The real estate analogy that makes a pretty freaking good case for having someone in YOUR corner when you sell
Why wealth firms are starting to look at boutique asset managers as a talent strategy
The "messy middle," and what happens when the story that got you HERE stops fitting where you want to go NEXT
This one is about M&A, but it’s also about relationships, story, and knowing what you actually want to build. And what happens when the way it’s always been done doesn’t feel like the way YOU want to do it.
About Emily Blue:
Emily Blue, CFA, is a math nerd turned M&A disruptor and the co-founder of Hue Partners. She cut her teeth in M&A integrations, pushed back on traditional valuations, and led corporate development, and through every deal one thing stayed true: the best transactions aren't about multiples. They're about people. So she built Hue to put founders first, with no corporate fog and no empty promises, just real partnership before and after the deal.
Outside of work, Emily serves as Board Chair of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri, and advocates through Big Brothers Big Sisters and Newhouse. She has traded Kilimanjaro for toddler trails for now, and lives a chaotic, joyful life with her husband Harrison, their kids, and two doodles.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Book: Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave by Ryan Holiday
TRANSCRIPT
Below is an AI-generated transcript and therefore it may contain errors.
[00:00:00] Stacy Havener: In the world of M&A, deals tend to get reduced to spreadsheets and numbers long before anyone bothers asking about the story or the people underneath. Today's guest built her whole career on believing that's backwards. Emily Blue thought she wanted to become a nurse until one look at an anatomy syllabus sent her running toward math and economics instead.
[00:00:24] She earned her CFA, learned deal-making from the inside, working for some of the largest buyers of wealth firms, and sitting across from some very fancy investment bankers. Eventually, she co-founded Hugh Partners with Ryan Halls. Hugh is an M&A advisory firm that works exclusively with sellers because that's where her heart has always been.
[00:00:47] No conflicts, no split loyalties, just relationships built brick by brick on the belief that people do business with those they know, like, and trust. [00:01:00] Fancy is fine, but Emily and Ryan choose real. Whether you are a wealth manager or an asset manager, this conversation is a great overview of the M&A landscape with lessons for us all.
[00:01:15] It's honest, funny, and full of heart. So settle in and meet my friend, Emily
[00:01:21] Hey, my name is Stacy Havener. I'm obsessed with startups, stories, and sales. Storytelling has fueled my success as a female founder in the toughest boys' club, Wall Street. I've raised over 8 billion that has led to 30 billion in follow-on assets for investment boutiques. You could say against the odds.
[00:01:43] Yeah, understatement. I share stories of the people behind the portfolios while teaching you how to use story to shape outcomes. It's real talk here. Money, authenticity, growth, setbacks, sales, and marketing are all [00:02:00] topics we discuss. Think of this as the capital raising class you wish you had in college mixed with happy hour.
[00:02:08] Pull up a seat, grab your notebook, and get ready to be inspired and challenged while you learn. This is the Billion Dollar Backstory Podcast.
[00:02:22] Stacy Havener: Emily, thank you so much for being here in the studio. This is a joy to me because I have known you for years. I have been on your podcast. This is the first time you're coming onto our show, and I cannot wait to learn more about the story, your journey, and you.
[00:02:40] Emily Blue: Aw. So thank you. Thank you for having me, truly. Thank you for having me. So we're gonna go into the way back machine here because we sit here today as entrepreneurs. However, when I first got to know you, you were not an entrepreneur, and you weren't even really doing what you're doing [00:03:00] now. Correct. Yeah. S- And I wonder, too, like growing up, like did you envision working in finance and investments?
[00:03:07] Stacy Havener: Like, kinda take us through all of this. Yeah. Well, so fun and why I actually love your story. It's because, you know, when you sit here today and you look back- Yeah ... my younger self couldn't even have dreamed that I could have created something in the market, doing something different. Mm-hmm. And it not only working out, but it becoming bigger than I could've ever imagined.
[00:03:34] Emily Blue: Yeah. And so the honest answer is absolutely not. I didn't even know that this could exist. Mm. When I was younger, I was honestly like, you know, I wanted to help people. Mm-hmm. And I thought, "I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be a nurse. I wanna be a nurse." Amazing. And I went to college solely for nursing. I got automatic acceptance, so I was like, "I am locked in."
[00:03:57] First semester, they're like, [00:04:00] "You're gonna be taking anatomy next." And I was like, "So like what does that entail?" Yeah. And they're like, "Yeah, you like dissecting animals and you like look at organs." Oh, God. And I was like, "Huh. Oh, God." I had this... I had like my world, like gray clouds, rain, thunder I had this moment where I was like, "I have just ruined my life."
[00:04:19] Like, I have chosen a college because I wanted to go nursing, and how did I not think that nursing and gross things kinda go together? I mean, yeah, as you say it, I get it. But also I would... I get why you were like, "I'm gonna be a nurse, and I'm gonna take care of people, and it's gonna be amazing, and there's not gonna be any dissecting of any animals-
[00:04:40] Stacy Havener: and dealing with organs." I get that. So I have this meltdown, like meltdown, meltdown of all meltdowns. Have a moment where I'm like, "Do I, like, change schools? Like, what do I do here?" Mm-hmm. And so I ended up staying at the school. They didn't have finance, so I was like, "How do I cobble some stuff together?"
[00:04:57] Emily Blue: Mm-hmm. And so I have math and [00:05:00] economics, which didn't really... Those people didn't really go together, so I was kind of this odd odd bird. And so I got out, and I asked my dad, I said, "You know, what's the hardest, you know, designation or test that I could go after?" And he goes, "Well, the CFA's pretty hard." I'm like, "
[00:05:18] That's what I'm gonna do."
[00:05:19] Emily Blue: so I joined an asset management firm so that I could be in a culture where that was more normal to go get the CFA. And I wish I could tell you it was like success, success, success, CFA. It was not. It was took the test, wasted a year, failed miserably- Oh my God ... melted down, gathered myself back up. I mean, repeat, repeat, repeat to the outcome.
[00:05:41] And the second I got my designation, I had... During that time, I wasn't even doing portfolio stuff. I was actually integrating acquisitions that they did, and helping the new team that they acquired kinda merge in and become one. But the second I got my CFA, I got a [00:06:00] call from an aggregator on the wealth side, and he said, "You know, it's time, it's time for you to come over and help me do deals."
[00:06:05] And I laughed, and I was like, "I'm not leaving an asset management firm that I just clobbered my way to getting the CFA-
[00:06:13] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:06:14] Emily Blue: and I'm gonna go bounce to go to go to the wealth side. Like, I'm not ready yet." And he said, "No, you need to." And so I took the leap of faith, joined them to kind of help do the same thing of integrating, fulfilling promises.
[00:06:29] Within a month in, I got a call from him and he said, "You know, we need you to, like, value and negotiate these deals." And so overnight, I went from, like, tail end of the M&A journey of, like, life after the deal and what happens and how things integrate to the very front end and sitting- Wow ... across the table from the New York investment bankers and all the bankers across the country and negotiating head-to-head.
[00:06:53] And so I had the privilege of seeing, like, what works really well and where clients felt lost of [00:07:00] these bankers, 'cause the bankers really never understood the inside of an RIA. But of course, I was enamored by private equity, and so I went to a family office that was backed by private equity to lead M&A, and it was for like, you know, family office, so like celebrities and athletes- Mm
[00:07:18] and venture capitalists, so very interesting, uh, work. But my heart, I just kept having this rub where, like, where I wanted to be and where I was at was different. So I was sitting on one side of the table, and the entrepreneur was on the other
[00:07:34] side of the table.
[00:07:35] Emily Blue: that just was this, like, rub, you know?
[00:07:38] And so that's really what led me to go, like, "I need to, need to fix this. I have to sw- I have to do something different because the friction is causing such a misalignment in what I really want to be doing." And so-
[00:07:52] Stacy Havener: Meaning that you wanted, you, you wanted to be more entrepreneurial.
[00:07:56] Emily Blue: Yeah, and like-
[00:07:57] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:07:58] Emily Blue: you know, well, for me, uh, [00:08:00] the funniest phone call I'll never forget.
[00:08:02] Yeah. I had just met a founder-
[00:08:04] Stacy Havener: Okay ...
[00:08:05] Emily Blue: and presented a proposal and was really excited about it, but I got to the airport afterwards, and I wasn't, like, jazzed.
[00:08:13] Stacy Havener: Mm.
[00:08:14] Emily Blue: And so I called a friend, Ryan Halls, my now business partner, and I was like, "Man, I'm not sure why I feel this way."
[00:08:23] Stacy Havener: Mm-hmm. "
[00:08:23] Emily Blue: But all I know is I don't like that, and maybe any gift and talent used the wrong direction is what results in you kind of feeling, like, flat."
[00:08:34] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:08:35] Emily Blue: And he laughed and he said, "So what investment bank are you telling me you're gonna go join?" And I said, "That's the thing. I look across, and nobody felt genuine and authentic to the way I would want to do deals." And he's like, "That's a sign you need to start a firm."
[00:08:57] Stacy Havener: Fascinating. Okay, so I have questions.[00:09:00]
[00:09:00] Mm-hmm. So first question is, talk a little bit about what it was like... So I mean, here you are, you... I mean, what a fast track. A, you started out as, like, a nursing major, and now all of a sudden you're, you're, like, doing deals at, at- Yeah ... like, a really crazy point in time, by the way, for M&A work in our space.
[00:09:24] So you're sitting at these tables. You have your CFA, so, like, you have chops. But I can imagine, like, you are the rare bird. You are the, you know, the odd duck, so to speak-
[00:09:35] Emily Blue: Yeah ...
[00:09:36] Stacy Havener: with these suits who are probably, I'm guessing, primarily men.
[00:09:41] Emily Blue: Yeah.
[00:09:42] Stacy Havener: You know, high-powered investment banking. What was that like? How did you, how did you find your voice in that?
[00:09:49] Emily Blue: You know, I just made a, like, a decision very early on that I was gonna put all of my chips in the table. I was going to go [00:10:00] for it, but I was going to go for it without compromising myself.
[00:10:05] Stacy Havener: Mm-hmm.
[00:10:06] Emily Blue: And so I just really believed that the way investment banking was doing deals with bringing in their spreadsheets- Yeah
[00:10:14] and, you know, rolling that out, and give me the proposal. And if the proposal's good, then you can meet and build a relationship with the person. The, the dynamic of what centered around the deal, the core of investment banking in wealth management was spreadsheets and numbers and math. Okay. And I studied math.
[00:10:34] Yeah. I appreciate the technical piece. But without the human element, without the psychology of, without the story and the drivers, you really are missing so much of is it the right fit? Is this gonna work out? Mm-hmm. Are we gonna have fun together in partnership? And so in, in the spirit of, like, [00:11:00] the, the face of it, of like, of course, I, I'm not a blue suit and- Yeah
[00:11:04] all those things, I took an even bigger bet and said, "Listen, all these guys, these are guys are doing spreadsheet, you know, meet you and say, 'Hey, tell me your revenue.'"
[00:11:14] Stacy Havener: Oh, my God.
[00:11:15] Emily Blue: You know? Like, ick. And so I made a huge bet, and I'll be honest, it was so scary. I will never forget the day when somebody and a banker went up to Ryan and goes, "You know, Emily is so soft, so soft."
[00:11:28] She-
[00:11:29] Stacy Havener: Like, as a, as like a dig
[00:11:31] Emily Blue: A dig. Yeah. And said, "She posted about how her husband was, like, really, you know, supportive during this, like, entrepreneurial leap," and that is so silly. And Ryan, I will never forget his comeback. Oh, my God. He was so quick. He goes, "You know, Emily posted that, like, seven months ago.
[00:11:49] So the fact that you're bringing it up to me, it like, good for her, you remember it,"
[00:11:53] Stacy Havener: you know? Yeah. Dude, love that response. I love it.
[00:11:57] Emily Blue: But it is true, like, I- in terms of the [00:12:00] unicorn rare bird, like-
[00:12:01] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:12:01] Emily Blue: I, like, did something that was so uncomfortable for our industry of saying, like, "Put the spreadsheets down.
[00:12:10] Build a relationship first."
[00:12:12] Stacy Havener: And did you-- And so before you even made the entrepreneurial leap, when you were in those meetings- Mm-hmm ... like, when you were doing, when you got basically pulled from the integration to the evaluation- Yeah ... and now you're in meetings and stuff did you play the game of the...
[00:12:27] Did you play the spreadsheet game first, or were you always like, "This does not feel right to me"?
[00:12:32] Emily Blue: Uh, it, there was always an element, uh, that when I was in the spreadsheet, it was like you're missing- Oh, yeah, yeah ...
[00:12:40] an ingredient to the soup,
[00:12:42] Emily Blue: right? But thankfully, at the time, I was working with somebody, and with, through, with a leader that a lot of the decisions were being driven by, like, did he like the leader?
[00:12:56] And if he liked the leader, he was [00:13:00] gonna go to bat for that leader. And that was- Mm ... the, that was
[00:13:02] my light bulb.
[00:13:03] Stacy Havener: Ah.
[00:13:04] Emily Blue: Is like if, if there was not that connection, if I was going and saying like, "All right, it's time to revise our proposal," you know, like connection is what really allows these firms to grab onto something bigger- Yeah
[00:13:18] than the spreadsheet and zoom them out into like what the art of possibility is in partnership, right? Like the truth is, in our industry it's private eq- even though there's a lot of private equity backed- Yeah ... there's venture capital in there. And so the story has to be told and be able to be inspiring and interesting all the way through for it to get, you know, through committee, right?
[00:13:43] And so that was something that I learned so early on is, yeah, I'm, I'm in the spreadsheet, but spreadsheet without the story, it's not gonna go anywhere.
[00:13:53] Stacy Havener: Yeah, it's that capital without the connection. Right. And, and, and so when you made the decision to like, "I think we [00:14:00] can do this on our own," obviously with Ryan- Yeah
[00:14:02] the two of you decide to start something Well, let me ask a clarifying question 'cause this is my take and I, I might be incorrect. Do you represent the seller or the, the buyer? Oh, good question.
[00:14:16] Emily Blue: So when we launched, all sorts of buyers were like, "We want hire- Yeah. Yeah ... advice. We want your expertise-
[00:14:22] Stacy Havener: Right ...
[00:14:22] Emily Blue: us to do it better." We said, "No. There is not a single buyer we will take on as a client."
[00:14:28] Stacy Havener: Okay.
[00:14:29] Emily Blue: Because we left the buy side because our heart was with the entrepreneur.
[00:14:34] Stacy Havener: Ah.
[00:14:35] Emily Blue: And it would felt so disingenuous to take on any sort of engagement that was buy side in nature.
[00:14:43] And so our another big bet is we said, "Listen, we are only going to help the RIA that is looking to take it to the next level or solve succession or whatever it is- Okay ... they need a lawyer is our only client." And that is different, you know?
[00:14:58] Stacy Havener: That's- I was gonna say, 'cause that's [00:15:00] almost like the, the closest thing I can get my mind to is like when in real estate-
[00:15:04] Emily Blue: Correct
[00:15:04] Stacy Havener: the real estate agent works for the seller, even if they're being super nice to you- as the buyer.
[00:15:10] Emily Blue: Yeah.
[00:15:11] Stacy Havener: But then there are agents who work for the buyer and are compensated by the buyer in which you have alignment of interests that I am going to put your interests first and not the seller's interests, and so but that's very rare.
[00:15:24] Emily Blue: In our industry within, like, deal-making- Yeah ... we're, we're one of the only ones that say- Yeah ... it, we don't need, you know, buy side projects. We just want to laser in in doing the very best sell side transactions because when our clients come to us, we want to be able to look them in the eyes and say, "This is all we do.
[00:15:48] All we do is people just like you. We don't work with buyers. It's no muddied incentives or, you know, arrangements at play. No conflicts of interest." Like, we have built [00:16:00] Hue from brick by brick with the understanding of we don't want
[00:16:03] any conflict .
[00:16:04] Emily Blue: We don't ever want somebody to wonder if our advice is coming from a conflicted space.
[00:16:10] Stacy Havener: Yeah. So when you made the leap to start Hue, was there even a market for that? Like, how did you have faith that people would actually pay you to do this amazing work?
[00:16:22] Emily Blue: Yeah. Uh, you know what? It was so f- like, so I gotta be honest. Ryan was brave. Ryan, uh, when we decided to do this, he did something really genius.
[00:16:34] He actually took the leap before I did. Okay. And he took it so fast, and then called me and told me like, "I made the leap." And I had this moment, Stacy, where I was like, "Holy shit Am I gonna do it? Am I really gonna do... I reme- the, the best way to, like, picture it is every night I would go to bed leading up to, like, that big decision, and I would picture myself walking so slowly on a high-dive diving board- Mm-hmm
[00:16:59] and [00:17:00] my toes would curl the edge of the
[00:17:02] Stacy Havener: diving board. Oh my God, that's almost scarier than just jumping.
[00:17:04] Emily Blue: And I would just stand there.
[00:17:06] Stacy Havener: Ah.
[00:17:07] Emily Blue: Isn't that awful?
[00:17:08] Stacy Havener: Yeah, no, that's terrifying. And so then- That's worse than just jumping, isn't it?
[00:17:11] Emily Blue: It's worse. Yeah. And what was even worse about this, like, image in my head was Ryan was already in the pool being like, "Dude-
[00:17:19] Stacy Havener: Yeah
[00:17:19] Emily Blue: you gonna join?" Like, go. I know. Go.
[00:17:22] Stacy Havener: Do it. I
[00:17:22] Emily Blue: know.
[00:17:22] Stacy Havener: And then you walk back, and you walk forward. Yes. And it just makes it so much more terrifying. I agree with you.
[00:17:29] Emily Blue: Just go.
[00:17:30] Stacy Havener: Just go.
[00:17:31] Emily Blue: Just go. And so finally, I mean, I've, I, I, this whole stupid visual image. my husband was like, "Are you gonna do it?"
[00:17:40] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:17:41] Emily Blue: And I'm like, "Yes."
[00:17:42] And I just, you know?
[00:17:44] Stacy Havener: Yeah. You got to at some point. But here's the, here's the secret that- Yeah ... isn't so secret, but I think people don't realize when they're not entrepreneurs yet, is like no one actually really knows what the hell we're doing And I did a podcast [00:18:00] recording with my friend Manish Katta this morning, who is the, is the CEO of an asset management company, and he was saying there's no manual.
[00:18:09] Emily Blue: Yes.
[00:18:10] Stacy Havener: There is no manual on how to do it. And once you make the leap, you sort of, you land in the pool, and you look around, and you go, "Oh, so everyone's just trying to figure it out then?" And everyone's like-
[00:18:21] Emily Blue: Just-
[00:18:22] Stacy Havener: Yeah ... swim.
[00:18:23] Emily Blue: Yeah, just swim.
[00:18:23] Stacy Havener: Just swim. And, like, no one really... We're, we're all, we're all in the same pool.
[00:18:26] Emily Blue: Just swim, you know? Yeah. And that, that is what, is what, like, that connective tissue, right? Mm-hmm. So when people... My earliest clients are some of the ones that, like, I just- Mm ... it, I hold a special place in my heart, right? Oh, always. Because they look at what you're doing, and they have a million reasons
[00:18:47] Stacy Havener: to say, like, "
[00:18:48] Emily Blue: Hmm..."
[00:18:50] Because we didn't invent sell-side advice. We're not the only one out there, and there's, you know, there's these old, you know, old, long legacy- Yeah ... blue suit traditional investment banks that are throwing spread sheets at them, [00:19:00] and we're saying, "Don't do it that way. Do it different."
[00:19:02] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:19:03] Emily Blue: Uh, but those early clients, even clients today, when they hear that story, and they hear, you know, and they see...
[00:19:12] You know, we have, we have young kids and young families. They remember-
[00:19:17] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:19:17] Emily Blue: that same feeling. It, it doesn't matter how far away we get from when we launched, you never-
[00:19:25] Stacy Havener: No, you
[00:19:26] Emily Blue: never do ... forget that feeling. You never forget that feeling. And so when you come to the end of your transaction, you know, your-
[00:19:34] Stacy Havener: Mm-hmm
[00:19:34] Emily Blue: your, your, your big once in a lifetime moment where you're gonna go through an M&A event, you kinda come full circle. It's a really reflective state you go through before you, you know, say, "Yes, I'm gonna go explore what partnership could look like." You always kinda go back to the beginning. You go back to why did you start the firm?
[00:19:52] Hmm. Why did you make that jump? What were you looking to solve for when you started? What did you want to spend your time [00:20:00] doing, and are you doing that today? where's that rub, right? And so when they, when they come across Hue, it is so refreshing because we talk about it so genuinely and authentically.
[00:20:14] Every... All these other investment banks have founder story, but they want to appear different. They want to appear stuffy and like they got it all together, and the suits, you know? You know what I mean? Whereas that's just not reality of our, of our industry and-
[00:20:29] Stacy Havener: No ...
[00:20:30] Emily Blue: and wealth management is so personal anyways.
[00:20:32] It's relationship based. It's creating a space to be vulnerable, but a lot of those advisors don't have their own space to be vulnerable. So- Yeah ... when we can be that, like, that's where it has kind of created this momentum that has just fed
[00:20:48] Stacy Havener: I l- I- it's so interesting because look, the numbers being thrown around- Crazy
[00:20:54] in the world. That's crazy. Crazy. The multiples are nuts. And so I think there's a [00:21:00] perception... So two things. I think there's a perception that the numbers are the thing. Like, get the most money you possibly can in the deal, which lends itself then to these faceless suits that walk in with spreadsheets.
[00:21:14] Yeah. Um, and maybe for some people that's true. Maybe for some sellers that is true. Some a- advisors, that's all they care about. But those are not the people that are gonna be your clients.
[00:21:25] Emily Blue: Mm-mm.
[00:21:26] Stacy Havener: And, and I wonder, like, when you're talking to clients, what is that conversation like? I mean, obviously- Right
[00:21:34] people want to, have an exit that's meaningful. Yeah. But what are the other things that are driving them to
[00:21:42] Emily Blue: sell? Yeah. You know, for us it starts from a place first of it's not or. It's not, it's not- Hmm ... fluffy happiness, life after the deal, or a good outcome. It's starting from a space of saying, "If you want the best [00:22:00] outcome, the most maximized financial outcome, optimized for life after the deal, you have to unpack and solve for some of the emotional pieces.
[00:22:12] You can't last it all." You know? And so we start from that space, but when we, you know, get past that phase, it really is saying, "Okay, what, what is working well?" And a lot of the times, you know, when you, when you sit down with these clients, you know, they've built great businesses, but they're at an inflection point.
[00:22:32] Yeah. So maybe the, the technology or the platform or just the, the weight of just responsibility of running the RIA is very time-consuming, lots of pressure, the compliance dynamics are ever-changing on you. The... People didn't become an advisor because they loved HR. You know? No.
[00:22:53] Stacy Havener: Oh,
[00:22:53] Emily Blue: God. So hiring, recruiting, you know, building the team is a nightmare.
[00:22:58] Stacy Havener: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:59] Emily Blue: And [00:23:00] so that exists and those problems kind of create an opportunity to say like, "What if I can solve for that but it doesn't have to be me solving every problem?" And then you layer on our industry, the growth rates are pretty small. You know? Like- I know ... pretty small. And so if you can find a partner that says, "Listen, I'm gonna take off all the things that suck your joy-
[00:23:23] Stacy Havener: Yeah
[00:23:24] Emily Blue: and I'm gonna allow for you to focus on your team, to love on your clients, and oh by the way, I'm gonna help put some balls on your tee and you just go close those clients That is like music, you know, for the first time, you know, to a founder, right? Like, that is really interesting. So it doesn't really matter if you're looking to create a launchpad for growth in the future or if you're trying to solve for succession and create a landing pad.
[00:23:54] A lot of those problems are s- you know, very, very similar depending on, you know, what it is that you're looking to do. [00:24:00]
[00:24:00] Stacy Havener: So you have sellers who are saying, "Tell me how you're gonna help me grow"?
[00:24:04] Emily Blue: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes. And that is, that is the most interesting thing. When people think M&A-
[00:24:09] Stacy Havener: Mm-hmm ...
[00:24:11] Emily Blue: our industry, especially wealth management, is so, uh, stained by this old concept of, "I'm gonna do this till I die at my desk."
[00:24:21] You know? So people think M&A, you've gotta wait till you're, like, old And who d- what is old, you know? Yeah. A- and nobody looks at themselves and says, "I'm old." Even old people don't say, "I'm old." No,
[00:24:32] Stacy Havener: yeah, true.
[00:24:33] Emily Blue: You know? So it's very confusing. And so, yeah, there's a lot of... You know, especially our clients tend to be far younger than average.
[00:24:44] Oh,
[00:24:44] Stacy Havener: that's interesting.
[00:24:45] Emily Blue: And they say, "Listen, I'm ready to go grow. I love closing business. I wanna build a niche. I wanna build a name for myself. I just need the support and the resources, and somebody to come [00:25:00] alongside me and help me execute these marketing ideas or growth plans." And so our clients tend to be the unicorn, right?
[00:25:07] Like the one- Wow ... that you look at and be like, "Why are you selling? 'Cause you're so young." But it's not they're exiting. They're going and saying, "I could grow faster and have more fun by not having the weight of hitting these constant inflection points of, like, having to break it to rebuild to kinda go to the next level."
[00:25:27] Stacy Havener: I love the idea of it's not an exit, but an entrance into the next chapter. I think that is so good, and, and is not what you'd think, right? You'd think that this is like, "I've done the game. I've built the business. I'm done. I'm over. I want out." And what you're saying is, no, they want in, but they just want in that- A different in
[00:25:54] in a different, yeah, a different chapter. Yeah. And they wanna grow, but they realize that they don't wanna do all the, [00:26:00] the bits-
[00:26:01] Emily Blue: Yes ...
[00:26:01] Stacy Havener: that, that you need to
[00:26:02] Emily Blue: do. And the biggest, the biggest pain point that firms, like, will experience is firms that are growing, they actually have, like, the biggest issue, right?
[00:26:11] Because they have this, like, constant concept of saying, "Well, I'm growing, so I'm gonna grow again next year, and I'll lift my head up maybe or reconsider it. But, like, why would I sell now, 'cause I'm growing?" But if you- Oh, what do you
[00:26:28] Stacy Havener: say to that? ...
[00:26:28] Emily Blue: wait till you stop-
[00:26:29] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:26:29] Emily Blue: growing-
[00:26:30] Stacy Havener: I know, that's funny.
[00:26:32] Emily Blue: If you wait till the growth is behind you, you have waited too long, right?
[00:26:37] Stacy Havener: That's so good.
[00:26:39] Emily Blue: And so if you, if you go and explore, j- even if it's just from a state of, "I want to diligence and understand my options," you are going to maximize your outcome naturally, right? If you wait to sell until you have to sell, well, you're kind of in a corner, you know? So that is, that is one of the things I cannot underline enough, [00:27:00] is like don't wait until, you know, the growth is behind you or you've realized all these opportunities and your pipeline has been executed on.
[00:27:07] Having a pipeline and the growth ahead of you is actually really exciting to a partner. They wanna come and say, like, "Let's go do this together. Let me help you."
[00:27:17] Stacy Havener: Fascinating Uh, at some point I wanna, I wanna ask you about the asset management industry, but I'm gonna s- pause. I'm gonna hold that back for a second.
[00:27:28] So you and I had a conversation when, we were talking about this. And by the way, I want to say, like, I have recommended Emily and Ryan and Hugh to advisor friends of mine, and the feedback from those friends is like, "Wow, they are amazing." So I am friends with Emily. And I want you to know, like, I have feedback from people who have worked with her that she and Ryan are fantastic.
[00:27:53] Um, so thank you for taking such good care of, of my friends. And
[00:27:56] Emily Blue: thank you for introducing me to some fun people.
[00:27:58] Stacy Havener: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:00] Okay, but so we had this conversation in context, of some friends and, and you had said to me, it's interesting that, and I get this by the way, I think there's a perception when there's so much money sloshing around that like, why would I need- a seller's agent to represent me in the deal? Why couldn't I just represent myself and just go in and, you know, have all those suits lined up and the spreadsheets and stuff, and make my own decision? And I just want you to share with the audience, like, what you, what you shared with me, your feedback to that.
[00:28:31] Emily Blue: And, uh, the number of times I have, uh, you know, an RIA say, "Well, you know, I could just pick up the phone."
[00:28:37] Stacy Havener: Yeah. "
[00:28:38] Emily Blue: And I could call that RIA down the street, and I'd have an offer in my inbox next week," right? That is
[00:28:45] true, right?
[00:28:47] Emily Blue: Like, it is true that, you know, these buyers would love to have a conversation with you as a, you know, as a potential seller.
[00:28:57] Right. You [00:29:00] are an off-market pocket listing, no matter- I don't
[00:29:02] Stacy Havener: know what, what do you mean?
[00:29:03] Emily Blue: Like, because you are unrepresented.
[00:29:07] Stacy Havener: Uh-huh.
[00:29:08] Emily Blue: It is, you are having these conversations in a uncompetitive, unadvised-
[00:29:14] Stacy Havener: Mm ... way
[00:29:16] Emily Blue: That, you know, of course a buyer is gonna wanna say, "Here, here's what it would look like to partner with us."
[00:29:22] But you don't know, you don't know what you don't know, and that is the- Right ... number one thing that I hear. I-- One of my dearest friends to this day was actually, uh, somebody I sat across the table from, and he did a transaction for sale by owner. So he did not have representation. And when I launched Q, he called me the day he saw it, and he goes, "EB, what the hell?"
[00:29:49] And I laughed, and he goes, "I didn't even know something like this existed. You know? Like, we're like a, you're like a realtor for, for people like me that have one firm." And I'm [00:30:00] like, "Yeah, kind of," you know? Uh, and he goes, "Man, I tell my clients all the time, 'You can spend a little bit for my advice to save you and make you a lot.'"
[00:30:12] And that's what you do, Emily." And I'm like, "That is so true." Can you sell your firm by yourself? Yes. I will never tell you you can't Just because you can doesn't mean you should. You said, and you even said, like, the, the price difference is pretty significant. Yeah. Of course. You know, like, think, just... I always go pull it back to, like, the real estate
[00:30:39] example ,
[00:30:40] Emily Blue: right?
[00:30:40] Yeah.
[00:30:40] Stacy Havener: Like,
[00:30:41] Emily Blue: some- 'cause sometimes when you're in it and you're talking about your business, it's too emotional, right? It's too emotional of a concept 'cause you're, you're in it. So pull yourself out and just pull... Like, let's just look at real estate.
[00:30:51] Stacy Havener: Mm-hmm.
[00:30:52] Emily Blue: Somebody just walked up and knocked on your door and made you an offer to buy your house.
[00:30:58] What would you feel? [00:31:00] You would first be like, "Dude, why? Who are you?"
[00:31:03] Stacy Havener: Yeah, so yeah, you'd be like, "This is insane."
[00:31:05] Emily Blue: Right? Okay. So, like, that's crazy. So say, say the person knocked on your door and wanted to have a conversation first, and you really s- you liked the guy, right? And then he makes you an offer. You still are like, it's better than the first example, right?
[00:31:21] Stacy Havener: Yes. Yeah.
[00:31:21] Emily Blue: Like, he's just like, "Here's an offer," right? However, you're still gonna have the same questions. You're still gonna say, "Well, is that the right... Is that the right deal? Is this the right time?" You know, like, you... There's lots of things. But you can choose to say, "Sure, I'll sell it," you know, and, and go down that path.
[00:31:43] But unlike real estate, our industry is so niche, and there's s- there's such a journey between even the offer and getting to close, navigating diligence, navigating the legal battles between your counsel and their counsel [00:32:00] and, you know, like, it's conflict, and it feels like deep conflict to somebody who's doing it for the first time.
[00:32:07] But people that do deals all the time, these are
[00:32:09] just everyday conversations.
[00:32:11] Stacy Havener: right.
[00:32:12] Emily Blue: No, I know- And many of the things that people are like, "Oh my gosh, this is just... This is a conflict It's, it's not, you know? So, but it's their first time, and so you don't know what you don't know, and- That's
[00:32:23] Stacy Havener: right ...
[00:32:23] Emily Blue: if you wouldn't sell your house without a real estate agent, why in the world would you sell your life's work and think that you can do it better than a buyer who is well-capitalized with, you know, great resource, private equity, great advisory boards, investment committee, full-blown finance teams that are diligent-ing and thoughtfully putting together structures?
[00:32:48] that's where it starts to break down. Yes, you can do it by yourself. Should you? You tell me. You know? Yeah. I mean, that- You tell me ... that is a really great [00:33:00] exercise, and like not even knowing what questions to ask. Yes, or what's market and what's not market.
[00:33:05] Yeah. Or, you know, things that are going and y- things happen pretty fast, like momentum will build, and you sometimes get so laser-focused in making sure you don't mess up, say, the purchase agreement, that you have completely lost sight of how employees map, and compensation, and y- incentives, and all of, all of those pieces that after the deal, or as you near the end of the deal, will surface and explo- You know?
[00:33:35] Like, that those will come, right? And I, I think sometimes when you're an advisor because as... Or in my industry, the, the
[00:33:44] wealth management.
[00:33:46] Emily Blue: yeah. But when you're an advisor, you deal with financial planning, you deal with financial decisions. You are the emotional steadiness for your clients, so sometimes you feel that you should be immune- [00:34:00]
[00:34:00] Stacy Havener: Oh
[00:34:00] Emily Blue: to the psychology of money, money principles that play out time and time again.
[00:34:05] Stacy Havener: Fascinating. Okay, so I have to ask this because, look, you specialize in the wealth space.
[00:34:13] Emily Blue: Yeah.
[00:34:13] Stacy Havener: Hence the conversation. But certainly there are lots of businesses who sell or buy outside of that space. And so obviously we're, on my side, we have a couple wealth management clients that we do comms, and narrative, and, and sales and marketing work for.
[00:34:32] But most of my life has been spent in the asset management side, and one of the things I've been seeing more often that's a bit of a heartbreak is that there really is no succession path for a founder-led boutique And so what I see, the heartbreak part, is you have these firms, and we've had it happen to clients of ours where, you know, they, they've [00:35:00] been very successful.
[00:35:00] They've built a great business, and then they sit there and look around and go, "I don't know," like, "I've been the person," much like an advisor. Like-
[00:35:09] Emily Blue: Yeah ... "
[00:35:09] Stacy Havener: It's kind of me. I don't know where to go. I'm just gonna shut down." Just shut down. Mm-hmm. Closing the doors and returning all the money.
[00:35:18] Emily Blue: What? Yeah. Yeah. You know, pivoting us over to- asset management your world for a minute. It is fascinating how asset management has transformed over the decade.
[00:35:32] Stacy Havener: Mm.
[00:35:33] Emily Blue: You know? It, what asset management was 10 years ago and how distribution worked-
[00:35:40] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:35:41] Emily Blue: how funds were being raised and how they are being raised today, that is fascinating, right? And so you have to kind of start with where is the as- like, where is the industry in asset management?
[00:35:53] And it is, it is puzzling, right? And there are-
[00:35:56] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:35:57] Emily Blue: uh, hot sectors, right? So [00:36:00] like everybody wants to talk alts and private funds and, you know, that side of the space. Uh, and then what used to be, you know, the traditional asset management, which had a very meaningful place at the table, is sitting there going, "Wait a second," like, things have shifted so quickly," you know?
[00:36:22] Um, and so when you don't think about, where you're at today and where the industry is moving-
[00:36:30] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:36:30] Emily Blue: the industry can move sometimes out from under you and at a faster clip, which has caused, you know, some of these people like you're talking about that have built great businesses, that have wonderful strategies-
[00:36:44] Stacy Havener: Right
[00:36:45] Emily Blue: to go I don't know if anybody will wanna partner with me. And instead of taking the chance- Yeah ... of saying, "Let's see if we can find a partner."
[00:36:55] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:36:55] Emily Blue: They are so scared of rejection or [00:37:00] market feedback on their business that they would rather choose the route that you're taking.
[00:37:07] Stacy Havener: Yeah, and, and I think it also goes to something you said before, which is they waited too long.
[00:37:12] Emily Blue: Yes.
[00:37:13] Stacy Havener: So you waited until you're kind of annoyed with the whole situation, and you've made great money, and so you don't really need to sell. And so you're like, "I'm just-- I don't want the headache anymore." So-
[00:37:26] asset management's a
[00:37:28] Emily Blue: great example of the growth conundrum, right? They didn't wanna entertain partnership when growth was super strong.
[00:37:37] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:37:38] Emily Blue: Growth slowed. Maybe they're experiencing some outflow. Yeah. People were active or passive or some of these dynamics that are all in play, uh, and then they've waited too long. And the, the layer above asset management, which is crazy, is what
[00:37:56] feeds
[00:37:56] Emily Blue: the asset managers from a flow and client base [00:38:00] is those RIAs.
[00:38:02] And trying to predict what is gonna go on in the RIAs is wild, right? So, uh, a, a distribution wholesaler had an asset manager that was chasing this great gem of a firm, and this close to getting yes at investment committee, they just announced they're selling.
[00:38:20] Stacy Havener: Yeah. Ugh.
[00:38:21] Emily Blue: So then they start back at zero of trying to build the relationship with that firm's, you know, acquirer.
[00:38:27] And it's just the trends that are going on in asset management from the sales lens, uh, I, I commend, you know, all the wholesalers out there trying to- Oh, man. It's so hard ... navigate and try and predict because the asset management space is trying to, you know, follow what's going on in wealth, and it is the hottest, most acquisitive industry in all of M&A.
[00:38:54] I know. And so is asset management like the least interesting, exciting part of [00:39:00] managing? You know what? It's so funny. Um, the answer is like, it depends, right? Like the asset manager that has built something special, that has a good story-
[00:39:13] Stacy Havener: Yeah ...
[00:39:13] Emily Blue: and is grounded in really strong principles. You know, there's a lot of wealth management firms that want to go ultra high net worth.
[00:39:24] They wanna go upstream. Oh, that's
[00:39:25] Stacy Havener: interesting.
[00:39:26] Emily Blue: But their investment team has some big holes, right? So maybe they don't have the investment team that can diligence these in, you know, direct investments or maybe they, the RIA has aspirations to build some, you know, private funds for clients to make it easier to get access to it.
[00:39:47] So there is actually this really interesting trend that's going on right now- Uh-huh ... where wealth managers are now looking to the asset managers and saying, " This is a talent strategy," [00:40:00] just like, you know, the wealth management, you know, is a talent strategy of acquire an RIA, get great talent. Asset management can solve a huge gap- Wow
[00:40:11] management firms. So we're at this really special, inflection point in our industry where asset management firms and wealth management firms are starting to look together and say-
[00:40:23] Stacy Havener: What could we do together? You know, now that you say that, we have a client that underwent that exact transaction type that you just described.
[00:40:30] It was a- Yeah ... private equity-backed multifamily office that acquired a boutique asset management firm, and I did not even think until you said that, like, oh yeah, that, that is happening. The other thing I think that's so interesting, and I wonder if this is the same dynamic in wealth, is that you really have this bifurcation by of size.
[00:40:52] Emily Blue: Mm-hmm.
[00:40:52] Stacy Havener: Where you have the very, very large firms in asset management, and then you have the really, really specialized [00:41:00] boutiques, and they're both sort of doing fine and growing. the bigs are probably getting bigger, but the, but the specialists are still growing.
[00:41:09] Emily Blue: The messy middle.
[00:41:11] Stacy Havener: Then you have the middle.
[00:41:12] Is it the same in wealth?
[00:41:14] Emily Blue: Yes. It's fascinating. This, this middle is, ah. My heart goes to the middle.
[00:41:20] Stacy Havener: Yeah. I mean, they're stuck 'cause they don't even know who they're, they don't know... Their narrative is broken. They don't know who they are. who do they identify as? What... I mean.
[00:41:29] Emily Blue: The number of messy middles in wealth is enormous, right?
[00:41:35] So they, they were really successful. They have a really great team. They may have a really great system, you know? And then they go I'm gonna go compete against the bigs. Let's go, let's be an acquirer ourself. Yeah. Let's go, let's go get some capital. Okay. Okay. Well, that sounds great, but without the right story, without the right offering, [00:42:00] at the end of the day, they are still competing against these big players that have robust offerings across all areas of the business, and the messy middle really struggle with their story.
[00:42:14] They had a really strong, succinct message when they were small, and they had success, and they grew, grew, grew, grew, grew. They get to this middle point. They're allergic to partnering.
[00:42:27] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:42:28] Emily Blue: Because they've told this story that they're fiercely independent, and there's no private equity backing them and all of this, and they're so anxious about changing their story.
[00:42:41] So they sit just like in asset management in the messy middle.
[00:42:46] Stacy Havener: Yeah, and they're like, they're, they're sort of rudderless. Yes.
[00:42:50] Emily Blue: Yes.
[00:42:51] Stacy Havener: And, and so
[00:42:52] Emily Blue: to your- The law of large numbers is tough. It's harder to grow at that clip.
[00:42:55] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:42:56] Emily Blue: When you're small, you can grow and hit these great banner, you [00:43:00] know, growth stats, but the law of large numbers, no one's immune to it.
[00:43:05] Stacy Havener: Right. So what advice do you have if, someone, it- whether you're wealth or you're in asset management, no matter which sort of segment you're in What's the advice if you find yourself, like you're watching all the acquisitions happening. Yeah. I can imagine if you're an advisor, if you're on the wealth side, you're probably like, "Gosh, this is just like nuts."
[00:43:25] I mean, the asset manager over there are like, "No one gives a shit about us. We're just like the sad maraca in the corner."
[00:43:31] but if
[00:43:31] Stacy Havener: You're in that, you know... What is the advice? How-- What's the questions that they should sort of think about as they go for a walk on the beach or wherever?
[00:43:41] Emily Blue: Yeah.
[00:43:42] Stacy Havener: Um, what should they be thinking about in terms of not waiting too long? Like not waiting so long that you get to the point that you're like, "I missed. I either missed the opportunity or I've waited too long and I'm just pissed off and I don't wanna do this anymore."
[00:43:55] Emily Blue: Or you have team members that are sitting-
[00:43:58] inside of these firms in the [00:44:00] messy middle that are like-
[00:44:01] Stacy Havener: I'm out ... "
[00:44:02] Emily Blue: I'm out."
[00:44:03] Stacy Havener: Oh, no.
[00:44:04] Emily Blue: Yeah. Incentives aren't aligned. Oh, no.
[00:44:07] Stacy Havener: Growth
[00:44:07] Emily Blue: is slowing. There's no path for me here. You know, like that is true. Like that truly exists. So the, the thing on those walks, it's like go to the basics. What is your story today?
[00:44:21] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:44:21] Emily Blue: And how has it evolved? And what are you
[00:44:24] afraid of?
[00:44:25] Stacy Havener: hmm.
[00:44:26] Emily Blue: You know, like what is your biggest fear today in the business? And what are you doing to tackle it head-on?
[00:44:32] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:44:32] Emily Blue: If you are so scared about going through a process uh, you know, an M&A process because you don't want some clients or to be out there that
[00:44:41] Stacy Havener: I
[00:44:41] Emily Blue: had the-
[00:44:42] Stacy Havener: Oh, I didn't even think about that
[00:44:43] Emily Blue: I had somebody say this, you know, "The world is small and I don't want anybody to know that I'm for sale 'cause I'm not for sale. I, I got- ... going. I don't need to do this." And we're like, "Yeah, you don't. You're good. You, you're good." But it, it is in your [00:45:00] best interest to lift your head up and understand what partnership could look like and see if you
[00:45:03] connect with anyone.
[00:45:05] Emily Blue: And if you treat it as a diligence exercise versus a sales exercise, asset management or wealth, like we're gonna diligence this, and we are gonna understand what our strategic options are for our firm. You are either going to double down and be more focused-
[00:45:21] Stacy Havener: Yes ...
[00:45:22] on that
[00:45:23] Emily Blue: strong, messy middle player, you know, and you're gonna get out of the messy and just- Yeah
[00:45:27] own being in the middle. Yeah. Or you're gonna say, "Listen, I can grow better. My team's gonna be happier. My clients are gonna have more if
[00:45:36] I partner ."
[00:45:36] Emily Blue: But it's, it's a lot of the times if you on those walks, it's, it's a lot of fear-based
[00:45:41] is what holds -
[00:45:42] Stacy Havener: Yeah Well, I, the idea of it getting out
[00:45:47] Emily Blue: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[00:45:48] But you know, the funny thing is, is our industry is so into the, M&A arena, it is so confidential.
[00:45:57] Stacy Havener: Yeah.
[00:45:58] Emily Blue: You know, it, it really is. [00:46:00] Like, the, the headlines that get leaked of, "Ooh, this firm is, you know, in talks with this person to be sold," odds are, come on, they wanted that planted. They wanted to start- Yeah
[00:46:11] driving up some buzz. You know, the 99% of acquisitions that are occurring don't get announced until post, you know, transaction. But people see those, you know, the 1% where it was kinda that seed planted to kinda drum up some pre-market excitement, and they get freaked.
[00:46:33] Stacy Havener: Okay.
[00:46:33] Emily Blue: They go, "Oh man, I don't want people knowing in my community I'm for sale or something's wrong with the business."
[00:46:39] Stacy Havener: Yeah. I think it's very interesting. This has been fascinating. I feel like this has just been like, where's the popcorn and let's talk about- ... the whole landscape of what's happening in M&A, whether it's wealth or asset management. And now I look and I'm like, shoot, I don't even have time for my, like, fast questions with you.
[00:46:55] So I'm gonna go wicked fast. Yes.
[00:46:57] Emily Blue: Really
[00:46:57] Stacy Havener: fast. Wicked. Wicked, to use a New England term [00:47:00] Are you ready?
[00:47:01] Emily Blue: Ready.
[00:47:02] Stacy Havener: Okay. What book inspires you?
[00:47:05] Emily Blue: Oh, Courage Is Calling is what I read when I launched Hue. Right when I was getting ready to launch, Courage Is Calling.
[00:47:12] Stacy Havener: Who is that by?
[00:47:14] Emily Blue: Oh my gosh. I can picture his face.
[00:47:17] Why am I drawing a blank on the name of the author?
[00:47:19] Stacy Havener: That's okay. Don't worry. Yeah. We'll look it up.
[00:47:21] Emily Blue: We're going wicked fast, Stacy.
[00:47:22] Stacy Havener: We're going wicked fast. My s- uh, thank you. What place inspires you?
[00:47:27] Emily Blue: Oh, anything in the mountains.
[00:47:30] Stacy Havener: Oh, I love
[00:47:30] Emily Blue: that. Anything. But Greece, there's nothing like Greece.
[00:47:33] Stacy Havener: Really?
[00:47:34] Emily Blue: Love Greece.
[00:47:35] The food, the air, the, you know, the blue. The sea. Yeah.
[00:47:40] Stacy Havener: Okay, I love that. Okay. If you walked out, so we're at a stadium.
[00:47:46] Emily Blue: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:46] Stacy Havener: You're taking the stage. you're gonna speak to thousands of fans who wanna know all the ins and outs of what's happening in the industry, just like we did today. What's your walkout anthem?
[00:47:57] Emily Blue: My last name's Blue, so I should say I'm [00:48:00] Blue, da ba dee, da ba
[00:48:01] Stacy Havener: die. Yeah, yeah,
[00:48:02] Emily Blue: yeah. But Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys.
[00:48:03] Stacy Havener: Oh, such a good one. Never been said also. Great. Oh, well this is gonna be interesting. What profession other than your own would you like to
[00:48:12] Emily Blue: attempt? Oh, this is embarrassing. Do you ever go to like a yoga class or a Starbucks and look at the teacher or the barista and it's like, that is just...
[00:48:21] I would kill to write little love notes on a coffee cup.
[00:48:25] Stacy Havener: Yes.
[00:48:26] Emily Blue: I don't know why every time I go to a coffee shop I can't stop staring at the barista and have like deep envy for just being able to write notes on a cup.
[00:48:33] Stacy Havener: Yeah. That is so good. I have that sometimes when I watch people who do like house projects, like they paint or they do something.
[00:48:40] Yeah. And then you just like, you started and it was this, and it ended and it's gorgeous, and the transformation took-
[00:48:47] Emily Blue: 10 minutes. Yeah.
[00:48:48] Stacy Havener: Yeah. And then you just walk, you step back and go, "And there you go. Doesn't that look amazing?" And the person goes, "It does." And you're like, "Bye."
[00:48:59] Emily Blue: Next
[00:48:59] Stacy Havener: one. Okay. [00:49:00] Sorry. We're going fast. Okay, what profession would you not like to do?
[00:49:03] Emily Blue: Oh, clearly anything in medicine. No dissecting things for me.
[00:49:07] Stacy Havener: All right, yes,
[00:49:08] agreed
[00:49:09] Stacy Havener: last but not least, and this is a long ways away, what do you want people to say about you after you've retired or left the business?
[00:49:19] Emily Blue: She was so authentic and had a ton of fun.
[00:49:22] Stacy Havener: Hmm. I love that. And do you know what I'm gonna add? I think they're saying that now, and I would add, and this is what I was gonna say a moment ago, that you care. Aw. And I think that is hard to fake, and it's probably why you started out wanting to be a nurse in the first place.
[00:49:41] And so even though you're not in a hospital room with a patient, and we're not gonna call our financial advisors patients, but like you are by their side holding their hand on this journey, and every single one of your clients is so lucky to have you. Oh, that is [00:50:00] seriously how I feel about
[00:50:00] Emily Blue: you. I think the work you do helping people tell better stories, it gives people confidence to go into the room and to be their best self.
[00:50:10] Yeah. So I, I think that about you. I, I truly do. Well,
[00:50:13] Stacy Havener: and that's why we're friends. Your work
[00:50:14] Emily Blue: is I know.
[00:50:15] Stacy Havener: That's why we're friends. Now, if people wanna follow along on, on your journey or get in touch with you, what's the best way for them to do that?
[00:50:22] Emily Blue: So totally recommend following on LinkedIn, Emily Blue.
[00:50:25] Yes. Uh, and/or visiting qpartners.com.
[00:50:29] Stacy Havener: Thank you for being here. Thanks. You are a gift.
[00:50:32] Emily Blue: Such a fun conversation.
[00:50:33] Stacy Havener: It really was. Thank you.
[00:50:36] Emily Blue: Thanks.
[00:50:37] This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. The information is not an offer, solicitation, or recommendation of any of the funds, services, or products, or to adopt any investment strategy. Investment values may fluctuate and past performance is not a guide to future performance.
[00:50:56] All opinions expressed by guests on the show are solely their own [00:51:00] opinion and do not necessarily reflect those at their firm. Managers' appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement by Stacy Havener or Havener Capital Partners
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