Ben Anderson didn't set out to build a community venue. He set out to buy a house near the seacoast and do more of the work he'd been doing his entire career — connecting people through music and live events. The Word Barn, located in Exeter, New Hampshire, happened almost by accident: a band needed a place to play, all the other venues were booked, and the energy that night made it clear something real was possible in a small, intimate space.

Thirteen years later, The Word Barn hosts over 115 events a year — concerts, poetry readings, theater camp, owl encounters, farm-to-table dinners, and more. It's become one of the most beloved gathering spaces on the seacoast, and the way it got there is a story worth paying attention to.

Ben joins Wheeler and Colin to talk about the organic, non-linear path from idea to full-time business, why slow growth often produces more durable results than a fast launch, what the difference between a scene and a community actually means in practice, and how a venue built around the arts quietly turned into a model for intentional entrepreneurship. Cofi Advisors is a proud sponsor of The Word Barn.

Check out the Word Barn here: https://www.thewordbarn.com/

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Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

Most people spend more time comparing cars than they do evaluating their financial advisor. Wheeler and Colin dig into one of the most important — and most avoided — conversations in personal finance: how to know when the advisory relationship you're in isn't working, what it actually costs you to stay, and what to look for when you're ready to make a move.

They cover the difference between a fiduciary and a non-fiduciary advisor, how fee structures affect incentives, the real questions to ask when shopping for someone new, and the green flags that signal a genuinely good fit. They also make the case that switching advisors isn't disloyalty — it's financial self-advocacy. And yes, there's a fireplace analogy.

Whether you're actively unhappy with your current advisor, quietly unsure, or just starting out and trying to get it right the first time, this episode gives you the framework to evaluate the relationship honestly — and the language to act on it.

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• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compoundgrowthpod
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• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

March was a rough month for markets — and it came with a lot of noise. Tariffs, geopolitical tension, and a sharp sell-off in tech had a lot of investors watching their portfolios and wondering what to do.

In this episode, Wheeler and Colin walk through exactly what happened in March 2026: where markets landed, which sectors got hit hardest, and why the headlines you were reading probably weren't the real story. They dig into the relationship between AI infrastructure spending and the tech correction, what historical parallels actually tell us about moments like this, and why permanent loss of capital looks nothing like a market drawdown.

They also make the case for something that's harder than it sounds: not logging in.

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• Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

Most people want to talk about investing. Stock picks, portfolio allocation, whether they're positioned right. Those are real questions — but they're the wrong starting point if the foundation underneath isn't solid.

In this episode, Wheeler and Colin go back to basics: knowing what you actually spend, building reserves that can absorb the unexpected, and protecting your income against the things you're least likely to plan for. The conversation is anchored around three questions every household should be able to answer — what happens if you lose your job, what happens if you lose your health, and what happens if you lose your life. Most people can't answer even one of them.

They cover why thinking in categories misleads you when it comes to spending, why the emergency reserve math changes in an AI economy where high-earning white-collar jobs are increasingly at risk, and why disability insurance is the most underused protection in personal finance. The stats are sobering: a 24% chance of becoming disabled before retirement age versus a 13% chance of dying early. Two real client stories show what happens when the coverage is in place — and what it makes possible.

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• Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

The economy looks fine on paper. But if you're young and trying to build a life in America right now, it doesn't feel that way. Bryce Gill, economist at First Trust, joins Wheeler and Colin to explain why both things are true at the same time.

Bryce breaks down the structural forces quietly reshaping who gets ahead in this economy and who gets left behind. The conversation covers the widening gap between asset owners and everyone else, why the wealth divide is less about capital versus labor and more about age, how AI is actually changing the labor market versus how it's being talked about, and why the economy has become more dependent on the psychology of financial markets than most people realize.

They also get into what's really happening in private credit, why the median age of a first-time homebuyer is now 40, and what the federal budget actually tells us about where resources are flowing in this country. Bryce closes with something most economists won't say out loud: the biggest threat to the United States isn't geopolitical. It's internal division.

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• Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

Have you ever looked at a job offer and felt overwhelmed by the alphabet soup of RSUs, ESPPs, and vesting schedules? In this episode of Compound Growth, Colin and Wheeler break down the complex world of equity compensation — moving beyond the raw numbers to explore how these benefits actually impact your long-term financial freedom.

Using real-world examples from Google and Amazon, they pull back the curtain on how golden handcuffs are designed and how you can negotiate a package that aligns with your life goals. They dive into the mechanics of RSUs and the crucial differences between front-loaded and back-loaded vesting schedules — because understanding that timeline is the difference between building real wealth and leaving money on the table when your career path changes.

They also get into the psychological side of equity: how to avoid the trap of mentally spending deferred compensation before it vests, and why diversification matters so much when your company also pays your mortgage.

Whether you're an L9 software engineer or just starting to see stock options in your benefits package, this episode gives you a grounded framework for making intentional decisions — and a reminder that your job offer is an investment decision, not just a paycheck.

Follow Us:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compoundgrowthpod
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompoundGrowthPodcast
• TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@compoundgrowthpod
• Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

The way we build wealth is shifting — and the speed of that shift is unlike anything we've seen before. In this episode, Colin and Wheeler tackle the idea that we may be living through the last great window of traditional wealth-building, and what that actually means for the average person.

They draw a direct line between today's AI and robotics boom and the original Gilded Age, when Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan owned everything, and the gap between the haves and have-nots felt permanent. Tesla shutting down its most expensive car lines to build humanoid robots, xAI's expanding footprint, and the rapid displacement of white-collar work are all signals that the rules of wealth creation are being rewritten in real time.

The conversation moves from the macro to the personal: why ownership of assets, not income, is becoming the true dividing line, how Trump Accounts represent a government attempt to buy more Americans into the capitalist system, and what Finland's universal basic income experiment actually revealed about human behavior. Colin and Wheeler also confront the psychological side of displacement and what happens to identity, ambition, and purpose when work is no longer a given.

The conclusion isn't doom. It's a clear-eyed look at how disruption creates chaos and opportunity at the same time, and why the people who stay flexible, own assets, and invest in what's real will be the ones who come out ahead.

Follow Us:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compoundgrowthpod
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompoundGrowthPodcast
• TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@compoundgrowthpod
• Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell

February's markets told a story of contradictions. US stocks sat mostly flat while energy names surged 30%, Nvidia posted 73% year-over-year growth and still couldn't please the market, and software stocks got crushed on AI fears. Wheeler and Colin unpack why — and whether the selling is justified.

They also dig into Blue Owl and the private credit unraveling that Jamie Dimon warned about, the reality of AI's data ceiling and whether AGI is closer or further than we think, and close with a candid conversation about James Van Der Beek's passing — and the financial planning lessons it quietly raises about life insurance, estate planning, and what actually protects a family.

Follow Us:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/compoundgrowthpod
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompoundGrowthPodcast
• TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@compoundgrowthpod
• Wheeler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheeler-crowley-0a63933b/
• Colin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-walker-mba-6099a038/

Credits:
Created By: Wheeler Crowley and Colin Walker
Production, Editing and Post-Production: Tori Rothwell