More Than Numbers: Trust, Diversity, and Representation in Finance

On this episode of The Money Script Podcast, Yohance Harrison talks with Dana Wilson, founder and CEO of CHIP, about building a career in financial services while often being the only person in the room. Dana shares her journey from SunTrust banking to Wall Street, why representation in wealth management still matters, and how CHIP helps people connect with trusted financial professionals. They also talk about financial literacy, kids learning math through money, AI in financial services, and the personal money lessons that shape how we lead, save, build wealth, and serve our communities.

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Yohance: Live. So, Dana, we have a little bit more in common than I originally expected when we got on this call, because.

Dana: All right, well, tell me.

Yohance: I had to play Dr. Seuss, so.

Dana: HBCU grad, a thousand percent. Go Eagles. There's always something I have to represent. Okay, man, I should have had the mug out. I have a different mug, but normally I have that mug out in the morning. Okay, now you're going to have to make me go run to the kitchen.

Yohance: And I'm also from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dana: Nice, Nice.

Yohance: So I, I spent a little bit of time on Central's campus because I went to North Carolina A and T for a little while. So I was.

Dana: And then, and then she runs out in her conversation over. There's nothing else for us to talk about.

Yohance: Come on.

Dana: There's. I, I, I mean, what, like, but,

Yohance: but, but I, but I ended up somewhere else, though. You know, I was.

Dana: Okay. You made. We had some bumps.

Yohance: We had, we had some bumps. We had some bumps.

Dana: But you, you got it together.

Yohance: But no, my intention, My heart was in the right place. Apparently, I, I physically was in the wrong place.

Dana: We'll take that. No, it's all love. I love, I love the just inner rivals that we can have between our HBCU family and then still have the unit that is the HBCU family Collective.

Yohance: Can we please bring the CIAA tournament back to Charlotte?

Dana: I'm. I'm ready. I, I'm trying to think of the last time I went. It's probably been a few years, but it would be nice to. Yeah. To bring it back, to have, like, all of that in its full force. And I think, yes, this is a great time for it. So whoever's in charge, if you're watching, make it happen. That's all we.

Yohance: Make it happen.

Dana: Just.

Yohance: We'll be there. Make it happen.

Dana: Make it happen.

Yohance: If you're worried about attendance, we will be. Right.

Dana: There's. There's going to be a collective alumni that is going to show us. Okay.

Yohance: Indeed. Indeed. So, Dana, I appreciate you taking some time with us on the Money Script podcast. And as I was learning about your journey through financial services, a lot of it sounded very familiar, especially the parts about feeling like sometimes we are on an island. I began in 2001. You began in, I think, 2011. 2010. 2011.

Dana: Some of that range, I would say it was about. That was. It was earlier than that. So I started when I graduated from college, 2006. So I started.

Yohance: Oh, so you did the whole. So you did experience that recession yeah, it's been my.

Dana: Yeah, it's been my entire career. I think it was more so when I moved into wealth management. I felt it more during probably 2011 range is when I really felt that island. But as far as being in the industry, I went. I would. Yeah. May 2006, graduated college, which is crazy because now we're in our 20th year and that doesn't even sound right out loud saying that. But yeah, two weeks after graduation, I was in banking, so.

Yohance: Oh, okay.

Dana: I gotta. Got that. Got that job locked.

Yohance: Wait, which. Which bank?

Dana: I was at SunTrust. Yeah, I started at SunTrust, which is now. Yeah, truest. But that is where. Yeah. What you do with the bank, really everything. I mean, I did everything under the sun. I was. Came in as a. More of a load officer. But then. Because you were at a small branch, I worked at the branch that used to be on Franklin street in Chapel Hill. I don't think it's even there anymore as a branch at all. I don't know what it is now. But yeah, there used to be a SunTrust branch on Franklin street and we were a small team. So, you know, when people were moving around, I was also on the teller line. I was doing this. I was, you know, the mental math was. Was mathing. Okay. Like my, my brain and my love for all things counting was at an exquisite level. Right. And then.

Yohance: Yeah.

Dana: And then just, you know, fell in love with like, understanding money and the types of people that would come into the bank. So I think it was an interesting foundational start for me to really see just the different faces of. Of wealth in those that also were not present as well. So.

Yohance: Yeah, yeah, I remember conferences that I'd go to and I'd be the only. And then over the years it would be myself in maybe two or three females. And I said, hey, look, there's some diversity. That's good. And then over time, we would get one of our Asian brothers, brothers and sisters in the room, a few Hispanics. But as far as being black. Yeah. The most I'd ever seen is when I. I wasn't introduced to Quad A until, I don't know, seven or eight years ago. So that's when I realized, oh, wait, there's. There are more of us. But most of the conferences, we're talking 2, 3% of the room.

Dana: Yeah. And unfortunately, a lot of that is still. Still that way. Unless you're intentionally going to something that is more so built around, you know, us as a community, as black people in the industry at quite A for example, I mean that that room makes you feel or refueled to understand why you're, you're in this industry and doing what you do. But you also wish that could be replicated in different areas, in different conferences a lot more. Yeah, it was always that, let me grab this cookie. And then you look up and you're like, oh, hey. And then it's that head nod and then you just go meet over another corner to really just talk, catch up and then ensure that you do not miss each other and you exchange contact information and then, you know, slowly you start to see more and more people, but it's definitely still catching up, which is crazy in a lot of different arenas where people are still the first in certain areas of this industry. You know, people are still trying to find their way in navigating it and you know, being the only on in the island even in 2026. So yeah, just trying to hope that we're carving some paths and making some changes so that continues to, you know, not be something people feel when they come into this industry.

Yohance: What do you mean hope? That's the, that's your whole M.O. you're doing it.

Dana: Well, yeah, that is, that is definitely part of my M.O. but you know, I mean it, it's, I can't, you know, it's not me doing it by myself. Right. It also can't just be us as, as black people championing other black people as to be other people in the room ensuring that other things are happening as well. So yeah, yeah, this is my mo, who I am and, and what I hope to contribute to the industry. But at the end of the day, it's like we all have to want change to happen for it to happen.

Yohance: So I just decided this is going to be our Juneteenth episode. We're going to figure out a way.

Dana: Oh, listen, are you, you listen. Don't, don't tap me with a good time.

Yohance: Oh, let's, it's, it's done. No, I, I just decided it's. It's happening. The message is going to go out as soon as we're done. This is our Juneteenth episode. Everybody get in line. Fall in line. Let's go.

Dana: Let's do it.

Yohance: So tell us about the trip from the banking to Wall street as we refer to it, to now. Chip, give us that journey.

Dana: Yeah, I, I initially had left like the banking field because I was looking at different opportunities. I was looking to do like a full time MBA at the time. That wasn't necessarily Working out the way I wanted it to. I was still living in North Carolina at the time. Moved back up to Jersey in 2011 and started exploring. Yeah. Just different opportunities at larger investment firms. And then went to one large firm and had to just, you know, one of those experiences. Right. Again where I was the only person in the room. Didn't really understand that at the time. Especially spending a lot of time in spaces in other places where I knew that that definitely that did not exist or need to exist. But it's interesting when you kind of come out of the banking channels where I do feel like there's more intentionality because the bank branch is trying also mimic the community is it's around to a certain degree. Right. So you do get a little bit more, slightly more intentionality around who is in the, in the bank. Oh goodness. I already, I feel like they're gonna keep bringing my doorbell and now my dog's gonna start barking.

Yohance: I, I know the. Oh wait, where's my dog? Oh, my mother in law's still here.

Dana: Is this the moment where we can pause and then pick back up?

Yohance: Sure. Yeah. It's not a problem at all. Yeah,

Dana: It. Of course. Because they only come when you're in the middle of doing something.

Yohance: Always. Always. All right,

Dana: so. Yes to. Yeah. So I again, I feel like there's a lot more intentionality around what happens in the big branch. But then what I also noticed while I was in the branch, even before I dipping my toes further into financial advisory and wealth management and really what that is, I noticed that even within the branch when there was a separation between those who were financial advisors and what they look like, which were typically white men and then those who were in the, in the branch as branch managers or banking officers who were more so people of color or women, I was always just curious about like what were they, what, what was going on in these rooms right when these people were coming in and they're sitting down and they're like skirting them past us and they're going into these back offices and there's having all of these conversations and I was just, I just got really, really curious. So even during that time, the curiosity definitely got to me. So before, you know, as people know, Amazon now, when Amazon just sold books, I started doing a lot of reading and understanding about the industry itself, about the licenses and ordering my Series 7 and 66 books. And I actually started preparing and just reading about all of the stock market and everything during that. And then when I made that transition into different roles within Like Wall street and other firms, it was still the case, right? It was still just, you know, here I am, plopped in this space, Black woman, you know, woman. And there were. There weren't many women in general, no matter what your. Your race was in a lot of those particular spaces. And I remember sitting in a lot of these rooms, and we would have these large meetings where I was the only, you know, only woman, Black woman. And it was just looking at the board and just talking about the client as if they weren't a client. They were just a number. They were just a number in a household to kind of go after and attack. And I think because I had been in different spaces where I wanted to build different types of relationships with the clients that I wanted to work with, no matter who they were and what their background was. It just was not a fit at this particular large firm. And then I moved to a smaller firm down on Wall street and just had, you know, that interesting experience about what Wall street is. And it's definitely moments that remind you of the movies, because Wall street is definitely indicative of a lot of. A lot of those things that. That go on, which, obviously movies make it very theatrical, but that stuff is very real, even to the point of people working there and just their behaviors. And I'll just kind of leave it. I'll just leave it.

Yohance: I mean, the only movie we have that's somewhat realistic is the Pursuit of Happiness.

Dana: Yes, yes.

Yohance: Now, you also have Boiler Room, which had Hispanics, but not in a good role.

Dana: Right.

Yohance: And then you have. And the only black woman was the receptionist, Neil Long. There's another. Oh, there's one that. That's not. Not really true. Trading Places.

Dana: Oh, I love that. That is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love Trading Places. I could watch that over and over and over and over again. But. But the thing about that movie, too, is it definitely showcases a lot of what Wall street is made of. Right. About that. Those thought processes, the feelings, the people who are not included, or the way that we're. And society perspective. So I think that movie with the comedy brings out a lot to be talked about. And even in my role, I remember my interview when I went to interview at the firm down on Wall street. And we're in the conference room and, you know, we're talking and we're just having, you know, really good conversation. And I remember this black woman walked past, and I remember just thinking, like, I don't know what the guy was saying at that time. And she walked past and I remember being so excited, like, oh, my God, there's another black woman here. I was like, I don't care what he's talking about. This is wonderful. Like, at least there's someone else here who looks like me. But. And it's also crazy, the fact that I just got so distracted and so excited. That was the thing, right? Like, because I'm sure the other people. That doesn't necessarily happen. Right. So then I ended up taking the role. I mean, it was a, you know, good for all of the things. And she wasn't there when I got to work. And I was like, did you all just plant her here to walk past to trigger me in some kind of way?

Yohance: I so wanted a happy ending to that. Oh, my God. Okay.

Dana: She happened to be on vacation or something. Oh, okay, okay, listen, I was. I was like, oh, you really did. You all did that. You really did that. You did that on purpose, right? But no, she ended up just happenstance and timing, just being out by the time I started coming into the office. And then, yeah, no, you know, semi happy story from there. We ended up, you know, working together. We hit it off. We started partnering together on a lot of other business and client opportunities and work and ended up forming our own partnership there and firm underneath that. That ira, which led us eventually to. To leave and go independent on our own and create what was then Papillon Financial and go through that very happy

Yohance: ending to the story. Oh, wow.

Dana: Yeah. So there. There was a happy. Yeah, there was a happy ending.

Yohance: That was a nice little journey. So that you had a, you know, had. Had everything. A good story.

Dana: Yeah, it definitely, like, took you through the emotions. Right. But, yeah, so it was a. It was an interesting experience. But even within that firm, I mean, we were, you know, the only two there. I think there were. I'm trying to remember how many women. One was the receptionist, but she was a white woman. Yeah, maybe there were three, maybe four women. And then we kind of. This firm kind of split. So there were some transitions. So there was a point where we were the only two women in the firm at all for. For a while. And it, you know, it just kind of brings to light all of the things that you kind of look at this industry just like, where. Where are we? Where are the women? Where are the black women? Where are the black people? Especially when you start looking at leadership, because all of the higher up leadership and those who are on the firms definitely didn't look like either you and I, but we still had a great rapport with them as well. But you're just kind of thinking about, okay, well, how do I get into your seat? Right. Like, my seat is cool right now, but how do I get into your seat? And if I don't, if I'm not seeing that representation and that leadership and these, you know, C suite roles, like, how do I know that I could aspire to be there, at least at this particular firm. Right. And I think that's still the case at a lot of these larger firms where we're getting hired. And the turnover is also really high in a lot of these seats because they're very goal oriented and some people just can't meet that demand and how large their network is. But it's important to start to have more of us in those leadership roles, which I feel like is happening, but not at the rate to where it should be. Especially when you really start talking about that C suite low, that C suite level.

Yohance: Yeah, no, there was. I just saw it on Instagram the other day. I think it had the 10 black people in C suites in America. Tiacraft comes to mind. And then. Yeah, and then it was just a long list of people that just had their own firms. I was trying to think from the publicly traded or not even public, or just the larger institutions that they didn't build from the ground up. I mean, there's. It's probably more. Less than you could count on one hand.

Dana: Yeah, A thousand percent. Yeah. You're talking about Cassandra Duckett, and I'm hoping, yes, her first name correctly. But yeah, I mean, I, I look at her journey and I'm just always amazed and in awe. And it just gives you so much hope. The way I feel like she's been able to be herself also in this role and do a lot of things at the company and the firm and the bank that she's been with. But it's like, I wish my younger self coming into the industry could have seen that sooner. Right. Or you know what? How amazing would it be to be a young person, especially working at that company and working for a black woman who is the CEO of your company? I mean, that gives you just so much encouragement and empowerment to just be able to see that in real time. And the work that she's done since she's been there and then. And also the longevity of the. Of. Of how long she's been. I don't know. I. I mean, anyone can probably Google that, but I know it's been, you

Yohance: know, at least I just, I just looked it up. Let's See? Oh, wait, we left her. They left her off. Geograph. Include that one. There we go. Largest black owned. Well, now it's black owned, so of course. Yeah. It lists Vista for Robert Smith and Aerial Investments.

Dana: Oh, yeah.

Yohance: But as far as like capital management.

Dana: Oh, yeah, there's. Yeah, so there's.

Yohance: Yeah, but. But I'm saying they're all those, Those are all built from the ground up.

Dana: Yeah, exactly. Exactly from the ground. And then if we're talking about those that existed in the role as. As far as like the one that to sand is in. That's a different kind of cat.

Yohance: Yeah. To Sunday. I think she is the. She might be the only one right now

Dana: for that category.

Yohance: I think she for that category. So. Yeah.

Dana: Yeah. And there's. Yeah, and there's.

Yohance: How many different institutions? Exactly. More than we can count.

Dana: Yeah, more than we can count. But when will there be another? Is I think the thing that I want to know and I'm hopeful for and we'll continue to, you know, push. Push for.

Yohance: So, so let's, let's get into the. The transition or inception of. Of chip. So you spent some time on Wall street, you separated, created your own RIA with a partner and then what?

Dana: Yeah, so after that I, you know, like most partnerships, things work. Things don't work. But I stayed and recreated my own art ra. So I stayed in my own RAS for maybe another two and a half years before starting chip. And it was born out of just a point of frustration similar to the one I feel like a lot of us are experiencing now with current news and what's going on. So when George Floyd was murdered, it was really about how do I channel this energy into something to where I can do something. Like, I'm not someone who's going to go outside and maybe protest. Right. I'm not that particular person. I think we all have our roles and where our bandwidth and things that we know that we could do. So it was like, well, what can I do and what's the thing that I can put out there? So I initially had been working at it on another, like, side project that was focused around those who were in diverse spaces and having conversation. It wasn't really based on, you know, your background or what community you were in, but in that moment I transitioned it and felt like, you know, I know this industry. I want to bring more visibility to black and brown professionals in this. In this industry, because it's important to not just know the work that they're doing, especially when you're in the Industry, but also externally, you know, I feel like there is a large gap there to where there's still an issue finding us, you know, and that shouldn't be the case. I mean, you know, a lot of black and brown professionals are living in your communities, are living in your background backyard, but for some reason, us as a community, we don't have that access to just know that they exist there. And there's, you know, a lot of reasons, I'm sure, of that case. But I wanted to do my best in that moment to make it easy for us to be seen to our work to be appreciated and to be seen as experts. Right? It's not that we're black professionals in this industry. We are experts in the financial industry, regardless of who we. Who we are and in what communities we come from. But it was important to just showcase that, and that's kind of how Chip was born. Just starting as kind of that simple directory to ensure that, hey, if you're looking for someone who looks like you, who might understand more of your cultural perspective and background and things that you might be going through as it relates to money and wealth, because that conversation within our communities is such a touchy one, right? It's one that we're still working through. We're starting to kind of think through and understand, and we're still so far from, you know, other communities and what that. What their wealth is compared to ours. Right. So there's a lot of conversations and trauma that needed to be addressed. And I felt that visually seeing people's faces could definitely just help that a bit. Right. Knowing that I could connect to someone, I don't have to feel like I got to come into this meeting and, you know, put on that suit and that armor. I could just kind of come in and be myself. And hopefully that eases and makes the money conversation maybe slightly easier, right? Not super easier, but maybe just slightly. Right? And yeah, that was kind of the transition into Chip. And then from there it was just like, you know, maybe there's something else I could be doing with this. And then somehow I got it in my brain the same way I do with running. So, oh, yeah, let's go start a startup. Because that is my brain goes from like zero to a thousand.

Yohance: Oh, yeah, marathon real quick.

Dana: Yeah, it's a marathon real quick. It's like, oh, this could actually be something like marathon.

Yohance: No big deal. Today, Thursday seems like a good day to run a marathon.

Dana: Why not do that thing, right? Like, why not? But I do try to pay attention to those Instances where I feel that push or that call to go do something, even when it's hard and crazy and I really don't understand hasn't led me in a. I can't say wrong direction. I don't even think that's a word that can be used when you're doing something you're passionate about. It might be hard and challenging, but I think that there's that internal voice where you know that it's time for you to move on. And even though I loved, like, I love my clients, it was not easy to make that decision to leave my practice, even with some new clients I had just kind of taken on and really was excited about building that relationship with. You know, sometimes you have to just lean in and, you know, make. Make that move.

Yohance: So, yeah, and it was anxiety last night thinking about. My wife and I sat down and looked at our own financial plan last night, specifically because we were looking at our daughter's education. And, like, okay, we started this education plan saying, let's have enough to pay for public school. But now she said the words by herself, and she's only nine, so it's still early, but she said, I want to go to Spelman. I was like, oh, okay. Now her brother's HBCU grad as well, and then I am, too. So I was like, yeah, that's. That's the right answer, but our savings plan isn't going to get us there. But anywho, I'm thinking, how am I going to pay for it? And I was like, oh, well, that's like 10 years from now that could coincide potentially with the sale of the practice. And then I just got really scared. I was like, would I really sell in 10 years? And I started thinking about my clients and all this. But then I looked at the number, and I was like, that number, I'll cover Spelman and a few other things. And then I was like, well, what will I do? I just went down the rabbit hole. I was like, okay, let's just increase our 5 to 9.

Dana: I don't want to think about, like, I don't want to think that far ahead. But the thing about it, it's a. You know, it's a human reaction to do all of those things. Right. I remember when I left, when I first left, kind of like that corporate umbrella. And this was in 2008, and I left my job at State. I was at.

Yohance: Whoa. You left corporate in 2008? Oh, your timing is great.

Dana: It was. It was fantastic, wasn't it? I. I have Impeccable timing too. I mean, I started launch Chip at in January of 2020 Covid.

Yohance: Because also I, I started how else

Dana: do you do life? Right.

Yohance: I started September. So September 12th was supposed to be my first client ready day of 2001. So, you know, did all the seven and all that stuff during the summer. Like, all right, you're gonna be client ready on September 12th. And then 9, 11 happened. I was like, well, what does this mean?

Dana: Yeah, yeah.

Yohance: So, yeah, no, I know all about starting crazy things at the right time.

Dana: Oh yeah. And there's always going to be something that's going to happen, but I think it's your tenacity, a lot of faith and your grit that will help you make sense of that stuff. Because there's just things that are happening that are beyond your control. And I think it's healthy to give yourself that 10 minute to 15 minute temperature interim. Like, I literally remember laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling like, what the hell did I just do? What? Like make it. And I just, I, I let all the emotions happen. And after about 10 to 15 minutes it was just like, okay, well God, you called me to do this thing, so let's, let's do it. Right. And that was that first transition into actually moving back up here and doing that. So after, when I got to Chip and did it again, yes, like, there is no floor in a startup, but it wasn't as scary and the faith was even louder and larger and I think you just kind of have to. To go with that. So trust me, you will be okay. Because even letting go of my licenses was a thing for me as well. And I also feel like that was something I was even holding on to more than my clients because it's like all the work you put in to do that, but when that was gone, the release, my shoulders just, yeah, they, they hit the floor in a great way.

Yohance: So. Okay, so what is Chip Chip, or actually, let me phrase this better, wtf Chip?

Dana: Yeah, so Will's taxes and finances. That's how I was like, what? What is that? Yeah, so. But yeah, I'll start with the T shirt. So, you know, being a business owner, you know yourself as well, and I'm sure you see this for probably other business owners you work with and even some that I work with when I was advising. You know, I feel like there's a gap in between what we feel like we can do as business owners and what we should be doing, especially when it comes to our personal finance and how intertwined they are with our business in the decisions that we make there as well. Right. So, you know, typically how you react and relate to your money personally will translate into how you're managing your business, business funds and all of that. And I always think that it's the one area that people forget about or business owners, startup founders. It's like as soon as I get to X point in, you know, revenue or we raise this, then I'll go back and do all these other things that are related to my personal wealth and planning and well being to help sustain myself. But we really should be thinking about that in the beginning as we're in, as we're building our businesses. Right. Like, don't forget to put yourself into the equation as you're building your business. It's easy to get like focused on, oh my God, I, I love what I'm doing. I want to pour everything into the into chip and you just forget about yourself and then, you know, you end up where you are, right where you, you haven't really thought about all of the other things. So it's really about kind of taking that step, that step back and focusing on, okay, well, I'm building this business so that I can have that space, sustainable life. But as I'm building that, I also need to make sure I'm doing XYZ with my personal finances. I can still talk to an advisor, I can still do all of these things as I'm building and even raising or getting in revenue or you know, doing the partnership. There is no wait until X happens to do those things. So within ship, which stands for Changing how Individuals Prosper, essentially what we do is we still help people connect to financial advisors and planners and, and now we're really transitioning to more of a team based platform where we really want to ensure people have access to a full team. Right. It's not enough to just talk to your advisor or your tax professional who you may or may not know, or you see them, you know, maybe once a year, twice a year, depending on your tax situation or your insurance professional, your estate planner. It's really important that you know who these people are and they also kind of know each other in, in some way and ensuring those conversations are happening to some degree.

Yohance: Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Counterpoint. I'm trying to remember the athlete, one of the athletes recently about losing a lot of money and they actually said the opposite. They said, you don't want your financial advisor, your attorney and CPA to know each other because then they'll Collude against you instead of.

Dana: I don't, I don't agree with that because I didn't either. Because there's a lot of things that we, we could talk about in that conversation because it's like, who were the type of people that were hired and where were they hired from? Right. I think there's, there's a lot to be said there before because there's a, there's a different level at that level of people that you're talking to and you're working with, with, and especially with athletes. Right. There's a gang of people who crowd around them and they're trying to get things from them and they're doing all sorts of stuff in the background. Right. So.

Yohance: Yeah, but I think it starts with their own financial literacy. If you don't know how to inspect what you expect from these individuals because you don't understand the terms, because you don't know how taxes work, because you don't know what LLCs and LLPs and, or you don't understand your own contract, or you don't understand how the loans work, etc.

Dana: Yeah. And typically in those situations, people are turning over their, their literal financial lives and saying, oh, my so and so handles that. My so and so handles that. I, I think now athletes, you know, and people of that status are hopefully some of them are in a place where they're taking more control and they're in, they're sitting in these meetings. It's no longer, hey, my so and so handles that. It's like, we work on this together so that these types of situations don't happen. And it's just like, well, you know, no, John, you go focus on that and do what you do best. I have this over here. And I think for years that was the mentality. Like, I focus on sports, you handle my money, you send me something that shows me that I have money, here's a stipend, you know, or whatever salary I'm kind of allowing my. Allowing you to have. Right. Like it's their money and it's not his money or her money. And that, and that has been the problem. But when you're talking on a level where, you know, you kind of get out those bad actors, you do want your team to know each other and work together because your advisor is going to be making decisions for you that are hopefully in your best interest. But then your tax advisor might be giving you different types of advice that kind of counteract that. And now you have a situation that you didn't need to have, or you were in some sort of investment product or something that you didn't need to be in that no one caught because someone told you this and then the other person told you that. So there, there is room for everyone to have those conversations. Not saying they got to come out and be the best of friends, but for their client, they need to work in the best interest if they do share a client. And I do think that there are, you know, also behind that, even, you know, red flags when people don't want to, to associate with other people. Like, why don't you want to talk to my cpa? You know, is there something that you're doing that you don't want them to find? So I think as a baseline in general, people need to interject themselves more into their, their money and their conversations that they're having with any type of professional just as a baseline so that they know what's going on. I mean, I used to work with so many people who I would ask them where their insurance was and who they were working with and it was just like, I don't know. So we don't know the person, we don't know the company. You just know you pay something and it goes somewhere or you have this, you know, investment out there from someone you randomly met and you don't know who they are with it. You're just getting paper in, in the mail. Right? So as a baseline, we just have to do a better job personally, just putting ourselves into these conversations, into these meetings, reminding people that this is your money, this is your experience, and I'm just the person who's helping making those recommendations and stuff for you. But this is a journey that we do together. So, yeah, to bring all that back to kind of the, the wtf. It was a wills, taxes and trust, will, taxes and finances accelerator that we put together for small businesses just to kind of remind them of that understanding of, you know, where you should be as a small business and things that you should be doing and taking them through, addressing process, personal wealth and how they felt about money just kind of backing up and hopefully hitting that re. Reset button for those who were either starting out, those who have been, you know, had their business for maybe five to 10 years, and those even legacy companies, right. There's a lot of legacy companies who don't have plans in place for what happens when, you know, mom or dad want to retire at some point. Right. If the kids don't want the business, you kind of need to start putting that in place. Right. So there's all these different types of things, things and conversations that need to happen within the business sector. So that's specifically what the accelerator in this T shirt is for. But as Chip is concerned as a whole platform, you know, our goal is to help connect people to, yeah, those types of financial professionals where they could, you know, build their team, invite their team in. We're getting ready to launch a bunch of changes this summer, updating a lot of things within our technology, our website, which is really exciting. So yeah, onto, onto more growth and helping more people.

Yohance: So how, how do, how does someone engage with Chip now? I mean, it sounds like it's, it's a network of advisors, CPAs, et cetera. But how does the. Well, actually both. How does asking for a friend. How do advisors participate and then how do your customers participate?

Dana: Yeah, absolutely. So you know, those who are looking for advisors or professionals and financial professionals specifically. Yeah, you can go to our website. Currently, it's, it's up and running, it's live. You, you know, we ask you a few questions up front, just trying to dive into your goals, who you're looking for, and then from there we match you with those who are in your area or if you're open to working with someone who's not in your area, just maybe a great relationship. You all hit off. Those are opportunities too. We have professionals within our platform ranging from anywhere to the, you know, east coast, up and down the east coast to the west coast, and then kind of trickling in the Midwest and in central areas.

Yohance: So you're saying there's openings in the wild. Wild.

Dana: Oh, a thousand percent there. If you are, you know, anything that financial. Accredited financial coach we have on our platform too.

Yohance: Okay. Advisor Financial therapist as well.

Dana: That is coming soon. Yes. Okay.

Yohance: Okay. I'm getting to meet some of those.

Dana: So state planners, all the things you come in, you find that person from the professional side, you know, we're, we're asking similar questions. I would say more kind of like an application because we're looking at your background, you know, making sure you are doing what you say you're doing and you are who you say you are. So there's definitely some due diligence checks and, and you know, like compliance work that we do and making sure that people's licenses are good, they're active, their, you know, business status is active, you know, if you're licensed, at least in the financial industry. We're checking, you know, I'm looking at your U4, you know, we're looking at all of those Things I should have an honorary compliance badge at this point. But being in the industry for so long, I've. I've. I've seen some interesting things on those.

Yohance: I have, too. I. I made a mistake and made a friend. I was at a conference. You know how it is at a conference. You see the other black person on the other side of the room, and you know, like, we're gonna meet up later. Meet up and have this incredible conversation just talking about everything. But in the conversation, there was just something that was off, and I couldn't quite put my finger. I was like, somewhere his numbers weren't adding up and. Because in the conversation, yeah, in the conversation, he was. He started asking for advice. And so, you know, of course I'm asking more questions so I can understand more. And he's probably about 10 years younger than me, so I'm like, okay, yeah, let me. Let me help this brother out. Two months later, I get a text message from someone else saying, oh, my gosh, look at this. And I look at. I was like, okay, another financial advisor stole some money from athletes. She was like, no, look at who it is. And then I look and see. I was like, oh, my gosh. That's the guy I just happened to get to know at the conference that day. No wonder the numbers didn't add up. But it was. But it was so disappointing. I was like, you. You don't. You didn't have to. You mean, greed is a horrible drug, but you didn't have to. And now you're going to jail, you're going to lose all your licenses, and you're on the front page of the

Dana: paper right

Yohance: at the end. And what was funny is, in the conversation I was having with him, when he was. The advice that he was asking, I remember saying to him, like, I mean, don't be greedy. If you do a good job, they'll be your clients for a long time.

Dana: A thousand percent.

Yohance: And that's what was coming up in the conversation. And then I see. I was like, oh, you've been being greedy for a long time.

Dana: You and your assistant and people, character, like, fundamental character flaws, right? Just like in anywhere else. But I think this is the industry where it's the most frustrating and disheartening. And you know it every year, because when I was advising, like, you knew someone did something really stupid because you had a new CE you had to take, right? Now I gotta stay up two hours because so and so decided to go do this thing. Now I gotta learn about it, right? Who do I send an email to about that. Right. But yeah, I mean, and I think

Yohance: that New York is good for that. Oh, I'm licensed in New York. All they're always like, what? Did some. Oh, I got to do this now. Seriously, man, L.A. louisiana. Is also good for it. Like, ah, now you got to do this. Like, like who? And then you get to the questions like, oh, I know what this idiot did.

Dana: Okay, Right, right. Then. Then I'm on looking it up at the same time, because that's exactly. You got to see the source. Yeah, but, yeah, I mean, and. And I think that's what's so frustrating about this industry, in particularly where people are so vulnerable. Right. You're talking about, you know, athletes and, you know, elderly and, you know, people who are running these businesses, and then you do something to them that is just so detrimental. Right? And the effects and the waves of that is just. It's so loud, right? You're taking someone's savings away. You have dismantled someone's business and now they have to sell it a lot earlier than they would have. Or here is the athlete who worked their entire career literally, you know, blood, sweat and tears in all types of ways, who now has to figure out what they're going to do with their life. You know, and it's just. And then, you know, and then as an industry, because no matter your race, creed or whatever, we're all looked at as evil, right? Yeah. We all get lumped in. And then you have to fight through that to help people who already have a guard up around money and wealth and what that means and trying to reclaim those words and phrases for ourselves, especially in black and brown communities. Right. And there's a whole list of things to talk about as to why, you know, we have these issues with, with banks and with Wall Street. Right. And all of the. In all of the history that comes with that. So it becomes so much deeper like that. That act alone becomes so much deeper than what is really seen in the news clip. Right? It's this entire trick of Dawn Effect that someone, you know, is then on a couch watching the news, like, see, this is exactly why I'm not doing this with my money. And now they're not going to do anything and leave any wealth for. For their family because of this, this incident that they saw. Right? So there's. There's so much larger damage that ends up being done that we don't talk about, that we don't see in real time. You know, and it just, obviously it affects our community first because we already have this wall up, but now the wall is like, absolutely not back under the mattress. My house not burned down, you know.

Yohance: Yeah, never does.

Dana: Yeah. So I just, I, it definitely makes sense. Me angry

Yohance: transition a bit here. So, yes, as a, as a guest on the Money Script podcast for our first time guests, we like to ask them a question and I don't think you're prepared, which is even better because I know that's going to give us a much more raw answer.

Dana: Oh, Lord.

Yohance: So what was or is your first memory of money?

Dana: I would say birthday party cards. So back in like the 80s and 90s, for those who I feel like don't experience this because now people just shoot you gift cards, they shoot your stuff in Apple Pay. But getting a birthday card with tens and twenties in it or even one dollar bills that you could just spread

Yohance: across, like when it fall out when you open, you didn't know it was there.

Dana: Like, you're just, you're a kid and

Yohance: you're like making it rain as a kid.

Dana: You're looking down and your mom's like. But did you read the card?

Yohance: The card, like, did you see, did you see who just fell out? Andrew Jackson just fell out of this car.

Dana: Exactly.

Yohance: Yeah, I read that says 20.

Dana: Right. Did you, did you even hug Uncle George? Where. I'm sorry, let me, let me read it

Yohance: right.

Dana: Like, and there was nothing more amazing than that. And I think there's still something beautiful about, yes. You can easily, you know, you know, forget something and send kids stuff on Apple Pay and do all the different things that we could do now electronically and send gift cards. But I, I think there's something beautiful about holding money that we have gotten away from as a society where you really have to count it and, you know, do the math in your head and start to really articulate what it means and have to budget physical cash because physical cash is, it's truly disappearing. Right. I don't even know in the next however many years that physical cash will even exist in a way that it does today. Right. It's probably going to look completely different if we get to a point, at some point in this world, whether we're still on this planet or not, where, where it's even existing at all. Right. It's going to be in the, I

Yohance: mean, we just got rid of the penny.

Dana: Yeah. Listen, Metro cards, Metro cards, we should know Metro cards have been deleted. That is the first signal to everything. Okay.

Yohance: Yep. Now you tap your phone for that. So now I, I, I think I was Reading the dime is probably next because of the cost to make them.

Dana: Yeah.

Yohance: So the pennies were costing us money, I think is either the dime. I think it had to be the dime. I think the dime was the next one. That's cost us a little too much money to make.

Dana: Yeah. So it's like, you think about that.

Yohance: Yeah. We used to give out. We used to give out piggy banks to our. To children in my practice. I've been doing that since I was an advisor. I did A client has a child piggy bank. No, we. We did cut back on the piggy banks because we were. I mean, just from feedback from our clients. They're like, it's empty. Like, we just don't have. No one has any change in this house. And very few people have paper. And it's not. Even. Gone are the days of finding change in the couch cushions. You know, that was like a. That was grandma go to. Go to grandma's house. Like, hey, can we clean out the couch cushions? Go for it. And $18 in couch cushions.

Dana: Listen, these kids. These kids don't know about anything. Okay. But yeah, I just feel like. So that would be like one of my, you know, first memories. Is. Is that right? Having to. To do that? Even just. Just my mom having conversations, you know, with me about money. She's always been, you know, on her. On her game when it came to savings and budgeting and balancing her. Her checkbook at the time. And for anyone who's young and watching, there was a time when people used to sit down and balance their checkbooks. That was a thing where you would write it out, you would calculate it, you know, and she. She used to do all of that. And I used to watch her. Her do those things. And I think at this point in my adult life is when you really start to make more sense of that and have more appreciation for what you see, because it really is a visual thing. Right. Just like reading. You know, I was never a big reader as a kid, but in my adult life, because I always saw my mother read. She was always reading. And now all I do is read. Right. You know, and I love to read. So I think it's always about what you visually see as a kid. It might not permeate when you're young and you're growing and you're like, I'm too cool to do those things. But at some point in life, those habits, those behaviors are going to show up. So. So it's kind of like, well, what behaviors do you want your kids to have when they're in their 20s, their 30s, their 40s.

Yohance: Right.

Dana: What do you. What is it that you want them to see in behaviors and passing down, especially as it relates to money. But yeah, I just think there's a beautiful thing in someone getting physical cash and having to count it and really understand it and having to budget from that and that be the starter, then necessarily budgeting from a app or doing that in tandem. I think there needs to be some fundamental foundation set first or at the same time. All right.

Yohance: I believe that children get to learn math through money. It's the fastest way to learn fractions, learn percentages. I was so proud of my dog, my daughter. The other day we were in the store shopping for my birthday, which was also fun, but came across the table and then there was something. It was 50 off. And I said, how much is that? She said, half off.39. I was like, yes, and she's nine. I was so excited. I'm like, wait, you know, percentages as a nine year old. But it's because we started by teaching her how to count money and understanding that a dime is ten and a quarter is 25 and a half dollar, because we have some of those too. I like collecting coins sometimes. Yeah, but you begin. So helping her to understand how to count money gives her a baseline for all the mathematics she's going to have until she gets to geometry. So. And. And I wish that our school systems would understand that. Which is part of. Oh, that, that. See, now I'm thinking about my mission ten years from now. Financial. Financial literacy in the schools. That's something that I've been very. I've spent a lot of time on, but I haven't done like you have and just burn all the boats and say, this is now my mission. I'm running a marathon today.

Dana: Yeah, it's. It's a different boat burning, but no, Yeah. I mean, there's a lot to be looked at. I think when we start looking at this part of history and, you know, as it starts to really become history in the next 10 to 20 years about where education is falling, especially when math and algebra and calculus and how kids are having a hard time catching up. I mean, we're seeing that in real time with reading and comprehension and comprehension and critical thinking skills and just being able to read sentences and write in cursive, like all the things that we did. If you had the, you know, what I call the pleasure and beauty of growing up in like the 80s and 90s and even, you know, before that you remember doing all of that stuff by hand and it, it does something to you internally, it makes you think deeper and on a different level. And, and that's not just, it's just not happening now. And we're starting to see that real time. And yeah, math, because we're not counting, we're not focused on the counting of money. I'm sure there's kids that have never seen a half dollar before or a dollar coin, right? So it probably will look at you like what are you talking about? You know, so yeah, there's a, there's a lot to be said that that needs to be fixed and cleaned up. But that's why we're here. That's why we're doing what we're here.

Yohance: Speaking of the future, what role do you see that AI will continue to play in reshaping financial services? And what role do you see that CHIP will play with AI in the future?

Dana: My plan or execution as far as CHIP is concerned, to really sit at the intersection of all things, you know, financial services is like, when you're thinking about financial services, CHIP is the thing that you hit for first, right? And we are kind of become that, that hub for everything surrounding financial services and technology as it relates to the industry in some way or people looking for those types of connections. So you know, I, the way we utilize AI or I think about it as a company is just from a operational infrastructure strategy partner as opposed to, you know, replacing what we're doing and who we are from a company perspective or even the people who work, work in this industry, like at some point there needs to be some sort of human react, interaction when it comes to money, right? If that was the case, then everyone's issues would be solved, right? You keep seeing financial apps and things pop up because there's still an issue in education, in all of the things, right? So AI is not like, you know, technology is not necessarily going to help that in that way. There still is going to get to a point where someone needs to, to talk to and wants to talk to a person about their money. But from an overall impact, you know, more people are using it, right? People are going in there and they're asking IT questions and they're putting their information in and you really have to be careful about what you're sharing from a personal perspective as it relates to your money. And even the ideas and thoughts that it's spitting out to you based on those scenarios may or may not always be accurate. So the, there's always that fact checking and I think there's, it's levels to it, right? So there's people who can compartmentalize that part of it and understand how to use it in relationship to their money and what they're thinking because they're novice and they, they understand that. But then there's areas of where it can cause harm, where people are using it to make trades because they, they fundamentally don't have that understanding and they're not doing things already that are going to help them get to those standpoints, right? So it's like, oh, I heard my friend down the street say that he did this. Okay, chat or whatever they're using, how can I do this too? Chat. Spit something back and then they go do it. Don't have the same outcome. And then their, their world is tanked because maybe they took all of their money and they did whatever it said. So there's definitely levels to people who are using it from a financial perspective and then the outcome of what that is, right? Maybe someone novice gets some sort of advice and they only put in maybe five hundred or a hundred dollars into that idea, or, or a thousand, or maybe their bandwidth is larger for that loss and it's okay, you know, okay, cool, I can lose 5,000 and still be all right. But you, you put in 5,000, a couple hundred, and you have dismantled your ability to do what you need to do in the next couple weeks. And now that creates a very dire situation for someone who was already potentially in a dire situation.

Yohance: So, yeah, because AI will tell you anything is a good idea, that you want to be a good idea.

Dana: Oh yeah, a thousand percent. You can put your AI in a position to make you look like the superhero or the villain or whatever it is you want it to create and feed back to you, and it's not at a point. And I don't think it, you know, will ever get to the point where it needs to be replacing certain things, especially when the educational level around finance and financial literacy is nowhere near caught up to even handle that type of advice and triggers and recommendations to someone who doesn't have the foundation or doesn't have their 401k set up, doesn't have an estate plan set up or will in place, or different insurance plans and health directives. But yet, you know, the first turn is to AI. I mean, the only point of positivity, and it's a small one to all of these AIs and apps and things in technology spaces, is that it is increasing the conversation, right? It is getting people in the door who may have shied away, but something about this cool technology at least pulled them in. But that is a very small point in positivity to the bigger issue. That's a problem, right? It's causing more conversation around financial literacy. Great. But the fallout from that is much larger than we are. You know, we're already seeing it, but, you know, it doesn't. It doesn't weigh equally at all. So.

Yohance: Agreed. Agreed. Dana, thank you so much. Are you ready for Rapid fire?

Dana: Oh, let's go.

Yohance: Okay.

Dana: Sit up a little in my chair.

Yohance: Yep. Get ready for it. All right. So when's Your next race?

Dana: October 11th. Chicago Marathon. Shout out to Chicago. I'll be in the shy. Super excited.

Yohance: Okay. Okay. Beautiful. Beautiful. I'll be cheering you on from the 10k. I'll be running that weekend.

Dana: Listen, we all have our own races. That's.

Yohance: That's where I am right now. I'm at 10k. That's. That's. That's my lane. It's been my lane for three years now before I'm stay there for now. Best money advice you ever received. And who said it?

Dana: I would say my mom. And I think it was just like, oh, recurring advice is just to make sure I'm always just saving and just, you know, spending wisely. I think spending wisely is always a thing, but it's like, what is wisely? But you start to understand what wisely means. So.

Yohance: Yeah, you do. As soon as you do a couple unwise things, you quickly. Yes.

Dana: As soon as you do a couple unwise things, you understand what wise things.

Yohance: And you mentioned you love to read now. So what are you reading?

Dana: Actually, right now I am finishing up 61619 project, which is a whole. Another conversation.

Yohance: That's. That's a whole nother conversation. But hey, it's our Juneteenth episode, so I guess.

Dana: And there's actually a story in there which we can talk about another time. So it's going to dive us into something very deep. But there's a chapter in there called Inheritance, and it talks about a very particular story and point in time, whichever you want to read. And I'll just. I'll just leave it there and we can come back and unpack that maybe. I'm.

Yohance: I'm curious. I will be unpacking it myself. I'm familiar with the book. Have not read it. But now I'm intrigued. I'm intrigued.

Dana: It would be a great start to a second episode.

Yohance: There we go. Okay. I taken. Dana, I appreciate you spending some time with us on the Money Script podcast and I look forward to learning more about Chip.

Dana: Awesome. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Yohance: Indeed. Take care.

Dana: You too.

Yohance: All right. Welcome to the Money Script podcast. It's your host, Johannes Harrison. Happy Juneteenth. I don't know my own name. Try it again. Welcome to the Money Script podcast. It's your host, Johannes Harrison. Happy Juneteenth, everyone. I am extremely excited for our guest today, Dana Wilson, the founder and CEO of chip. We're going to learn all about what CHIP is also, of course, learn about her journey in financial services. She knows how it feels to be on an island in financial services. And I mean the island of isolation when we are the only sometimes in rooms. And as a black financial advisor, I experienced my own share of that in the 25 years I've been at this. And I know that my profession, I'm not alone. I know a lot of physician circles that I get in as I go to those conferences. Sometimes you are the only as well. And I think as we have more individuals in leadership and more individuals like Dana that are out there building groups so that people like us, minorities can be found in different professions, I know that's only going to improve because I know that what it feels like to see someone and then have that immediate rapport, to feel more comfortable, to have some tough conversations, especially around money. Now, Dana is, she did attend an HBCU as well. So you're going to hear us kind of banter about that a little bit. She was hating on my North Carolina A and T days, but I told her my heart was in the right place. And we're going to talk about old fashioned money because that's like kind of a lost art. And I want everyone out there that has children. I encourage you, especially if you are of a certain age, meaning you were around in the 80s and 90s as Dana would share. Teach your children how to count money. Okay, you can start them early, it's tangible, they can touch it. The coins, you know, make sure you have all the coins too. Have a quarter, dimes, half dollars, dollar coins, one dollar bills, two dollar bills, tens, fives, twenties, one hundred if you can. But help your children learn how to count money because that gives them a great baseline for algebra, gives them a great baseline for fractions and percentages if they know how to count money. Well, so. But we'll talk more about that in the show. Thanks for coming. See you soon. Don't use that. Thanks for coming. Do that again. The end again. So with that let's get to my interview with Dana.