This week moved fast.

Some of us were in Philly. Others were dropping off kids at camp. Meanwhile, our engineering team? Shipping code that—no exaggeration—could redefine our industry.

If you’re ever curious about what we’re building behind the curtain, just ask. I’d love to give you a peek.

But here’s the real takeaway: I’m grateful. I love the work I get to do. I love who I get to do it with. And I hope you feel that too. That moment at the end of the week when you pause, look around, and think: “Wow—we get to do this.”

This week, I’m sharing a story about a YouTuber my kids got me hooked on. It’s fun, but it also flipped a switch for me—and I think it might for you, too.

Let’s dive in.

Here’s this week’s Rising Tide.

1. What F1 Teams Know About Sustaining Excellence That Most Firms Miss

2. Next Mile: The Breakaway Blueprint–How Nelly Mubashi Helps Advisors Go Independent 🎧

3. Bookmarks

   1. The Power of Integration: A Live Webinar with Black Diamond

   2. Eliminate the Hidden Costs of Messy Data with Milemarker + Wealthbox

4. Milemarker On the Road ✈️

What Ryan Trahan Reminded Me About Wealth, Wonder, and the Power of Shared Adventure

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found myself pulled into an unexpected adventure—not my own, but one unfolding daily on YouTube.

It started with driving through Wisconsin and hearing my two youngest kids talk all about the adventure they were watching with Ryan Trahan. They wanted to ensure that they could see the latest post when he released his video at 11:00 a.m. ET.

They explained, Ryan Trahan, the creator my youngest son introduced me to, is currently on a mission to visit all 50 states in 50 days with his wife, Haley. But this isn’t just a travel vlog. It’s a surprisingly entertaining, deeply human fundraising campaign for St. Jude that—at the time of this writing—has raised over $5 million.

We don’t watch a ton of YouTube as a family, but lately, we’ve made time to follow Ryan’s journey together. Each new stop, each quirky challenge in a new state, each act of generosity—it’s become a fun shared moment between me and my kids. And, honestly, it’s sparked something more.

I’ve even encouraged members of my team at Milemarker with kids around the same age to tune in, so we can all share in these little adventures together. It’s become a wholesome touchpoint—something we all look forward to, something that reminds us how simple and powerful storytelling can be.

Watching Ryan traverse the country, you see his life unfold—not just the road trips, but his values, his joy, his business (like his candy brand Joyride, which my kids now insist we track down when we do occasionally walk to 7-Eleven).

It’s brilliant. But more than that—it’s real. And that’s the lesson.

What Ryan Trahan reminded me:

It’s not enough to run a good business. You’ve got to live a good story.

As someone who spends their life thinking about how to help wealth management firms communicate better, I can’t help but notice how different this is from what we typically see.

Most RIAs show up like a suit in a brochure. Polished, sure—but forgettable. The personality is gone. The mission is generic. The brand has no pulse.

But what if we let our businesses be more human? What if we created something people actually want to follow? Something our clients’ kids might want to watch?

Because at the end of the day, wealth isn’t the goal. It’s a tool. And tools are meant to build something bigger than ourselves.

Ryan’s adventure is a masterclass in how to make your platform matter. He’s turning joy into generosity, business into meaning, and entertainment into action.

That’s something every founder, advisor, and leader can learn from.

So here’s the invitation:

Let your business tell a story worth watching. Infuse it with adventure, heart, and purpose. Speak to something bigger than money. Because when you do, people don’t just listen—they join in.

That’s how movements start.

That’s how impact scales.

______________________

On the Pod: The Breakaway Blueprint–How Nelly Mubashi Helps Advisors Go Independent

Episode 101: On this week’s episode, Kyle Van Pelt sits down with Nelly Mubashi, CEO of Northwest Asset Management and RIA Innovations. She’s known for building advisor-first solutions that combine operational excellence, flexible service models, and a strong commitment to culture—empowering advisors to scale their practices without sacrificing autonomy or quality.

Kyle talks with Nelly about her unconventional journey to leadership and the vision behind her dual-firm structure. They explore the challenges advisors face when breaking away from wirehouses, the importance of culture in remote teams, and how offering flexible, a la carte services gives RIAs the freedom to grow on their terms. Nelly also shares how she’s expanding support with offerings like tax prep, HR, and even a new trust company—all designed to help advisors deliver more value to clients while staying focused on what they do best.

(00:00) - Intro

(01:50) - Nelly's money moment

(07:16) - Why Nelly chose the RIA space over larger firms

(08:42) - Launching an RIA in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis

(10:26) - Maintaining company culture across a growing, remote team

(13:25) - Why Nelly offers à la carte services instead of a one-size-fits-all model

(15:19) - Designing the tech stack at Northwest Asset Management

( 17:59) - Integrating technology across platforms without chaos

(20:35) - Making sense of business data in a multi-platform world

(23:36) - The ideal advisor fit for Northwest Asset Management

(25:53) - How the firm attracts and retains breakaway advisors

(28:27) - What’s next for RIAs: trends, predictions, and a trust company

(32:59) - Nelly's Milemarker Minute

(35:38) - Nelly’s “why” for founding Northwest Asset Management

⚡️Bookmarks

The Power of Integration: A Live Webinar with Black Diamond

Thank you to my colleagues Jessica Perez, Colby Tallafuss, and Josh Small from Black Diamond for hosting a fantastic webinar on turning data confusion into clarity.

We had a great time diving into real-world strategies, sharing lessons from top firms, and unpacking how integration is the secret weapon behind operational efficiency and scalable growth.

If you missed it, you can catch the full conversation here:

Eliminate the Hidden Costs of Messy Data with Milemarker + Wealthbox

Messy data isn’t just annoying—it’s expensive.

Join Milemarker and Wealthbox for a quick, tactical webinar on how poor data hygiene quietly drains your firm’s time, resources, and client trust—and what to do about it.

🗓️ Wednesday, July 23 | 2PM ET

Learn how to clean up your CRM, eliminate risk, and finally make your data work for you.

👉 Save your spot

Milemarker on the Road
Catch my team on the road at the following events or cities:

1. July 23 - Greenville, SC

2. July 23-24 - Atlanta, GA

3. July 25- Augusta, GA

4. July 27-31 - Denver, CO

5. August 17-20 - Lincoln, NE

6. September 3-4 - New York, NY

7. September 7-10 - Los Angeles, CA

8. September 10-12 - San Diego, CA

If you’re in any of those cities and would like to arrange a meeting time, please reply to this email, and we’ll schedule something on the calendar.

Jud Mackrill