Origin Story
This is the uncensored creation story behind the EQ of Wealth
My story begins quite practically — I was on a quest for dental insurance.
I really didn’t want to be a coach. I really didn’t want to be a founder again. I didn’t really want to create the EQ of Wealth. I didn’t really want to do this.
What I really wanted — before I started WxL Partners in 2019 — a job with GREAT dental. That was before. The world had another plan for me. In the form of an ex-NFL player.
What happened after that is a lesson in strategy, perseverance and tapping in to the world’s plan for you. Here’s how it all came to be. I hope that by sharing my path, you can find your own, too.
Chapter 1 (2019) — The Unexpected Path to Coaching
At a fateful coffee meeting in San Francisco in spring 2019, one of my mentors encouraged me to pursue a career in coaching.
My first thought: “What a terrible idea!” But I was feeling lost and purposeless enough to give it a shot.
I took him up on his advice to start coaching. I had zero training, but got to work and offered 50 people, fifty, 2-hour (yup, 2 hours) sessions.
The first person I ever coached is now my longtime marketing advisor. She helped me write this — thanks, Lori! The second person was a retired NFL player.
Our coaching session should have been AWFUL for him. I had zero training, and to this day, I still know nothing about American football. However, a couple of hours after that session, crossing the street by Washington Square Park, I got a text that would change my life.
It was from the ex-NFL player. It was a text expressing immense gratitude for the positive impact our session on on his life.
I was shocked. The first (and non-censored) thought that ran through my head?
“F%%K”
I knew it that moment that this was my calling. This was how I could use my unique gifts towards their greatest good.
I also knew it would be challenging, exhausting, and take time.
My 2019 dream of having dental insurance would have to wait. I had found what I truly needed to follow.
As life would have it, I had already asked my lawyer to incorporate WxL Partners, Inc. At the time, I wasn’t sure the focus of this new business, but when I look back at my company’s incorporation date on June 11th, 2019 and look at this text message, they were one day a part. Some things are meant to be.
My favorite quote comes from Rumi and the more I live, the more it’s true.
Chapter 2 (June 2022 - April 2023) — Road to the EQ of Wealth
This chapter begins in my favorite place in the world, and where I feel most at home — Paris.
It was June 6, 2022. It was my first trip to Paris in years. Thoughts of Paris got me through some “languishing” moments during lockdown.
I left the airport and took the metro to Saint Sébastian-Froissart stop in Le Marais. When I got to the top of the stairs and looked at Boulevard Beaumarchais, life stopped.
Like literally…stopped.
What I’m about to describe, I can’t really understand, but it was one of, if not the most, spiritual experiences of my life.
I felt like I entered a wind tunnel. I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me…I then saw myself outside myself (yes, this was an out-of-body experience) and the first thought that popped into my head was:
“You’re home.”
The second uncensored thought was “That’s F%%KING CRAZY.”
However, the next three weeks unfolded in such flow, and I made the commitment that I would move to Paris that fall.
To give you a sense of the flow. The day after my spiritual moment, I was sitting at the counter in Paris at a delicious restaurant and found myself next to two women, who would become my new friends. But the magic is really with Suzanne (the women with the fab bob to the left). Both of these women grew up 2 towns away from me and Suzanne, left NYC in her early 40s to move to Paris with her husband. Her job? It’s to help manage the second homes of Americans in Paris. She knew EVERYTHING and the world put the right people in my path.
There was just one (big) problem I had to solve for to make the move a reality.
To secure a Paris apartment (and therefore a visa) as an American entrepreneur, I needed a solid business with a substantial runway to demonstrate that I would be a great tenant for an apartment. Between 2019 and this point, I was building up coaching skills and credibility. My coaching didn’t have a niche, which I thought that was ok — until I realized, it so wasn’t.
About four months later, on September 12, 2022, when I should have been moving to Paris, I didn’t have that solid business.
In fact, it was worse than not having a solid business. On September 12, 2022 my whole life came undone and I had no choice but to rise, however feebly, from the ashes of my former life and goals. I look back now on this day as was my “Phoenix-aversary.”
My business, my home, and my romantic relationship at the time all burned within 24 hours. My former life was in flames, and I was forced to rebuild.
(P.S. What I did have was my health, friends, and family, which truly matter most and got me through.)
The following six months the big life crumble were marked by moments of hysterical crying in bed as I applied for jobs simply because I wanted to get to Paris, but never made it past the first round because businesses didn’t know what to do with me. I’d been a CEO at that point and was trained in fundraising — how could I be so unmarketable?
Whatever it was, I felt like a loser.
However, in those months of fear and frustration, there was one HUGE bright moment.
One woman I was coaching told me that she raised $100M in 2 days for climate — in large part because of our work together.
Because of the work we did, he gained the confidence to take the stage in front of her family and others like her, using her voice to advocate for the work of a visionary African woman.
I teared up when she told me because I was so proud of her!! She was truly owning her unique power, position, and voice to make the world better!
I'd like to say that this huge validation for my coaching was the inspiration necessary to create the EQ of Wealth, but you’d be wrong. I wanted a salary to move to Paris, and the disappointments kept coming until January 2023.
At that point, the last job I applied for turned into an assistant position — the kind of role I had after graduating from college almost 20 years prior. It was at that point that I realized — this back-up plan of normal-job-with-dental wasn’t going to work, and it was time to double down and bet on me and my business.
I started by creating the “Legacy Magic” framework to find my “why”.
I needed to determine WxL Partners’ and my own unique differential, and I needed a solid answer for “why me.” This was my strategy to get there.
Up until this point (2019-2022), I was coaching a broad range of people to build skills — female founders, community and nonprofit leaders, and a few women in the wealth advising, family office, and philanthropy world — but I needed a solid business and a solid niche. So I applied my own “Legacy Magic” framework to figure out my next steps.
Legacy magic is Legacy magic is a quick framework to look at your life and your experiences and find the niche where you can do the most good, for your career, for others, for yourself.
It’s basically a way to discover and answer the question of: “Why you?”
Personal: I inherited a good amount of money when I was 21-years-young and didn’t handle it well. Money, like most families, is a highly heated and emotional topic in my family, and my story was no different.
Professional: Throughout my career, I worked with UHNW families in fundraising, and saw that dynamics in my family also existed in theirs, and when it came to capital getting stuck, it was fear and family dynamics.
Potential: I wanted to create the training I wish I had to unlock capital that was stuck and bring families closer together.
then, In april 2023, I was on a catch-up call with my dear friend Larissa “Larz” May (see photo below!) and magic was made.
I talk to Larz about everything, including all things entrepreneurship and business. I value her insights so much because she’s a trailblazer in her own right and I know she wants the best for me.
Larz said:
“You do great work around the emotional intelligence side of wealth. The EQ of Wealth. Most wealth is IQ — investing, philanthropy, etc., and you do the EQ.”
To which I responded:
“Wait, that’s brilliant! Can I take that?”
And being the gem of a human she is, she said, “Sure!”
That day the name “EQ of Wealth” was born.
One week later, I was on a call with an exited founder, who is now the founder of an investor community, where I told him about the EQ of Wealth. This was the first time I mentioned EQ of Wealth on a call. This call secured me my first webinar on the topic.
Big breakthrough, and I thought we were off to the races!
…or so I thought. :)
This is me and my dear Larissa “Larz” May, the digital well-being trailblazer behind Half the Story and Ginko, on the streets of Paris during one of our many adventures.
Chapter 3: (May 2023 - March 2025) — The Path to Personal Power
If you decide to become a leader in all things wealth and family, you’re about to receive a ton of tough lessons about feeling poor and why family matters.
The reason?
The sign of healing is actually a non-reaction. (See Lesson #1)
Lesson 1: Money Healing
I’ll know I’m healed in all things money when I couldn't care less about how much money someone has. Non-reaction. Healing is when money doesn’t affect me one way or the other. I knew that once that happened, I could truly teach and be an objective person in all things at the intersection of wealth and family.
When you’re on the precipice of big, exciting change, life sends you lessons to get you healing. Let’s look at mine.
Around May 2023, I had to liquidate my assets and take on debt to truly bet on myself. Between you and me, it was during this time that I had some very close calls, and honestly, I had to face the very real repercussions of financial risk and lack of financial options.
However, those hard moments were when I had to face my fears, find trust within myself, and deeply understand if this was all worth it. In those quiet and reflective moments, I bet on myself and this work every time. Lesson learned.
Lesson 2: Family Values
On the family side of things, from February 2024 - March 2025, my journey to my first early mammogram became many doctors' appointments, biopsies, and surgery. I went through a very real (and long) breast cancer scare.
I’m in the clear and I’m very, very lucky to be healthy, but it was a challenging and emotionally draining time.
And my close friends and family, especially my parents, were with me every step of the way. I’m so deeply blessed.
What family means & the transformation:
To keep my business going, I had to move back in with my parents at various moments. It wasn’t great for my ego, but it was necessary as a boot-strapping founder. New York City makes no sense for overhead costs. I used to feel embarrassed about it. Now, I look at that as invaluable moments of closeness that were built because over that time of constant medical appointments, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
family as a value
This a photo of me and Amy Dornbusch, force-of-nature investor, philanthropist, and founder of AtlasDaughters, at Davos last January. Family values go beyond blood. It’s just that — a value. My cancer scare came about at the same time I was partnering with Amy to create and launch AtlasDaughters (a brilliant philanthropic travel company for UHNW families). When I told her I may be in cancer treatment back in 2024, which could disrupt my work, she said: “I’m not worried. You’re my person.” She’s the best. Amy’s also raised $42M+ in the last 3 years for cancer research.
Surround yourself with the right people, who have the right values.
My Parents:
My mom has a great sense of humor, and she’s always very empathetic. She would sit and listen to all my fears and venting of emotional exhaustion during that time, and at the same time make me laugh. For example, we’d joke that for a woman (hello me!) with a petite chest, it’s a miracle I don’t set up metal detectors in airports with the amount of surface area now taken up with metal clips from all my biopsies and surgery.
My 86-year-young father also came with me to every single doctor’s appointment. He made the time, he waited in every doctor’s office until I was done, and as a retired Radiologist in mammography (what luck!), he made sure to talk to the doctor to get the full picture of what I was going through.
For me, I want to be the person who shows up for the 7 am doctor’s appointment, and I’m lucky enough to have a dad who did.
I know what it feels like to always have a loved one in the waiting room.
I got the lessons.
In the end, by coming through those challenging moments, the only thing I care about is character. How much money you have doesn’t impress me. That is your net-wealth number. True net-worth is all about character.
Character is how well you treat yourself and others. It’s the kindness you display and the actions you take.
Thank you to Rena Greifinger at Maverick Collective for being the person to come up with “Net Wealth.” Go Rena!
Chapter 4: (April 2025 - Present) — What’s Now and What’s Next
Everything in life compounds, including all the hours of hard work.
Just how everything fell apart in my Phoenix-aversay on September 12, 2022 — so much in the last couple of months has come together:
My second cohort of my group coaching course, “Capital & Connection,” went brilliantly, and I know this group Wealth EQ work really works
I’m advising values and action-aligned UHNW women and families
I'm speaking at the world's top institutions and organizations about the EQ of Wealth®
I’m sharing the EQ of Wealth® in respected UHNW media outlets and podcasts
I’m deeply loved and supported by my community
In the small (even uncertain) moments, I feel peace, gratitude, and trust
I’m also preparing for a trip back to Paris. :)
Who knows — maybe that dental insurance is next.
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
This photo was taken last April 25th in Paris on my 40th birthday, which was truly one of the best days of my life. I’m so grateful for this chapter of my life and for all the lessons that got me to this point.
This story could have easily ended much worse in so many different scenarios. I’m unbelievably lucky.
It’s because of my family, my friends who are like family, and all the people who believed in me that this story is ending (at this unique moment — life has many different chapters with so many different lessons) from a place of triumph.
Stay courageous and, most importantly, stay kind. This work and I have so much more good to do.
From pain to purpose is the route to grounded power.
I can’t wait for the closeness Wealth EQ will bring to families, and all the capital will be unstuck and unlocked to make the world a bit better for generations to come.
