How to Scale a Business Partnership: Building a $1B Firm | Highland Wealth Founders

Two financial advisors merged their practices, then realized neither of them knew how to run a business. Highland Wealth founders Jeff King and Gavin Filasek on what it took to go from a six-person office to a firm with $1 billion in assets under management.* In 2019, at a Vision Day planning session, six people wrote down a 10-year goal and everyone in the room laughed. Jeff and Gavin explain why declaring a goal bigger than your current way of operating forces you to change how you make decisions. They also cover the discipline of a joint checking account, the intern who ran their Monday meetings, and why "it's not personal, it's business" is the biggest myth in leadership. It's an honest look at scaling a partnership, building a culture people want to join, and making the hard people decisions every growing business faces. *Chapters* 0:00 A milestone six people laughed at 0:58 Jeff's start: 32 years in the business 2:33 Gavin's start and the 30-second job interview 4:56 Transferring trust: how the partnership model began 6:30 Commission checks, lonely years and "go far together" 8:18 Seven years of trust before a merger 10:30 From practice to firm: learning to run a business 13:11 The book on a client's desk and bringing in outside help 14:33 The 9 a.m. meeting that proved they needed systems 16:03 Vision Day: declaring the goal everyone laughed at 17:30 What's really behind the number 19:38 Working on the business, not just in it 20:26 Fast growth breaks things 21:36 Core values and the hardest people decisions 24:15 Why every owner needs an accountability partner 25:37 Culture, trust and fun as a core value 29:26 The flywheel: "It ain't us anymore" 32:04 What's next: from firm to institution 35:39 Strategy is saying no 37:19 Thanking the families behind the business *About the guests* Jeff King is a co-founder of Highland Wealth and has spent 32 years in financial services, starting out of LSU. Gavin Filasek is a co-founder of Highland Wealth with nearly 20 years in the business. His first job interview in the industry was a 30-second conversation with Jeff, and seven years of friendship later they merged their practices to build the firm. Better Outcomes Podcast by Highland Wealth: conversations with business owners about building something that lasts. #businessowner #entrepreneur #leadership #companyculture #betteroutcomes Cullen Talley is not affiliated with Northwestern Mutual and the views expressed by Cullen Talley do not necessarily represent those of Northwestern Mutual or its subsidiaries. 1B+ AUM as of 9/28/26. Figure refers to brokerage assets as a registered representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) and advisory assets as an Advisor of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC).  Assets under management (AUM) includes all discretionary and non-discretionary assets of the advisor.