At Depth with Ben Rodgers and Guests

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AT DEPTH is a podcast about intentional entrepreneurship and meaningful investing. Hosted by Ben Rodgers, each episode dives beneath the surface with founders, creative builders, and investors to uncover how values shape business decisions, capital allocation, and personal growth. Discover the throughlines between purpose, profit, and building what matters. Listen for conversations that go beyond strategy — exploring why we build something, as well as how it gets built.

  1. Oct 15

    Michele Camp on Wealth, Trust, and the Power of Personal Relationships

    What does it mean to build wealth without losing sight of what matters most? On this episode of At Depth, Ben Rodgers sits down with Michele Camp, founding partner of Beacon Advisors, to explore the connections between money, trust, relationships, and the values that shape how we live and lead. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience across trading, private banking, and wealth management, Michele shares why financial planning is about far more than portfolios and returns. It's about understanding people, building relationships rooted in genuine care, and helping families make thoughtful decisions about their wealth, their legacy, and their future. Together, Ben and Michele explore why actions—not words—build trust, how wealth can complicate relationships, why families need a plan before a crisis forces the conversation, and what it looks like to put people ahead of products. Michele also reflects on an unexpected lesson from slowing down: sometimes, rest creates the space we need to see things more clearly. At its heart, this conversation is about what happens when we bring humanity back into finance—and why the best advice starts with knowing the person behind the money. In this episode: Why trust is built through action, care, and genuine relationships How wealth can change relationships and complicate the meaning of friendship Why estate planning and family communication matter long before a crisis The difference between selling financial products and providing truly independent advice How Michele is building Beacon Advisors around flexibility, personal service, and family values What slowing down can teach us about control, ambition, and rest At Depth explores the through lines connecting what we value to how we lead, build, and invest. This conversation is a reminder that financial decisions are never just about money—they're about people, priorities, and the lives we're trying to build.

  2. Oct 1

    The Venture Mindset: Betting on What’s Next with Winter Mead

    What does it take to invest in businesses that don’t exist yet? In this episode of At Depth, Ben Rodgers sits down with Winter Mead, founder and CEO of Cool Water Capital, to explore the mindset behind venture capital—and what separates a thoughtful investment from a gamble. Winter shares lessons shaped by growing up on a farm, where he learned early about patience, preparation, seasons, risk, and the reality that you can do everything right and still lose. Those lessons now inform how he thinks about venture: planting seeds, nurturing the right opportunities, taking calculated swings, and staying diversified enough to withstand the ones that don’t work. The conversation digs into what makes a business truly “venture scale,” how investors evaluate ideas that could become enormous, the difference between invention, innovation, and investment, and why venture requires both a willingness to take risk and the discipline to manage it. Winter also explains how Cool Water Capital approaches emerging managers, why access and relationships matter, and how consistency across cycles can create an advantage in an asset class built around uncertainty. A conversation about ambition, patience, probability, and the work of investing in what comes next.

  3. Sep 17

    The Human Side of Investing: Relationships, Judgment & Knowing What You Can Control

    What makes someone good at investing? Is it the ability to process more information, build a better model, or make the perfect decision? For Colin Kampfe, Principal and Portfolio Manager at Brown Advisory, the answer is much more human. In this episode of At Depth, Ben Rodgers and Colin explore the parts of investing that don’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet: building relationships that last, staying intellectually curious, knowing what you can and can’t control, and learning to separate good decisions from lucky outcomes. They also get into the growing role of AI in finance—and why technology may be able to execute, analyze, and augment our work without ever fully replacing the human judgment required to build trust. At the center of the conversation is a simple question: When things go well—or when they go badly—who do you want in the room with you? This is a conversation about investing, but it’s really about something bigger: how we think, how we relate to people, and how we choose to spend our time. Listen in, and find your depth.

  4. Sep 3

    Building a Private Markets Platform That Lasts

    What does it take to build an investment firm that can weather multiple market cycles, back great entrepreneurs, and still stay true to its original philosophy? In this episode of At Depth, Ben Rodgers sits down with John Chadwick, Founder and Managing Partner of Claritas Capital, for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, investing, firm-building, and the power of partnership. John shares the story behind Claritas—from moving into venture capital in Nashville to building a multi-strategy private markets platform spanning venture, growth equity, and real estate. He explains why Claritas focuses on risk-adjusted returns, why they prefer active partnerships over simply writing checks, and how they evaluate the people behind an investment. The conversation also digs into what makes a great team, how Claritas gives talented investors room to build within a broader platform, and why John believes optimism, trust, and genuine partnership are central to how the firm operates. For John, the long game is simple: keep working with exceptional entrepreneurs and development partners, build a platform that creates access to private-market opportunities, and scale without losing the flexibility and focus that made Claritas successful in the first place.

  5. Aug 20

    Building Businesses That Last: Stephen Lowery on People, Growth & Smart Investing

    What does it look like to build a business—and an investment strategy—designed to weather the storm? In this episode of At Depth, Ben Rodgers sits down with Stephen Lowery, founder of Redbeard Capital, to unpack the lessons behind a career in entrepreneurship, family offices, alternative investments, and building alongside the right people. From selling cassette tapes in grade school to running a gopher-killing business and eventually investing in businesses and real estate, Stephen shares how starting small, proving a concept, and creating real value shaped his approach. The conversation goes deeper into Stephen's philosophy on growth, partnership, profit, and risk. Why does he believe businesses are either growing or dying? Why does Redbeard prioritize all-cash investments and start with the worst-case scenario? And how do you balance financial performance with building a business where people can actually thrive? It's a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, investing, relationships, and the long game—and why sometimes the smartest move is to slow down, de-risk, and give yourself room to win.

  6. Aug 6

    Success Isn't Fulfillment with Greg Taylor | Leadership, Purpose & the Power of Self-Awareness

    What if the biggest obstacle to your leadership isn't your strategy—it's the story you're telling yourself? Executive coach Greg Taylor has spent decades helping leaders, entrepreneurs, and high-performing teams operate closer to their potential. In this conversation with Ben Rodgers, he shares the hard-earned lessons that transformed him from a leader driven by proving himself into one committed to serving others. Together, they explore why success and fulfillment aren't the same thing, how self-awareness changes the way we lead, and why the best coaches don't hand out answers—they help people discover their own. Greg opens up about business failure, identity, family, and the moments that reshaped how he approaches leadership, relationships, and purpose. This episode is a conversation about becoming the kind of leader people want to follow: someone who listens before speaking, builds trust before demanding results, and understands that lasting growth starts from the inside out. As Greg puts it, fulfillment comes when what's been placed inside you finds its way into the world. In this episode: Why success without purpose eventually feels empty The difference between coaching, mentoring, and fixing people How self-awareness unlocks better leadership Building trust through questions instead of answers The "one domino" philosophy for creating lasting change If you're building a business, leading a team, or simply trying to become a better version of yourself, this conversation offers practical wisdom for the journey.

  7. Jul 23

    Financial Planning Is Really About Life | Jenn Lane on Truth, Goals & the Space to Think

    Financial planning isn't really about spreadsheets. It's about creating the space to ask a deeper question: How do you want to live your life? In this episode of At Depth, Ben sits down with Jenn Lane, founder of Compass Planning and one of the early pioneers of fee-only financial planning. Jenn's path—from flight instructor to financial planner—reveals a simple but powerful philosophy: the best financial advice starts by understanding the person, not the portfolio. Together, they explore why most people don't actually need better financial products—they need time to think, honest conversations with the people they love, and someone who can hold the bigger picture when life gets noisy. Along the way, they discuss: Why our biggest financial challenge isn't investing—it's talking about money. How financial planning creates space for couples to discover what they really want. The surprising freedom that comes from simply knowing where your money goes. Why truth—not sales—is the foundation of good advice. What it feels like to walk alongside clients through decades of life's biggest milestones. This is a conversation about money, but even more, it's a conversation about clarity, trust, and building a life that aligns with what matters most. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by financial advice—or wondered whether your money is actually serving the life you want—this episode is for you.

  8. Jul 9

    Performance Begins Before the Sale | Paige Good on Mindset, Relationships & Sustainable Success

    What separates high performers from everyone else? According to Paige Good, it isn't a better script, more leads, or another productivity hack. As Learning Advisor for Sotheby's International Realty, Paige has spent nearly three decades helping agents build businesses that last. In this conversation, she and Ben explore why sustainable performance starts long before the transaction—with mindset, intentional habits, authentic relationships, and the courage to build a framework instead of simply staying busy. They discuss: Why relationship-building still outperforms transaction-chasing The hidden cost of operating without a personal framework How fear, imposter syndrome, and negativity quietly limit growth The discipline of protecting your time while serving clients well Why integrity, kindness, and authentic connection remain enduring competitive advantages Whether you work in real estate, investing, sales, or any business built on trust, this episode offers a practical conversation about what it takes to perform consistently without losing the human side of your work. At Depth explores the ideas, values, and relationships that shape how leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors build businesses—and lives—that endure.

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About

AT DEPTH is a podcast about intentional entrepreneurship and meaningful investing. Hosted by Ben Rodgers, each episode dives beneath the surface with founders, creative builders, and investors to uncover how values shape business decisions, capital allocation, and personal growth. Discover the throughlines between purpose, profit, and building what matters. Listen for conversations that go beyond strategy — exploring why we build something, as well as how it gets built.

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