Podcast episode

Episode 326: When Death Knocked Twice: Travis Penfield’s Blueprint for Scaling During Crisis

Can you build a thriving business while facing back-to-back life-threatening crises? Travis Penfield did exactly that, transforming his brush with death from a brain tumor and his wife’s cancer battle into clarity for scaling 49 Financial to 200+ advisors. His blueprint for bridging the trillion-dollar advisor succession gap prioritizes mentorship over metrics, revealing how personal trials became his greatest business advantage.

WATCH | LISTEN

KEY MOMENTS

Travis shares his recent experience meeting Jack Nicklaus and John Maxwell, highlighting Nicklaus’s emphasis on family over golf achievements
The powerful story of Travis’s brain tumor in 2016, requiring him to relearn basic functions
His wife Jacqueline’s cancer diagnosis and the emotional journey of shaving her head during chemotherapy
The doctor telling Travis to “prepare as if she’s gone” and taking his daughters to San Diego while contemplating single fatherhood
How these health crises fundamentally changed his approach to business success and identity

BUSINESS INSIGHTS

49 Financial’s three-pillar strategy: handling more complex issues, offering more services, and building more community
The company’s focus on young advisors (22-year-olds) in an industry where the average advisor is in their upper 50s
How 49 Financial is addressing the industry-wide 9% retention rate for new advisors
Travis’s shift from “quantity over quality” to “quality over quantity” in building his business
His vision for bridging the gap between aging advisors with trillions in assets and the next generation

FAITH PERSPECTIVE

How facing mortality transformed Travis’s relationship with God and clarity about priorities
The role of childlike faith in entrepreneurship versus the challenges of maintaining bold faith as a business matures
Using their platform to help clients turn “tax dollars into giving dollars” through strategic charitable planning
The daily struggle of enjoying present moments while awaiting his wife’s five-year cancer-free milestone

Quotable Moments:

“I think maybe a lot of entrepreneurs out there, it is so easy, even as believers, to make our business our identity. And it’s such a sneak.”
“It puts you in a different place in your faith when each one of you experience the thought of losing the other one within a day.”
“If the business doesn’t make it, it’s okay. If the business does hit that growth goal, it’s okay… I’m going home to my bride.”
“My heart and why 49, as long as I’m around, is going to be for the young person.”
“We’re going to turn tax dollars into giving dollars.”

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Episode 326: When Death Knocked Twice: Travis Penfield’s Blueprint for Scaling During Crisis

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Episode 326: When Death Knocked Twice: Travis Penfield’s Blueprint for Scaling During Crisis

Podcast episode

Episode 326: When Death Knocked Twice: Travis Penfield’s Blueprint for Scaling During Crisis

KEY MOMENTS

BUSINESS INSIGHTS

FAITH PERSPECTIVE

Quotable Moments:

More Episodes

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