đ Managing Tech Millions by WealthOps đ your go-to source for building wealth with tech equity and managing the money that comes with it.
Every week, we'll deliver a concise and powerful lesson on building wealth working for equity compensation or on managing your seven and eight-figure portfolio.
Today, in 5 minutes or less, youâll learn:
đ Why your legacy may not start with your own kids
đŻ The kind of story that actually gets passed on
đşď¸ The one name and one principle to write down before Thanksgiving
Hey Family Office CEOs,
I got married late.
Through most of my 30s, I was a professional guy with no wife and no kids. Every week when I called my mom, she asked me the same question: âAre you going to have kids before I die?â
But I always had a vision of legacy. I wanted to go in a different direction than what I was given, and I wanted to take the things that worked with me.
What I didnât know then was that my legacy had already started, at my sisterâs holiday table.
Managing Tech Millions is a Weekly Podcast that gives you deep dive conversations into building and growing wealth with myself and other industry experts.
This week, Iâm breaking down how much time running your own family office actually takesâand why the right system should give you hours back, not hand you a second job.
The Second-Job Fear: Most people with $1Mâ$30M assume running a family office means taking on another full-time role. It doesnât. The whole point of the system is to cut the time your wealth takes, not add to it.
Building vs. Running: Building the machine and running it are two very different time commitments. I walk through what each phase asks of you, and why the first few months look nothing like the years that follow.
Where the Hours Actually Go: I break down the operational cadence that keeps the business running (reconciliation, expense management, plan reviews) and show where people burn time when they donât have one.
Stop Starting From a Blank Page: Designing every process yourself is what makes this feel overwhelming. When you work from proven templates and checklists, youâre filling in blanks instead of reinventing the wheel.
The CEO Doesnât Do Everything: Your job is to make decisions and oversee the work. Your CPA, Certified Tax Planner and attorney handle the execution, so your time goes only where you add value.
Who This Is Built For: Busy professionals and business owners who want institutional discipline over their wealth without turning it into a full-time job.
The Fun Uncle
Before I had a family of my own, I spent a lot of holidays with my sister and her family.
My oldest nephew and I got close. I was the crazy fun uncle. And over those holidays, I shared a lot with him: my work principles, the things that meant a lot to me, the direction I wanted my life to go.
The Phone Call
Years later, early in his career, he called me one night. He was burned out on a project and standing at the door, close to walking away.
He called me because he knew I wouldnât judge him. So I told him my story. I told him about a time Iâd been at that same door, and about some decisions I made that werenât great. I spent eight years at Accenture, and some of those decisions affected a promotion.
He made different choices because of it.
We got to reflect on that call together at his wedding, which my family just traveled to. Heâs in his early 30s now, building his own familyâs legacy. And today heâs an executor for my family office and my will.
What I Learned About Legacy
Sometimes legacy has nothing to do with direct descendants. It comes from sharing your ideas, your principles, and what you believe in with somebody whoâs eager to listen.
My nephew made a different choice because I told him about the decisions that cost me. Share the good, the bad, and the ugly.
It Works in Both Directions
Two years ago, in November, I did something Iâd recommend to anyone, whether or not you have kids.
I wrote a tribute to my parents and read it to them, with my sons there.
I named the things they gave me. My dad has a gift for releasing pressure in a tense moment with humor and fun. And both of my parents were fanatics about education. Thatâs one of the reasons Iâm here today.
I wrote it out and gave them the document. In front of my family, I thanked them for those principles. It helped solidify our family story for my sons.
Thatâs legacy too. Youâre naming what you received, so you can decide what to carry forward.
What Iâm Seeing in Our Community
A recent implementation call was all about legacy, and three member moments stood out:
One member has full transparency with an adult child. Each can see the otherâs accounts. When the member explained that theyâd eventually answer to their child, the way a CEO answers to a board, the child was a little scared by the responsibility. The memberâs answer was that the point wasnât to scare them. It was to prepare them.
Another member is having the first conversation this Thanksgiving, with kids ranging from middle school to college. Itâll be simple. Itâs step one.
Members without children are doing this too, with a cousinâs kids, a niece, a young adult whoâs curious about money. One is teaching a niece personal finance every other week.
The Family Office tent is big enough for all of them.
Key Takeaways
Your legacy may not start with your own kids. It starts with whoever is eager to listen.
Share your mistakes along with your wins. The story about my bad decisions is the one that changed my nephewâs choice.
Name what you were given. A written tribute to the people who shaped you makes your family story visible to the next generation.
Your Move Before Thanksgiving
Before you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, write three things on one page:
1. One name. A child, a niece or nephew, a godchild, a younger colleague. Someone whoâs eager to listen.
2. One principle you want to pass on. One sentence. How you think about work, money, risk, or family.
3. The story behind it, including a time you got it wrong. Thatâs the part theyâll remember.
Then find ten minutes with that person over the holiday. You donât need a meeting or an agenda. Tell them the story.
If you want a bigger step, write a short tribute to someone who shaped you and read it at the table.
Completion signal: the name, the principle, and the story are on the page.
Held beats pretty.
I was the fun uncle for years before I had sons of my own. Today heâs an executor for my family office.
Letâs keep building.
âChristopher
P.S. If youâre wondering how much to tell your own kids, I wrote about the 5-level ladder I use in How Much Iâm Telling My Kids About Our Money. And preparing the next generation, whether thatâs your kids or someone elseâs, is a big part of what members work on inside the Micro Family Office Accelerator. Start with The WealthOps Way.
đ Start here: The WealthOps Way
Go Deeper
đŻ Start here if youâre new â The WealthOps Way Free, 2-hour live workshop.
The structured build path: Micro Family Office Accelerator â Year 1 of the WealthOps membership.
Recent arc:
Iâm Betting Against Paying 1% for Advice â my 2032 prediction for the fee model (confirm slug)
I Walked Away From Operators Who Were Making Me Money â the pro forma and my own underwriting
How Much Iâm Telling My Kids About Our Money â the 5-level ladder
Today: the fun uncle, the executor, and the one story to share before Thanksgiving
New here?
Iâm Christopher. I built my Family Office after my 2012 IPO, after googling âhow to build a family officeâ and hitting the $100M wall the industry has quietly agreed on. Now I lead a community of more than 240 practitioners at WealthOps, and weâre building Eterna, the AI platform behind our approach. If this is your first issue, welcome. The best place to start is The WealthOps Way (wealthops.io/go). Free workshop, full rulebook, no pitch.
This is education, not legal, tax, or investment advice. Work through estate and executor decisions with your attorney.
Join me for The WealthOps Wayâour free live workshop designed to help you stop guessing and start running your wealth like a business.
Youâll go from scattered to strategic as you craft your own Portfolio Thesisâthe foundation of everything that follows.
Spots are limitedâand the clarity youâll gain? Game-changing.
Letâs build your portfolio like itâs your next great company!
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Always consult with qualified professionals before making any decisions based on the information provided.