The retirement industry keeps talking about convergence.

Lori Hardwick breaks down what it actually takes to make it real.

This conversation cuts straight into the structural issues—America’s savings gap, advisor confidence, platform integrations, valuation pressures, and the technology finally capable of scaling access. Lori brings decades of experience as an operator, board member, and founder to explain why this moment is different, what’s newly possible, and where firms are still holding themselves back.

You will hear what most leaders learn only after expensive trial and error:

• 00:00 — The real retirement access crisis in America
• 04:20 — The savings gap, Social Security challenges & bipartisan urgency
• 08:45 — Why wealth advisors hesitate: risk, regulation & confidence
• 12:30 — The time-management dilemma: 25 employees, one advisor
• 15:50 — The Sater model: specialists, referrals & shared revenue
• 20:55 — Swell’s turnkey infrastructure & chatbot-powered onboarding
• 25:10 — Tech rails: the new path from payroll → recordkeeper → asset mgmt
• 29:35 — Emergency savings, student-loan matching & plan design innovation
• 34:18 — What retirement can learn from wealth—and vice versa
• 37:45 — Where retire-tech platforms can plug in
• 41:20 — Early-stage founders vs. enterprise due diligence reality
• 45:12 — Riding the rails: integrations with Orion, InvestNet, Pershing
• 49:05 — Founder traits: execution vs. ideas
• 53:25 — Build, buy, or partner? Lori’s framework from inside the big firms
• 56:12 — The legacy tech debt problem nobody wants to talk about
• 01:00:40 — How firms can modernize without breaking the enterprise
• 01:03:50 — Final challenge: who will actually bridge the gap?
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This isn’t industry commentary.

It’s a strategic field guide for enterprises, advisors, founders, and retirement innovators who want to bridge the gap without burning years—or budgets—doing it the hard way.

If this episode gave you a new lens on convergence and growth:

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#RetirementTech #WealthManagement #Fintech #FinancialInnovation #AdvisorGrowth #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfFinance #401k #RetirementPlans #SaaS

Welcome to Decoding Growth, where unfiltered conversations and bold ideas are reshaping retirement. In this episode, hosts Lisa Kottler and Will Press sit down with Dan Beck, co-founder and CEO of 401GO, to explore how innovation, empathy, and a customer-first mindset are transforming the small business retirement market.

While others talk about serving small employers, Dan and his team are actually doing it. From tackling legacy systems to designing technology that reduces friction and humanizes finance, this episode breaks down what it truly means to modernize an industry that’s been slow to evolve.

If you’ve ever wondered why so many small businesses still struggle to offer 401(k) plans — and what it takes to fix that — this conversation is your roadmap.

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Decoding Growth: The new playbook for retirement innovation

00:33 – Introducing Dan Beck, co-founder and CEO of 401GO

01:40 – From e-commerce to fintech: Dan’s journey into retirement innovation

03:08 – The origin story: when solving his own 401(k) problem sparked a startup

05:20 – Why curiosity drives entrepreneurship and change

07:14 – Lessons from e-commerce: reducing friction and building better experiences

10:08 – Understanding the small business pain point — why complexity kills adoption

13:22 – How 401GO’s “own the friction” philosophy reshapes advisor relationships

16:18 – Building for small businesses: empathy over industry jargon

18:45 – Real-life impact: helping employees save their first dollar

21:10 – Human design + tech innovation: the secret to long-term engagement

25:04 – Redefining advisor partnerships and distribution models

29:28 – Why automation and relationships must coexist

32:00 – The danger of legacy thinking and the power of outside perspective

35:46 – Bootstrapping vs. venture capital: building for growth with integrity

38:25 – Lessons on innovation from startups and legacy firms

42:14 – How big companies and fintechs can collaborate instead of compete

46:00 – Innovation inside risk-averse industries: how to make it work

50:27 – The mindset shift: experimentation, autonomy, and innovation

55:19 – What incumbents can learn from startups — and vice versa

59:00 – The surprising truth: this industry wants to change

1:02:00 – Closing reflections: curiosity, empathy, and the future of 401(k)s

💡 Key Takeaways

• “Own the friction” — make complexity your responsibility, not your client’s.

• Real innovation starts with solving real problems, not chasing shiny tech.

• Empathy + automation = sustainable business transformation.

• Small businesses deserve better access, clarity, and care in financial services.

• The retirement industry is ready to evolve — it just needs better tools.

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If this episode inspired you:

✅ Subscribe to Decoding Growth for more unfiltered conversations on innovation.

💬 Comment your biggest takeaway — how do you “own the friction” in your business?

📢 Share this episode with a colleague ready to rethink how retirement works.

Because innovation isn’t about technology — it’s about courage, curiosity, and care. 💬🚀

Welcome to Decoding Growth — where unfiltered conversations and bold ideas are reshaping the future of retirement and benefits.

In this episode, hosts Lisa Kottler and Will Prest sit down with Anthony Bunnell and Tom Bishop, co-founders of Peopled, to unpack how their company is building the new front door for employee benefits. With backgrounds as executives and startup founders, Anthony and Tom bring unique insights into how AI, personalization, and trust can transform how employees engage with their benefits.

From solving the problem of benefits confusion to reimagining the advisor’s role in an AI-driven world, this episode cuts through the noise to reveal what true innovation looks like in financial wellness.

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Decoding Growth

01:15 – Meet the co-founders of Peopled

04:10 – The problem Peopled is solving in the benefits space

07:45 – How AI is transforming employee engagement

10:32 – “The new front door” for benefits explained

14:55 – Hyper-personalization and trust in financial decisions

19:40 – Scaling the advisor relationship through technology

24:05 – Why alignment—not assets—should define industry success

29:12 – Lessons learned from past startups and regulated industries

33:25 – Building partnerships with recordkeepers and healthcare providers

37:58 – The real future of integration and collaboration

42:10 – Final thoughts: redefining success in financial services

🎧 Tune in to explore how “Peopled” is using technology to help individuals make smarter, more confident financial decisions—one conversation at a time.

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💬 Subscribe for fresh insights from innovators transforming the retirement landscape.