I knew I wanted to build something.

That part came first.

I did not wake up one day with a perfectly formed business idea. I just knew I wanted to spend my work helping people in a way that actually mattered. I wanted to build something I could stand behind, something that felt honest, something that made sense morally and practically.

My background was in investments, so naturally that was the starting point. But the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt. Investment management for the masses did not feel like it was really serving people well. It felt optimized for the industry, not for the person sitting across the table.

I kept coming back to the same tension. If the best thing I know how to do is investing, but the way investing is commonly delivered is misaligned, then maybe the problem is not the people. Maybe it is the structure.

I struggled with charging AUM fees to deliver market exposure. Those fees compound quietly over time and they always come out of the client’s pocket. More than that, they create an inherent conflict. If you are paid based on assets you manage, it becomes very hard to objectively recommend moving money elsewhere, even when doing so is clearly better for the client.

I also had a hard time reconciling the amount of product pushing that still exists in the industry. High cost funds, commissions, incentives that are invisible to the client but very real to the advisor. None of it sat right with me.

So instead of trying to fix that from inside the same structure, I stepped back and asked a different question. What would this look like if it were built from scratch with the client’s good as the starting point?

That question is what became 3:23.

We decided to build a firm where we are paid for advice, not for products, assets, or transactions. A flat subscription. No brokerage fees. No commissions. No AUM fees. That decision removed a lot of noise and forced us to be honest about what actually helps people.

What I have learned is that most people do not need complexity. They need the fundamentals done well. They need help seeing where their money is going. They need someone to walk through insurance and risk thoughtfully. They need coordination with a CPA so taxes are not an afterthought. They need a will or a trust in place. And if they own a business, they need help thinking clearly about stewardship, timing, and long term impact.

That is the work we try to do.

Sometimes that includes investments. Sometimes it includes helping a business owner think through a possible sale. Sometimes it includes slowing things down instead of speeding them up. Because we are not paid based on outcomes or transactions, we can do that without pressure.

The name 3:23 comes from Colossians 3:23. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. That verse does not explain the business. It explains the posture.

This firm exists because I wanted to build something that reflected how I actually believe work should be done. With care. With humility. With alignment. And with a genuine desire for the person on the other side of the table to be better off.