# Ep 505: Using A "Pillow Test" To Make The Hard Business Decisions On The Way To $3.5B AUM with Andrew Rosen Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/financial-advisor-success-1002597/ep-505-using-a-pillow-test-to-make-the-hard-business-decisions-on-the-way-to-3-5b-aum-with-andrew-rosen Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/financial-advisor-success-1002597/ep-505-using-a-pillow-test-to-make-the-hard-business-decisions-on-the-way-to-3-5b-aum-with-andrew-rosen.md Podcast: [Financial Advisor Success](https://stenobird.com/podcast/financial-advisor-success-1002597) Published: 2026-09-01T11:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://fasuccess.libsyn.com/ep-505-using-a-pillow-test-to-make-the-hard-business-decisions-on-the-way-to-35b-aum-with-andrew-rosen Audio file: https://media.blubrry.com/financial_advisor_success/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/fasuccess/FAS505_final.mp3?dest-id=395010 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/financial-advisor-success-1002597/episodes/ep-505-using-a-pillow-test-to-make-the-hard-business-decisions-on-the-way-to-3-5b-aum-with-andrew-rosen Duration seconds: 5432 ## Resource How do you know you're making the right decision, especially when every option comes with trade-offs? Whether you're making career decisions or leading a growing advisory firm, today's guest offers practical lessons on building a business that aligns with your values while creating long-term success. Andrew Rosen is the Executive Chairman of Diversified, LLC, and in this episode, he shares the decision-making framework he calls the "pillow test," a simple but powerful way to evaluate career moves, business opportunities, and strategic decisions. Listen in as Andrew explains how this mindset shaped his career, from choosing a lower-paying role with greater long-term opportunity to navigating acquisitions, ownership transitions, and decisions around private equity investment. You'll learn how Diversified evolved from founder-led ownership to a partner-owned firm, what matters just as much as technical expertise when earning clients' trust, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/505 ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/financial-advisor-success-1002597/episodes/ep-505-using-a-pillow-test-to-make-the-hard-business-decisions-on-the-way-to-3-5b-aum-with-andrew-rosen/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/financial-advisor-success-1002597/ep-505-using-a-pillow-test-to-make-the-hard-business-decisions-on-the-way-to-3-5b-aum-with-andrew-rosen.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.