# Ep #281: From Academia to Starting Own Firm with Andy Baxley

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-planner-podcast-1382818/ep-281-from-academia-to-starting-own-firm-with-andy-baxley
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-planner-podcast-1382818/ep-281-from-academia-to-starting-own-firm-with-andy-baxley.md
Podcast: [New Planner Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-planner-podcast-1382818)
Published: 2026-05-29T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://newplannerrecruiting.libsyn.com/ep-281-from-academia-to-starting-own-firm-with-andy-baxley
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/newplannerrecruiting/NPP281.mp3?dest-id=2275502
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-planner-podcast-1382818/episodes/ep-281-from-academia-to-starting-own-firm-with-andy-baxley
Duration seconds: 1439

## Resource

What happens when a psychology major discovers financial planning and decides to completely rethink how advice can be delivered? In this episode, Andy Baxley shares his journey from teaching English in South Korea to working at large financial institutions, discovering the fee-only RIA world, and ultimately launching his own firm, Two Trails Financial Planning. Andy opens up about the career pivots, self-doubt, and entrepreneurial lessons that shaped his path, along with the mindset shifts that helped him finally make the leap into business ownership. We also dive into how Andy is using AI to create more personalized, high-quality client experiences rather than simply automating tasks or reducing costs. He explains how advisors can use AI tools to build bespoke solutions for clients, why understanding psychology and communication is becoming even more important in the age of AI, and how newer planners can find the right career path based on their personality, strengths, and long-term goals. If you're interested in entrepreneurship, career growth, financial planning, or the future of AI in advice, this episode is packed with practical insights you won't want to miss. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/mrxxx5jw

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-planner-podcast-1382818/episodes/ep-281-from-academia-to-starting-own-firm-with-andy-baxley/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-planner-podcast-1382818/ep-281-from-academia-to-starting-own-firm-with-andy-baxley.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.