In this debut episode of The What If Show, host Mike Langford sits down with Thomas Gold Solutions founders Brooke Thomas and Steve Goldstein to pull back the curtain on the origin story behind one of the most trusted retirement planning platforms in the financial services industry — Retirement Analyzer.

You'll hear how a solo producer in Idaho named Chuck Cravens built the foundation of RA on Excel spreadsheets over 30 years ago because he was obsessed with answering client "what if" questions at the click of a button. How a 23-year-old Brooke Thomas, fresh out of college with zero sales experience, used that software to generate $150,000 in commissions in her very first year. And how a Wall Street trader named Steve Goldstein made a career leap into financial advising, fell in love with Retirement Analyzer, introduced Brooke at a webinar by reading nervously off a piece of paper — and ended up building a company with her a decade later.

But this episode isn't just a great origin story. Brooke and Steve go deep on the concepts that define their approach to retirement planning, including:

• Why financial plans have so many moving parts — and why that's actually an opportunity for advisors
• The budget conversation most advisors avoid (and why the ones who require it close the biggest cases)
• What the famous "red line" in RA really means and why showing it to clients is a confidence-building superpower
• Why Thomas Gold picks up the phone when you call — even on weekends

The episode wraps with the debut of Retirement BS with Brooke and Steve — the show's recurring segment that tackles common retirement planning myths and misconceptions. First up: the age-old client question, "Should I just pay off my mortgage?"

Whether you're a seasoned financial planner, a newer advisor looking for an edge, or just curious about what makes Retirement Analyzer different, this is the episode that sets the stage for everything that follows on The What If Show.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to The What If Show

01:32 Why It's Called "The What If Show"

03:15 Brooke's Story: From Zero Sales Experience to $150K Year One

05:43 Steve's Story: From Wall Street Trader to FinTech Founder

06:48 How Brooke and Steve Actually Met

09:33 Why Financial Plans Have So Many Moving Parts

11:37 The Budget Conversation Most Advisors Avoid

15:21 Why Thomas Gold Actually Answers the Phone

19:14 Getting Over the "New Software" Hump

23:12 Continuous Continuing Education

27:08 Small Changes, Big Outcomes (The Tour de France Analogy)

28:58 The Red Line Explained

32:34 Tab by Tab: How RA Builds Advisor Confidence

34:42 Let the Math Tell the Story

38:27 Introducing "Retirement BS" with Brooke & Steve

39:13 Retirement BS #1: Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage?

41:42 What Do YOU Want Us to Cover Next?