In our first episode of the Life and Finances Together Podcast we take this opportunity to introduce our financial professionals, Roger David and Jake Rinvelt, to you. Answering a series of questions, we get to learn more about their backgrounds and what they enjoy most about their work.
We begin with Roger and ask the big question: have you always wanted to be in finance? Did you always want to work in this industry?
It turns out the answer, for Roger, is “no.” When he finished high school, Roger thought he was going to be a pediatrician. He enjoyed working with kids, wanted to help people, and thought that was his path. And it didn’t hurt that becoming a doctor would make his family proud. But he quickly discovered one little drawback to his plan. Roger had a little problem with the sight of blood and seeing needles go into people's arms. Upon discovering this, it was pretty clear that becoming a pediatrician was probably not going to work. So he began seeking another career path.
Roger used to love watching Michael J. Fox movies and tv shows where he would pretend to be this unbelievably smart businessman. Those roles and those business jobs looked really exciting and interesting, so Roger thought… why not do that? Now there were a number of other things that also influenced his journey toward the finance industry. Roger’s dad, Ed David, was a successful businessman in Grand Rapids. But the one thing that he knew for sure that he wanted to do was help people. He went to the University of Michigan business school and then sought a career that would allow him to apply his business background and education to help people. Finding a way to combine the things he thought he was going to do as a pediatrician along with some of the business tools and strategies that he learned when he was in college brought him to the role that would allow him to help people in a different, and still valuable, way. And it's been one heck of a journey. Roger has been in the finance industry for 28 years!
Turning to Jake to answer this question, we learn that Jake actually spent a lot of time with Roger growing up at the Rinvelt & David offices where his dad, Rob Rinvelt, was the founding partner. It turns out that the Rinvelts and the Davids are related. Jake’s mom is Roger’s cousin and Roger is Jake's godfather. So the company has been family-focused from the start. Jake even had a few odd jobs at the office when he was younger and was a direct witness to what Rob and Roger did for years. But, ironically, with his dad starting the firm, Roger being Jake’s godfather, and Rinvelt & David being the family business, Jake originally did not want to be a financial advisor.
In high school, Jake really enjoyed writing and was part of the newspaper at Forest Hills Eastern. He also loved architecture and thought that he might pursue a profession in one of those areas. But as time passed, he realized he was never going to be the next great reporter, nor was he going to be the next Frank Lloyd Wright, and when he started college, Jake started from scratch determining while at Grand Valley State University what interested him. He always had a passion for math, and just naturally found his way to finance. He got into the business school at Grand Valley, started taking classes, and found his own path into this business and into this industry. And for him, it feels a little bit more fulfilling knowing that he wasn't "forced" into it like some people are expected to work for their dad or work in the family business. Jake chose his own path that just happened to lead to Rinvelt & David.
After learning about the educational path that led them here, we next want to know what other experiences helped them along the way. So we asked about their early work. What was your first job? And how did it influence you? What did you bring from those early employment experiences to Rinvelt & David?
Technically speaking, Jake’s first job was actually cleaning the offices at Rinvelt & David, which he did in his early high school days. While in college, he worked at one of the on-campus restaurants at Grand Valley to earn a little bit of spending money. So, he had a few early jobs that helped build his general skills. And after college, and a brief internship at a third-party money manager firm in Pennsylvania, his first official job was back at Rinvelt & David!
He did gain a lot of practical financial experience while in Pennsylvania. That opportunity helped him understand all of the intricacies of investing and the different strategies that we would use for our clients at Rinvelt & David as well. From making portfolio selections to all the other inner workings over at the third-party manager, it gave him a really good basis into part of the grand picture of things that we provide for our clients at Rinvelt & David.
Roger, on the other hand, looks back on his first job a local restaurant here in Grand Rapids as the beginning of his practical work experience. The restaurant is no longer around, but the lessons learned were lasting. When Roger started working, his dad had to sign a special work permit because Roger was too young to get a job! He was hired to bus tables and wash dishes. And while it may seem like an underwhelming first job, he still carries the memories with him. You may think, what does washing dishes and busing tables working at a restaurant have to do with anything Roger does now? The incredible lesson was about attention to detail.
According to Roger, when you're working in a restaurant, you want to work your way up from busing tables and washing dishes. You want to be the fry cook. You want to make the burgers and look cool. But in his case, they kept him in his original busing and washing role for about two years! And the reason is that they kept having professional shoppers come in on the days that he was working who noticed his skills! Roger was raised by a great Dutch mother who taught him how to clean… and clean unbelievably well with attention to detail. Because of that ability, for better or worse, he stayed in that dining room cleaning the bathrooms, making sure the floor was clean, and cleaning ketchup bottles to make sure that those were presentable to customers that came in.
He remembers the owner of the restaurant coming in and saying that every time a professional shopper came in and gave a review, they would go back and look and Roger was the one on the floor. At the time, Roger thought that might not be a good thing. That he wasn’t ready to be promoted because of the reviews. But that wasn’t the case. The owner said that Roger was probably one of the highest paid busboys and dishwashers ever. And he pointed out that the attention to detail was the reason why.
It's a powerful lesson and foundation for good work. Back then it was getting every crumb off the floor and making sure that there wasn't any ketchup residue on the ketchup bottles. All those little things… the cleanliness of the bathrooms and all that little attention to detail that we kind of don't think about so much today. That attention to detail just kind of carries over in a different way to what the Rinvelt & David team does today. And there has to be that attention to detail in this industry. It's seen, it's noticed. And it's desired.
So when he thinks back on his first job experience, that’s what stands out the most. Being a teenager busing those tables and washing the dishes and vacuuming the floor with a little push vacuum. And it turns out they are fond memories! At the time, he remembers feeling like his dad was making him do this work, getting sweaty, and doing a lot of chores for not much pay, but it was ultimately a great opportunity. It helped make him who he is today. And it translated so much into what we do here in our firm and what we do for clients with that core focus on attention to detail.
Learning about their early jobs made us wonder what's their favorite part of this job? What do Roger and Jake enjoy the most about working at Rinvelt & David?
Roger initially feels that Jake’s answer should be working for him. That working for his godfather would have to be the best thing about the job. And of course, Jake agrees! But after laughing at the jest, Jake shares his true answer.
“In all honesty, my favorite part of this job is working with and helping others,” Jake says.
While it may sound cliche and basic within this industry, it doesn’t change the fact that this job is about getting to know people really personally. Getting to understand who they are and what their desires are, what goals they have, things that they want to accomplish in their life, and then helping them work toward those things is very fulfilling.
And then we continue to build this relationship and journey with our clients through life, working through the curveballs that life throws at them, helping them plan around those things, and solve any problems that come up. It's really about educating people... at any age. Whether it's people in their 30s, going through similar things that Jake is, or it’s older individuals seeking help for the challenges that they face, everybody's got different stories. Everyone's plan is unique to them. And we get to learn about their “why.” Why they’re doing what they are doing and why they want to pursue the goals they have.
It's really just the excitement of seeing new things and figuring out new ways to solve different problems that clients have because everyone's so unique. It really keeps Jake wanting to come back so he can continue to learn more and figure out how to solve these problems.
Roger agrees wholeheartedly adding, "what's interesting is just understanding that “why” when we get into them telling their story. That’s what's incredible." Roger and Jake get to listen to that. They get to learn what is important to their clients.
They speak in the introductory presentation about “what legacy do you want to leave?” And everyone thinks a legacy is about money. Many say “Oh, I don't know if I'm going to have a ton of money to leave behind for a huge foundation.” And that's not necessarily a legacy. It can be a monetary thing, but it could just be an intrinsic thing as well. Something that you want to be known for. Really, there’s so much energy and engagement in discovering their “why.” Learning what they want to accomplish with this time on Earth, and how Roger and Jake can give advice to help accomplish those things; those are the favorite things, the things that they just love to do.
Roger also comments that it’s fun to see the team members grow. Not only in talents, but just in size! Rinvelt & David used to be a firm of two. Roger and Rob used to do everything by themselves way back when. And then it became a team of three for a long time with Julie, who has been with us now for over 20 years. But to see the firm and everyone on the team grow into their roles, that's probably one of Roger’s favorite things; seeing that evolution of everybody and the firm working together and doing these things to make differences in people's lives.
Rinvelt & David is a place for passion and compassion and working for people and wanting to help. Thanks so much for learning more about Roger and Jake today.
If you have any questions about our team, our services, or finances in general, please give us a call, send us an email, and of course, please like and subscribe to our podcast, and stay tuned for the next episode.
