Who We Are
Our Mission
Helping Small Business Owners Achieve Financial Sovereignty
Small business success is a function of capitalism, where small and localized entrepreneurs use their skills to innovate or produce higher quality or quantities of goods and services, thereby benefiting society immensely. Unlike Wall Street, in which large corporations frequently prioritize shareholders over customers, small business success is mutually beneficial for society, in which wealth is a much better barometer for value added to customers - the American people. Small businesses that embody empathy, individualism, competition, and accountability are the bedrock of the American economy. Downstream Wealth was created to make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of Americans by helping small businesses across the country regain financial control, grow their businesses, and monetize value.
About us
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Chad Holstlaw
Authorized IBC Practitioner, CEPA®
Co-Founder & Business Consultant
Chad began his career at a wealth management and investment banking firm, working closely with financial advisors and asset managers where he learned the ins and outs of Wall Street. He then joined a multi-billion dollar investment firm, eventually working his way up to head trader, specializing in sourcing liquidity for the firm’s funds, digesting and relaying critical and relevant market information, navigating volatility, managing risk, and helping generate investment ideas.
Through nearly a decade of involvement in traditional finance, Chad saw an obvious contradiction between Wall Street narratives and real world experiences. The financial sector is bloated with overpaid "experts" who are effectively paid to convince people to surrender financial control and purchase mediocre, costly, opaque, and risky products.
After studying Austrian economics, which revealed the importance of saving as opposed to our modern consumption-based Keynesian economics, Chad stumbled across Infinite Banking. Chad realized this concept is the perfect foundation for financial success for small businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, and families because it provides a system that offers an unmatched way to safely build and leverage capital, and thereby, regain financial control.
Chad prides himself on remaining perspicacious, allowing him to see the forest for the trees. He’s passionate about using his knowledge and experience to filter out the noise and help people gain financial sovereignty.
Dave Swanson
Authorized IBC Practitioner, CEPA®
Co-Founder & Business Consultant
After ten years in commercial insurance and financial services Dave discovered the Infinite Banking Concept (IBC). He was frustrated being trained to dispense the same canned “financial advice” no matter what company he was representing. IBC offered a completely different approach, one that solved a much more immediate problem he saw with each of his prior clients. Traditional financial advice says to save 10% of your income, expose it to market risk with the hope of a higher rate of return, pay someone to “manage” it for you, and then spend 35% of your income each year paying interest through bank and finance charges.
After almost two years digging into IBC, trying to poke holes in it, Dave quit his job in finance and became and Authorized Infinite Banking Practitioner through the Nelson Nash Institute. After more than 7 years, he’ll tell you this was the best career decision he ever made.
Since that time, Dave has helped hundreds of people explore, implement and practice the Infinite Banking Concept. Working with many businesses and individuals Dave has help them take control of business cash flow, personal income, invest in private equity, purchase real estate, escrow taxes, finance major purchases, pay off high-interest debt, and much more–all while creating secure, tax-free retirement income and a generational legacy.
Principles & Ideals
Financial Sovereignty
Business owners value control and conviction, and no one knows your business better than you. Therefore, rather than trying to micromanage your operations or bring you on as a life-long paying customer, our objective is to empower clients to succeed independently by providing them with the knowledge and tools up front.
Free Markets & Production
It seems that each year we have more regulation and less freedom, hindering real economic growth. We believe America's founding principles laid the ground for small business success. By embracing free market principles, we believe clients can overcome many of the challenges that plague those who have forgotten what capitalism is supposed to look like.
Empathy & Value Creation
Academics continue to teach students that the purpose of a corporation is to maximize current shareholder value. This creates misaligned incentives, in which customers become an afterthought. We believe small business owners can thrive by differentiating themselves and creating long-term value for clients.
Austrian Economics & Saving
The vast majority of economists follow and preach Keynesian Economics, which claims that government spending drives economic growth. We strongly disagree. Supply constraints are real, and therefore, real economic growth begins with saving capital, which can then be used to investing in resources to expand production.
Our Approach
At Downstream Wealth, our objective is to provide clients with the knowledge and tools to succeed independently. However, we strongly value long-term relationships with clients. By building a strong community of successful business owners, we can continuously accumulate more knowledge that can be used to improve our processes and help clients in the long run.
Why Choose Us?
Many "experts" leverage their certifications or company to appeal to clients. While we both have certifications and have worked for successful companies too, we find this much less important. We believe we stand out from the crowd because of our ability to think independently, understand the fundamentals behind the economy and our financial system, see the big picture of what's going on, and prioritize education first while adding as much value as possible. Additionally, our incentives are strongly aligned with our customers'. Not only do we both practice Infinite Banking, but we use our own small business consulting knowledge and tools to propel Downstream Wealth.
Our Process
Whether you're interested in Infinite Banking or Small Business Consulting, we start off by getting to know our clients, generally through a 30-minute introductory call. Our objective is to understand your issue and determine if we can help and whether you're an ideal client.
Next, we prioritize educating our clients. It's not enough to acknowledge that an issue exists. We must all understand why before we can create a plan to correct. Generally this is done by additional calls or sharing resources than can help guide your thinking.
We then assess your current situation, which entails your short & long-term goals, financials, and lifestyle. And lastly, we provide you with a customized strategy with actionable insights, allowing you to succeed independently. We then take pride in maintaining our long-term relationship, remaining available for any further guidance through the years.