Most people think wealth building starts with picking the right investment. But in this episode, Christian Allen and Rod Zabriskie make the case that real wealth is built in stages — and that understanding those stages can completely change how you approach money.

They walk through the five stages of investor evolution: from simply learning to save, to market investing, to stepping into alternative deals, and eventually into a more sophisticated role as a capital architect. Along the way, they unpack why so many people get stuck in the middle — especially high-income earners who are doing all the “right” things but still aren’t building wealth as efficiently as they could.

This conversation is about more than returns. It’s about control, liquidity, taxes, coordination, and building a system that gives your money a job instead of leavi ...