Why This Story Matters

For too long, conversations about money have been dominated by people who profit from making it feel complicated, shameful, or off-limits—especially for women. We’re here to interrupt that. Ladies Talking About Money isn’t just about financial coaching—it’s about rewriting the stories we’ve inherited about power, value, and who’s “allowed” to understand money. And like most good stories, this one didn’t start with a business plan. It started with a spreadsheet, a lot of feelings, and two people trying to figure it out together.

Founding Statement

Ladies Talking About Money was co-founded by Cole and Jonathan Kalin. This business was born from real conversations—not just about budgets or debt, but about grief, power, inheritance, survival, and what it means to tell the truth about money. John was there before the business had a name, believing in it when it was just scraps of possibility. Together, we’ve built a space where people can show up fully—in all the mess and meaning that money holds.

Co-Founder Bios

Cole Kalin (she/her)

Cole is a Financial Coach and former Special Education Teacher who helps people untangle the emotional and systemic stories they’ve been told about money. Before founding Ladies Talking About Money, she worked in education for nearly a decade, including as a Teach for America corps member and a nationally recognized Sue Lehmann Teaching Fellow. She won multiple awards for her classroom teaching and founded a Girls' Group that became a school-wide cultural staple.

For much of her life, Cole believed money was something to fear, ignore, or avoid. She didn’t know how to log into her retirement account. She thought investing was a scam. And she assumed, like so many women are taught, that someone else would take care of it. But after years of avoidance, conversations with John, and a growing sense that her friends and co-workers deserved better financial guidance than Google and shame, she started learning—and eventually, teaching.

Now a Certified Financial Paraplanner (FPQP™), Cole brings humor, honesty, and clarity to financial coaching. She specializes in supporting women, queer folks, and those who have felt left out of traditional financial spaces. Her work is informed by both research and lived experience—and her goal is to make money feel less intimidating and more like something you can actually hold.

John Kalin (he/him)

John is a coach, strategist, and co-founder of Ladies Talking About Money. Before LTAM existed, John was planting the seeds—naming patterns, building systems, and fiercely believing in the work even when it was still a hunch.

In 2012, while a sophomore at Colby College, John founded Party With Consent, a nationally recognized movement amplifying healthy masculinity and promoting sexual violence prevention. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and The Guardian. He’s spoken at The White House, the United Nations, and over 70 campuses on masculinity, grief, entrepreneurship, and movement-building.

John has coached conversations with hundreds of students and professionals about how we carry grief, power, and emotional survival—and how money is woven through it all. His approach is relational, emotionally honest, and grounded in lived experience.

In addition to his work with LTAM, John is a seasoned basketball coach and former two-year captain at Colby College. He’s led teams at the high school, AAU, and collegiate level, including a record-setting season at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and a gold-medal run with Team USA at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. He's mentored players who have gone on to coach alongside him, and brings the same team-first ethos to his work in business and social change.

John also served as the Interim Director for Social Entrepreneurship at Brown University, where he helped students launch community-rooted ventures with integrity and sustainability at the core.

At LTAM, John brings vision, systems-thinking, and a deep sense of care. He helped shape the foundation of the business—from backend infrastructure to emotional scaffolding—and continues to make the work braver, sharper, and more honest.

How We Built This: A Timeline

• 2017: We moved in together after sharing a six-bedroom brownstone with $400 rent each. Our new apartment was more expensive, and John asked Cole what budgeting systems she had. She had none—just fear, avoidance, and tears. John sent her his spreadsheet anyway. Slowly, Cole began tracking her spending. She became obsessed with it. John taught her what investing was, and that she didn’t need to be an expert to get started.

• February 2019: On a trip to Miami, Cole and John sat at Rosetta Cafe while Cole rambled about all she’d learned from him. “I wish my friends knew this stuff,” she said. That day, Ladies Talking About Money was born—starting as a tiny newsletter with a handful of subscribers. Cole published her first article, “Money Doesn’t Matter,” on Medium. Her dad was furious—it reflected her truth, and he didn’t like how it portrayed him or the financial confusion she grew up with. But a few women reached out asking for help, and Cole offered what she could—gentle chats, not formal advice.

• 2019: John and Cole are talking about money constantly—while walking their dog Rosie, building spreadsheets, and figuring out what freedom could look like. John was building their life and routine in Brooklyn with intention, supporting Cole as she navigated burnout from teaching, and helping care for Cole’s mom in Westchester after her cancer diagnosis. He was holding the vision for a more spacious life—one with flexibility, care, and financial clarity.

• March 2020: The world shuts down due to COVID. Cole is a Special Ed Manager now with more time on her hands. She starts working with clients. She runs a birthday fundraiser to pay for financial certification and completes her FPQP (Financial Planner Qualified Professional) certification later that year.

• 2021: A client pays Cole over $1,000 for the first time. It lands. Cole feels real momentum. John is proud—and quietly frustrated, because he saw this in her long before she believed it.

• 2021–2022: When schools return to in-person learning, Cole decides not to go back. She devotes more time to LTAM and starts working for RadReads, where John introduces her to founder Khe Hy. She learns how he built his business and gains exposure to backend tools and workflows. In March 2023, Khe lets Cole go—and she takes the plunge to run LTAM full time.

• 2022: The business continues to grow. From values to systems to strategy, John is helping shape LTAM at every level, while Cole does all client-facing calls.

• 2023: Cole works with 40 clients!

• Current: In 2024, LTAM almost doubled in size. We now work with over 80 clients—mostly women, gender non-conforming, and trans folks, with many identifying as queer. We also support a number of couples. Our clients live all across the country, from New York City to Los Angeles, Seattle to Washington, D.C., Massachusetts to California, and beyond. What started as a five-person newsletter is now a thriving business built on trust, clarity, and care. And we’re just getting started!