success story
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At Sequoia Financial Group, advisor–client meetings are the heart of the business.
They’re where trust is built, life decisions are discussed, and long-term financial plans take shape. They’re the most frequent and demanding moments in an advisor’s day, and among the most expensive activities in the firm.
As Sequoia has grown into a national registered investment advisor with $32 billion in assets under management as of 12/31/25, and a presence across 20 states, those meetings have become even more critical. They sit at the center of the firm’s ability to deliver consistent, high-quality advice.
Sequoia believes advisors do their best work when they are fully present with clients. That belief has led the company to continually invest in its people and the technology used across the firm.
“Advisor time is the most valuable asset in our business. In many ways, the advisor is the product. Anything we do to make advisors more effective directly improves the service we deliver to clients.”
Trevor Chuna
Sequoia has long taken a tech-forward approach to growth, viewing technology as a way to protect advisor focus while strengthening consistency and execution. Choosing Zeplyn was part of a broader, long-term strategy centered on using AI to enhance advisor effectiveness without sacrificing trust or human connection.
Advisor-client meetings are the most frequent, expensive, and mission-critical activity in a wealth management firm. Yet before Zeplyn, much of the intelligence generated in those conversations was at risk of being lost or delayed.
For advisors, the challenge was deeply practical.
“When I didn’t have a tactical advisor in the meeting, I was the one taking notes,” said Melanie Ross, a strategic advisor at Sequoia. “It’s really difficult to take notes while you’re also conducting the meeting. You end up with chicken scratch, and then days later you’re trying to remember what everything meant.”
Those delays created unwanted consequences, adding stress on advisors already managing full client calendars.
At the firm level, the issue ran even deeper. Sequoia had been exploring ways to automate post-meeting workflows and apply AI to client servicing, but quickly hit a hard constraint.
“We realized none of that works without high-quality data from meetings,” Trevor explained. “Advisors meet with clients all week. You can’t expect perfect recall later. Until the notes themselves improved, everything downstream was on hold.”
Sequoia Financial Group evaluated several technology solutions, including general-purpose transcription tools and other advisor-focused notetakers. While some tools worked “well enough,” they failed to meet Sequoia’s standards for accuracy, context, and long-term strategic value.
Zeplyn stood apart in four key ways.
Zeplyn demonstrated a clear understanding of how client meetings work, capturing not just what was said, but also what mattered.
“I thought it would feel like basic voice-to-text,” said John Marchand, a Sequoia advisor involved early in the evaluation. “But it’s completely different. Zeplyn gets the notes right, even when I correct myself mid-sentence in the meeting.”
Sequoia initially worried that advisors would spend as much time fixing AI-generated notes
as they did writing them. That concern disappeared fast.
“We were skeptical,” Trevor admitted. “If the notes are wrong, that’s a bad client experience. But that just hasn’t been the case. The accuracy has been very strong, and advisors aren’t spending time cleaning things up.”
Beyond functionality, Sequoia valued Zeplyn's approach to partnership.
“I really appreciate how the founders take feedback and genuinely want to build something meaningful,” John said. “That’s how we do things here. We’re builders.”
Zeplyn wasn’t just solving today’s note-taking problem. It aligned with Sequoia’s broader vision for data, AI, and service innovation.
“A notetaker is the lowest-hanging fruit,” Trevor said. “But what we’re doing with Zeplyn is building an asset for the future. If you’re not doing something like this at this point, you’re falling behind.”
30–60 minutes saved per meeting
For advisors, Zeplyn had an immediate and measurable impact.
“I’m saving 30 to 60 minutes per meeting,” John shared. “I can’t remember the last time I physically typed my notes, and I can’t imagine going back.”
Melanie echoed that sentiment.
“This is a huge time saver,” she said. “Taking my own notes or reviewing someone else’s notes was a real time suck. Now I can move on to the next client without skipping a beat.”
More presence in the moments that matter
Zeplyn changed how advisors show up in meetings, especially during sensitive conversations.
“When clients are talking about something personal, like a divorce or a cancer diagnosis, taking notes feels impersonal,” John said. “It’s bad timing to be looking down at a notepad. Zeplyn lets me stay present in the moment with my client.”
Advisors even incorporate that benefit into how they introduce the tool to clients.
“We tell clients this allows us to be more present with you,” Melanie explained. “And that’s very much appreciated.”
Faster, clearer client follow-up
Zeplyn organizes meetings into clear summaries and action items, making same-day follow-up realistic.
“All I have to do is review it, make a couple of tweaks, copy and paste, and send it,” Melanie said. “Clients say, ‘This is great. Now I know what I need to do. Now I know what you’re doing.’”
Critical context that
used to be missed
Beyond efficiency, advisors gain deeper insight into their clients’ emotional and personal context.
“Zeplyn captures things you normally just ‘feel’ in a meeting,” Melanie noted. “Frustration, anxiety, optimism. It gets all of it. Both the numbers and the emotional side matter in financial planning, and Zeplyn captures both.”
Even when advisors miss a meeting, the experience remains seamless.
“I read the summary and felt like I was actually in the meeting,” Melanie said. “I didn’t miss a thing.”
A foundation for
AI-driven growth
At the firm level, Zeplyn has unlocked a new class of intelligence that will be foundational to more advanced workflows and outcomes.
“Zeplyn captures things you normally just ‘feel’ in a meeting,” Melanie noted. “Frustration, anxiety, optimism. It gets all of it. Both the numbers and the emotional side matter in financial planning, and Zeplyn captures both.”
Even when advisors miss a meeting, the experience remains seamless.
“I read the summary and felt like I was actually in the meeting,” Melanie said. “I didn’t miss a thing.”
A new standard for advisor work
For Sequoia Financial Group, Zeplyn has become indispensable.
“Zeplyn is like caller ID,” John said. “I can’t imagine not having it at this point.”
What began as a journey to better note-taking and meeting data capture has evolved into a catalyst for better advisor–client experiences and long-term strategic advantage.
“This isn’t just a time saver,” John added. “It’s like having a paraplanner in the meeting with me.”
As Sequoia Financial Group continues to use Zeplyn, the quality and consistency of meeting and client intelligence across the firm continue to improve. With every new client interaction captured, meeting preparation becomes more complete and follow-through and execution become more consistent across advisors and teams. Advisors spend more time focused on people instead of paperwork, while leadership gains an increasingly clear and comprehensive view of what matters most across the client base.
That growing intelligence now serves as a strategic foundation for growth. With high-quality meeting, client, and practice intelligence in place, Sequoia is expanding how it understands client personas, evaluates new service opportunities, and acts more proactively on what it knows. As AI continues to advance, the firm is positioned to move beyond insight and toward executing work at scale, reinforcing a long-term growth strategy built on precision, consistency, and trust.
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