A proud heritage and family values are our compass

In challenging times, character is formed. This vein of truth runs throughout advisor Paul Coldagelli’s life and the lives of his forebears. His grandparents, Antonio and Savina Coldagelli, immigrated to the United States from central Italy, making a new life for themselves in the Midwest. Antonio worked in the iron mines in Northern Minnesota through the Great Depression, and Savina earned some extra money washing the miners’ clothes using an old metal tub and washboard.

Paul’s father would tell stories of the gratitude they showed for everything they had, and the willingness to share with those even less fortunate: “We had so little, but our lives were truly rich. We were a community.”

“I still live by these family values,” Paul says. “Simple family values of hard work and caring for each other modeled to me by my parents.” He pays tribute to his Italian heritage by sharing world-renowned Italian chocolate with his clients and visitors to his office.

These simple values are also what motivated Paul to become a financial advisor. After discovering a family member had been financially abused, he transitioned his career from marketing financial services to personally providing them, with a client-first way of doing business.

After a successful 20 years of helping people with their investments, his employer’s trend toward standardization and automation led Paul to a crossroad: How to continue his career in a way that still allowed his personalized way of doing business and placing emphasis on people over numbers.

So he decided to create his independent practice, Wellspring Personal Financial Services. The transition wasn’t easy – in fact, many of his peers thought it was a crazy idea – but in hindsight, it has been a truly rewarding decision. The practice is built on Paul’s heart, and the people he serves are just so special to him.

Savina Coldagelli

Antonio Coldagelli

(Photos as they appear on their certificates of U.S. Citizenship)