Biography
A life shaped by preparation and sequence.
From world-class sprinting to retirement-income architecture and technology systems, Tod Long’s work keeps returning to the same question: what has to be built before performance is required?
Short biography
Tod Long is a retirement income architect, author, podcast host and founder of The Income Standard. With more than two decades in financial services, he focuses on the structural decisions that turn accumulated assets into dependable retirement income. He is also the founder and chief architect of SignalWealth.
Before entering financial services, Tod competed for the University of Oklahoma and professionally for Nike, earning world and national championship titles and six NCAA All-American honors. He brings the same preparation-first discipline to retirement planning, leadership and product design.
Extended biography
Tod Long’s career has crossed elite athletics, sales leadership, financial services, education and software—but the operating principle has remained consistent: outcomes are shaped by what is built before pressure arrives.
As a sprinter, Tod competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. He became a world champion, a USA indoor champion, a six-time NCAA All-American and a professional Nike athlete. The value of that history is not a stopwatch number. It is the discipline of preparing across events, adapting to different demands and understanding that sequence affects performance.
In 2008, Tod launched Long Financial Services. Years of retirement conversations exposed a gap between the industry’s accumulation machinery and the income structure retirees actually need. In 2026, he created The Income Standard to make retirement income the main subject through a podcast, book, seminars and planning tools.
Tod is the author of The Income Standard: How to Engineer Retirement Income You Can’t Outlive and host of The Income Standard podcast. He also founded SignalWealth, advisor-first software whose CRM is being prepared as the platform’s first product release.
His broader build record includes tel.casa, Zeno, Loadstar House and Ember & Ash Records. Together, the projects reflect a builder’s habit: identify the missing system, give it a clear boundary and construct the environment the work requires.
Verified highlights
- Athletics
- World champion · USA indoor champion · six-time NCAA All-American · professional Nike sprinter
- Financial work
- More than two decades in financial services · Long Financial Services founded in 2008
- Current platform
- Founder, author and host of The Income Standard
- Technology
- Founder and chief architect of SignalWealth · builder of Zeno and Tel Casa Intelligence
- Location
- Frisco, Texas