Chris Black

1 00:00:15,119 - > 00:00:18,000 SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of FinTech 2 00:00:18,000 - > 00:00:20,719 Talks, and I'm here today with Chris Black. 3 00:00:20,800 - > 00:00:22,640 Uh Chris, would you mind introducing yourself? 4 00:00:22,960 - > 00:00:23,359 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, hi. 5 00:00:23,440 - > 00:00:24,879 Uh thank you very much, Sandry. 6 00:00:25,120 - > 00:00:26,559 Appreciate the invitation. 7 00:00:26,800 - > 00:00:30,800 Chris Black, CEO of Threadbank in uh Nashville, Tennessee. 8 00:00:31,199 - > 00:00:33,039 SPEAKER_01: What does uh Threadbank do? 9 00:00:33,200 - > 00:00:36,880 And and you know, how long Tesla give us a little background on 10 00:00:36,880 - > 00:00:36,960 that? 11 00:00:37,200 - > 00:00:37,439 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 12 00:00:37,679 - > 00:00:40,399 Yeah, so so Thread Bank, you know, we're mostly we're a 13 00:00:40,399 - > 00:00:44,240 community bank, uh, Tennessee State Charter, FDIC Community 14 00:00:44,320 - > 00:00:48,159 Bank that really specializes in sponsor banking, embedded 15 00:00:48,240 - > 00:00:48,640 banking. 16 00:00:48,880 - > 00:00:51,920 A lot of people call it banking as a service, uh, different ways 17 00:00:51,920 - > 00:00:54,560 to think about it, but but that's what we do at our heart. 18 00:00:54,880 - > 00:00:59,200 We uh recapitalized a small bank up in eastern Tennessee about 19 00:00:59,200 - > 00:01:00,320 five years ago. 20 00:01:00,479 - > 00:01:04,560 Uh, really a group of like-minded bank private equity, 21 00:01:04,799 - > 00:01:08,640 fintech venture capitalists, bank executives, technology 22 00:01:08,640 - > 00:01:11,920 executives, you know, kind of the blend with the mindset and 23 00:01:12,000 - > 00:01:15,439 and really what we've been able to execute of delivering 24 00:01:15,439 - > 00:01:18,560 embedded banking, threading, that's the name, to to thread or 25 00:01:18,560 - > 00:01:23,040 to embed uh banking products and services for partners, mostly 26 00:01:23,040 - > 00:01:26,879 focused in small business vertical, uh part of part of the 27 00:01:26,879 - > 00:01:27,120 market. 28 00:01:27,519 - > 00:01:29,920 SPEAKER_01: Like after you've built it, like what what has 29 00:01:29,920 - > 00:01:31,359 been the market response like? 30 00:01:31,519 - > 00:01:34,879 And and you know, what are there particular areas that have been 31 00:01:34,879 - > 00:01:35,439 more interesting? 32 00:01:35,760 - > 00:01:37,280 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, it's been it's been great. 33 00:01:37,359 - > 00:01:40,560 It's been a pretty amazing run, uh, full of ups and downs, more, 34 00:01:40,799 - > 00:01:42,879 many more ups than than downs. 35 00:01:43,359 - > 00:01:46,959 As you know, you know, banking is tough, technology is tough, 36 00:01:47,200 - > 00:01:52,400 uh bank technology is is tough, but the opportunities are are 37 00:01:52,400 - > 00:01:54,400 extreme, very high. 38 00:01:54,560 - > 00:01:57,439 So, you know, we came at this, like I said, kind of a blended 39 00:01:57,439 - > 00:02:02,000 mindset of uh you know bankers and technologists. 40 00:02:02,239 - > 00:02:05,120 Interestingly, the tech, you know, all of our technology 41 00:02:05,120 - > 00:02:09,360 folks, most of them have very deep expertise in banking and 42 00:02:09,360 - > 00:02:13,680 building uh or running bank software companies, you know, 43 00:02:13,840 - > 00:02:16,400 more infrastructure pipes, back end. 44 00:02:16,479 - > 00:02:20,719 So there was a you know a high degree of uh really expertise 45 00:02:20,719 - > 00:02:23,759 and understanding of banking, even from the technology side. 46 00:02:23,919 - > 00:02:27,360 So all of that together, you know, has presented this pretty 47 00:02:27,360 - > 00:02:30,960 incredible opportunity for us to do this the right way, to do 48 00:02:30,960 - > 00:02:32,159 this as a bank first. 49 00:02:32,400 - > 00:02:35,439 But uh I like to say the way we've thought about it, and I 50 00:02:35,439 - > 00:02:39,520 think how the market looks at us is that you know, banking is and 51 00:02:39,520 - > 00:02:43,439 always will be about deposits, loans, capital, liquidity. 52 00:02:43,599 - > 00:02:47,199 That that's what a mentor of mine had a long time ago taught 53 00:02:47,199 - > 00:02:47,439 me. 54 00:02:47,680 - > 00:02:51,439 And interesting, I said, I think we're missing something. 55 00:02:51,599 - > 00:02:53,840 I think payments also should be on there. 56 00:02:53,919 - > 00:02:57,759 And that speaks to a lot of, and we get into more of the why and 57 00:02:57,840 - > 00:03:00,719 and what we've done and you know, what's behind it, the 58 00:03:00,719 - > 00:03:01,599 motivation. 59 00:03:02,000 - > 00:03:06,080 But it's on that foundation of non-negotiable characteristics 60 00:03:06,080 - > 00:03:08,319 and safety and soundness and risk management first. 61 00:03:08,400 - > 00:03:11,520 But then after that, you know, our mentality from day one has 62 00:03:11,520 - > 00:03:16,159 been to challenge uh every paradigm in terms of how banking 63 00:03:16,159 - > 00:03:18,960 is thought about, how banking products and services are 64 00:03:18,960 - > 00:03:23,520 delivered, and really what the position of the bank needs to be 65 00:03:23,520 - > 00:03:25,840 in the modern digital ecosystem. 66 00:03:26,159 - > 00:03:30,080 You know, the and so it means we're we're viewed in many 67 00:03:30,080 - > 00:03:33,840 different ways uh and and accepted in different lights. 68 00:03:34,080 - > 00:03:37,120 Uh in some circles, we're probably a pariah because we're 69 00:03:37,120 - > 00:03:41,439 a bank who says, you know, we we don't have to quote, own the end 70 00:03:41,439 - > 00:03:42,080 customer. 71 00:03:42,240 - > 00:03:45,439 Now, they're our customer and we're highly interested in who 72 00:03:45,439 - > 00:03:48,400 they are, what they're doing, and how they're transacting. 73 00:03:48,719 - > 00:03:53,280 But, you know, we can either go and attempt to hire many, many 74 00:03:53,280 - > 00:03:58,400 teams of dedicated SMB verticalized focused bankers, or 75 00:03:58,400 - > 00:04:01,840 we can partner with technology firms who are really good at 76 00:04:01,840 - > 00:04:06,800 delivering uh specific and detailed and deep value to those 77 00:04:06,800 - > 00:04:09,520 same customers with non-banking products. 78 00:04:09,840 - > 00:04:12,719 And then we bring the banking, the compliance, the 79 00:04:13,120 - > 00:04:14,479 infrastructure oversight. 80 00:04:14,800 - > 00:04:17,360 And together that's an incredible synergy. 81 00:04:17,439 - > 00:04:19,120 It's an incredible partnership. 82 00:04:19,360 - > 00:04:23,600 And, you know, I like to say our partners are the best 83 00:04:23,600 - > 00:04:26,079 relationship managers a bank could ever hire. 84 00:04:26,319 - > 00:04:29,519 So instead of fighting them, you know, we want to enable them. 85 00:04:29,680 - > 00:04:33,040 And that's where the paradigm comes, uh, paradigm challenging 86 00:04:33,040 - > 00:04:36,079 comes in and and and looking at this in a different way. 87 00:04:36,240 - > 00:04:39,439 Again, non-negotiable on the rules of banking, which have 88 00:04:39,439 - > 00:04:41,839 been in place for thousands of years and aren't going to 89 00:04:41,839 - > 00:04:45,040 change, but the delivery mechanisms of banking have done 90 00:04:45,040 - > 00:04:47,360 nothing but change for thousands of years. 91 00:04:47,519 - > 00:04:48,959 And and so that's how we think about it. 92 00:04:49,040 - > 00:04:50,399 So it's really nothing new. 93 00:04:50,560 - > 00:04:55,120 Uh, it's just challenging some of the um sacred cows, you might 94 00:04:55,199 - > 00:04:56,160 you might say, in banking. 95 00:04:56,720 - > 00:04:59,920 SPEAKER_01: As you've grown the company, like have you focused 96 00:04:59,920 - > 00:05:06,000 on any like uh, you know, let's say geography sector or uh, you 97 00:05:06,000 - > 00:05:08,160 know, what what what's what how do how do you look at the 98 00:05:08,160 - > 00:05:08,399 market? 99 00:05:08,720 - > 00:05:11,839 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you know, geo geographic concentration 100 00:05:12,000 - > 00:05:16,480 focus has been, I think, one of those paradigms in banking that 101 00:05:16,560 - > 00:05:18,800 um, you know, have to be challenged. 102 00:05:19,040 - > 00:05:22,560 Maybe, maybe no one wants to challenge it because banking in 103 00:05:22,560 - > 00:05:25,360 your community and the idea and it, you know, it's a wonderful 104 00:05:25,360 - > 00:05:29,120 life, all those things are the type of dynamics that have made 105 00:05:29,120 - > 00:05:30,480 community banks great. 106 00:05:30,959 - > 00:05:34,639 And they've made community banks a staple by definition within 107 00:05:34,639 - > 00:05:35,519 the community. 108 00:05:35,839 - > 00:05:39,759 But that's that's not where our society and economy are per se. 109 00:05:40,000 - > 00:05:42,959 Now, we think communities are really important. 110 00:05:43,360 - > 00:05:46,879 And having small banks being innovative and and driving 111 00:05:46,879 - > 00:05:49,920 growth and opportunity within small communities is really 112 00:05:49,920 - > 00:05:50,160 important. 113 00:05:50,800 - > 00:05:54,879 But the the the connection of that to that geography is what 114 00:05:54,879 - > 00:05:56,959 needs to and is what we break down. 115 00:05:57,040 - > 00:06:01,120 And we don't we don't put that as a primal part of our business 116 00:06:01,120 - > 00:06:01,360 model. 117 00:06:01,439 - > 00:06:04,319 We do have two branches, two legacy branches in East 118 00:06:04,319 - > 00:06:08,000 Tennessee that we run and fully dedicated to, and and those are 119 00:06:08,000 - > 00:06:11,279 really nice markets and our bankers do a great job over 120 00:06:11,279 - > 00:06:11,439 there. 121 00:06:11,839 - > 00:06:15,680 Uh, but you know, we we disconnect that paradigm of 122 00:06:15,680 - > 00:06:17,920 geography to focus on the markets. 123 00:06:18,319 - > 00:06:22,079 And the markets that we focus on, you know, if you think about 124 00:06:22,240 - > 00:06:25,839 you've got consumer, you've got commercial, small business, 125 00:06:26,480 - > 00:06:28,959 you've got horizontal and you've got vertical. 126 00:06:29,199 - > 00:06:32,319 You know, we we serve in different ways each of those 127 00:06:32,319 - > 00:06:34,560 combinations of consumer, commercial, horizontal, 128 00:06:34,720 - > 00:06:35,199 vertical. 129 00:06:35,360 - > 00:06:38,639 But we're most interested in uh and you know, where I think the 130 00:06:38,639 - > 00:06:41,439 growth and the opportunity in the market is definitely on the 131 00:06:41,439 - > 00:06:42,240 commercial side. 132 00:06:42,639 - > 00:06:45,680 And then, you know, it lends itself that there are more 133 00:06:45,680 - > 00:06:49,040 flavors of the verticalized partners. 134 00:06:49,199 - > 00:06:52,959 And that's really where our focus and and growth and 135 00:06:52,959 - > 00:06:54,560 partnerships has come from. 136 00:06:55,279 - > 00:06:57,279 And none none of that has to do with geography. 137 00:06:57,519 - > 00:07:00,399 I'm I'm a foreign banker myself as well. 138 00:07:00,800 - > 00:07:03,360 SPEAKER_01: And um, predominantly in the retail 139 00:07:03,360 - > 00:07:07,199 side, but also with larger organizations and and working 140 00:07:07,199 - > 00:07:10,639 with these larger organizations, I I needed to be more creative. 141 00:07:11,040 - > 00:07:13,360 I I have have you found that as well too? 142 00:07:13,439 - > 00:07:16,639 SPEAKER_00: Or flexibility with within those kind of hardened 143 00:07:16,639 - > 00:07:19,360 principles we have, the non-negotiables, yeah. 144 00:07:19,600 - > 00:07:23,040 We have to be able to uh decipher, we have to be able to 145 00:07:23,040 - > 00:07:26,720 maneuver, we have to be able to take the attitude that we're 146 00:07:26,800 - > 00:07:30,800 we're here to serve our partners because ultimately with them 147 00:07:30,879 - > 00:07:33,120 we're serving that the end customer. 148 00:07:33,839 - > 00:07:36,959 And so, you know, we we have um we have a lot of different 149 00:07:36,959 - > 00:07:38,480 principles and ways we look at things. 150 00:07:38,639 - > 00:07:41,600 One of them, I like to say that you know, we leverage the 151 00:07:41,600 - > 00:07:44,240 similarities and risk manage the differences. 152 00:07:44,399 - > 00:07:48,480 So we want to, you know, we we we've created a homogeneous uh 153 00:07:48,720 - > 00:07:53,920 data architecture and technology infrastructure and and you know, 154 00:07:54,160 - > 00:07:58,639 risk management, all these type of things, so that hopefully 155 00:07:58,720 - > 00:08:02,319 that's a repeatable, scalable type of infrastructure so that 156 00:08:02,319 - > 00:08:05,120 when we get to the heterogeneity or the differences that the 157 00:08:05,120 - > 00:08:08,560 partners present, yeah, in terms of that, that's what we want to 158 00:08:08,560 - > 00:08:09,279 celebrate, right? 159 00:08:09,439 - > 00:08:13,360 We wanna we want to accentuate their ability to capitalize on 160 00:08:13,360 - > 00:08:14,720 their unique place in the market. 161 00:08:14,879 - > 00:08:17,759 And we don't want them to all look the same at the branch 162 00:08:17,759 - > 00:08:18,000 level. 163 00:08:18,160 - > 00:08:19,680 We think of each of them as branches. 164 00:08:19,839 - > 00:08:20,000 Yeah. 165 00:08:20,319 - > 00:08:24,720 Uh, but in order to to be able to do that in a scalable way, 166 00:08:24,959 - > 00:08:28,399 it's really contingent upon as muck much of the infrastructure, 167 00:08:28,480 - > 00:08:29,279 and and that's different. 168 00:08:29,360 - > 00:08:32,559 There are a lot of banks who are in this space who don't take 169 00:08:32,559 - > 00:08:33,440 that approach. 170 00:08:33,600 - > 00:08:35,759 Uh, some of them have done that quite well. 171 00:08:35,919 - > 00:08:39,840 I think in the long run, it it inhibits their ability to scale, 172 00:08:40,080 - > 00:08:44,080 anyone's ability to scale effectively and you know do so 173 00:08:44,080 - > 00:08:45,120 with operating leverage. 174 00:08:45,600 - > 00:08:47,600 SPEAKER_01: You also mentioned uh, you know, some of the 175 00:08:47,600 - > 00:08:50,240 various product types or the financial needs, I guess. 176 00:08:50,320 - > 00:08:52,320 And for example, called out payments. 177 00:08:52,559 - > 00:08:56,639 Um how do you think about the suite of services that a bank 178 00:08:56,639 - > 00:09:01,759 can provide and and you tend to lead with one more than the 179 00:09:01,759 - > 00:09:02,000 other? 180 00:09:02,320 - > 00:09:07,279 Or is is one one area particularly, you know, you you 181 00:09:07,279 - > 00:09:09,600 tend to hear that a lot when you're talking to these to 182 00:09:09,759 - > 00:09:10,000 clients? 183 00:09:10,320 - > 00:09:12,320 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I I think you know, we're we are we 184 00:09:12,320 - > 00:09:12,879 are limited. 185 00:09:12,960 - > 00:09:13,679 We are a bank. 186 00:09:13,840 - > 00:09:17,120 So there are only so many things that and products you can offer, 187 00:09:17,279 - > 00:09:20,000 deposits, loans, payments, generally speaking. 188 00:09:20,240 - > 00:09:22,720 And then, you know, I think in there are different ways that 189 00:09:22,720 - > 00:09:25,840 SaaS would would come into that also, which would be different 190 00:09:25,840 - > 00:09:27,279 than than most banks. 191 00:09:27,600 - > 00:09:30,960 Uh, but you know, it to this point, we've really just led 192 00:09:30,960 - > 00:09:34,639 with the deposit products from an embedded lending perspective. 193 00:09:34,799 - > 00:09:37,120 Uh sorry, embedded banking perspective. 194 00:09:37,360 - > 00:09:41,360 That's how, you know, most of the great banks over time had 195 00:09:41,360 - > 00:09:45,039 been built on a deposit base first, and then you then you 196 00:09:45,039 - > 00:09:46,000 layer into other products. 197 00:09:46,080 - > 00:09:47,919 And so that's really been the approach. 198 00:09:48,159 - > 00:09:51,360 We're we're now in the mode where over this year we'll begin 199 00:09:51,360 - > 00:09:56,399 scaling uh into the embedded lending products and then also 200 00:09:56,559 - > 00:10:00,080 on uh some specific things on the differentiated things on the 201 00:10:00,080 - > 00:10:00,720 payment side. 202 00:10:00,879 - > 00:10:01,200 Yeah. 203 00:10:01,440 - > 00:10:05,679 But those are all built on that deposit base and and the deposit 204 00:10:05,679 - > 00:10:06,159 chassis. 205 00:10:06,240 - > 00:10:09,679 And so when we think about our partners and think about them as 206 00:10:09,679 - > 00:10:13,120 branches, again, we're just doing simple banking, banking 207 00:10:13,120 - > 00:10:16,720 101, uh branch infrastructure, right? 208 00:10:16,879 - > 00:10:19,600 To to have a full service branch, you've got to be able to 209 00:10:19,600 - > 00:10:21,519 offer all of those products to your customers. 210 00:10:21,600 - > 00:10:24,240 And so that's that's really what we look to do. 211 00:10:24,399 - > 00:10:26,240 Uh, we call it multi-threaded. 212 00:10:26,320 - > 00:10:29,039 We we want to have our partners to have multiple threads. 213 00:10:29,120 - > 00:10:29,600 It's hard though. 214 00:10:29,679 - > 00:10:32,080 You know, it's uh this isn't something you snap your fingers 215 00:10:32,080 - > 00:10:35,840 over, and it's all built upon relationships and our ability to 216 00:10:35,840 - > 00:10:39,679 deliver for partners and you know, listen to them and and 217 00:10:39,679 - > 00:10:43,120 bend and flex with them and and really suit their needs. 218 00:10:43,279 - > 00:10:45,759 Because ultimately, if we're suiting their needs, by 219 00:10:45,759 - > 00:10:49,519 definition, we're suiting the needs of the end uh end 220 00:10:49,519 - > 00:10:51,360 depositor or end borrower. 221 00:10:51,759 - > 00:10:55,360 SPEAKER_01: And and um I actually'm wearing this 222 00:10:55,360 - > 00:10:58,879 sweatshirt because uh what which I got from Cornell Reunion 223 00:10:59,039 - > 00:11:02,720 because I I saw that you were also a Cornell graduate. 224 00:11:03,120 - > 00:11:06,879 And and when yeah, I actually when we both left, we were both, 225 00:11:06,960 - > 00:11:09,519 you know, engineering and technology focused. 226 00:11:09,679 - > 00:11:12,960 And and now being more business focused. 227 00:11:13,360 - > 00:11:16,080 What what helps you filter out like what's going to be 228 00:11:16,080 - > 00:11:19,440 impactful from a technology perspective in the near term 229 00:11:19,519 - > 00:11:21,919 versus something that you know is is probably gonna take a 230 00:11:21,919 - > 00:11:22,480 little bit of time. 231 00:11:22,799 - > 00:11:24,639 SPEAKER_00: Thankfully I'm surrounded by a lot of really 232 00:11:24,639 - > 00:11:28,480 smart people who know who know more about who know more about 233 00:11:28,480 - > 00:11:29,600 technology than me. 234 00:11:29,840 - > 00:11:33,279 Uh you know, and I think I think that's I think that's what it 235 00:11:33,279 - > 00:11:38,320 is, that we've got, you know, we what we provide, what we offer, 236 00:11:38,399 - > 00:11:41,519 what we have, the assets that we have are are really valuable. 237 00:11:41,759 - > 00:11:43,200 Bank charter, right? 238 00:11:43,279 - > 00:11:48,080 The ability and and willingness and plan to uh embed banking 239 00:11:48,080 - > 00:11:50,080 products and services into technology. 240 00:11:50,879 - > 00:11:55,919 So we get looks at uh many, many, many different things in 241 00:11:55,919 - > 00:11:59,519 our DNA, you know, in our investor base, uh embedded in 242 00:11:59,519 - > 00:12:00,879 our in our board of directors. 243 00:12:00,960 - > 00:12:05,600 We have multiple fintech venture capital uh professionals and and 244 00:12:05,679 - > 00:12:08,960 and not just you know venture capitalist capitalists who have 245 00:12:09,039 - > 00:12:10,240 been investors their whole lives. 246 00:12:10,320 - > 00:12:14,240 They're actually all of them have been operators uh for the 247 00:12:14,240 - > 00:12:17,600 majority of their careers and then in recent years have turned 248 00:12:17,600 - > 00:12:19,279 into to venture capital folks. 249 00:12:19,360 - > 00:12:19,759 SPEAKER_01: Yeah. 250 00:12:20,000 - > 00:12:22,240 SPEAKER_00: So we have a really unique environment, a really 251 00:12:22,240 - > 00:12:27,279 unique ecosystem where we have um a strong finger on the pulse 252 00:12:27,279 - > 00:12:29,120 of of what's happening in the market. 253 00:12:29,759 - > 00:12:32,639 And, you know, we we've been fortunate, we've had great 254 00:12:32,639 - > 00:12:35,600 partners, and so we've been able to establish ourselves, you 255 00:12:35,600 - > 00:12:37,919 know, specifically in the embedded banking market. 256 00:12:38,080 - > 00:12:38,320 Yeah. 257 00:12:38,559 - > 00:12:42,159 And, you know, once you have that position, you've you tend 258 00:12:42,159 - > 00:12:45,200 to have a lot of friends and a lot of people who are willing to 259 00:12:45,200 - > 00:12:45,679 talk to you. 260 00:12:45,759 - > 00:12:48,639 And we try to listen, we try to take good notes. 261 00:12:48,799 - > 00:12:52,720 And, you know, I spend most of my time and with my senior team, 262 00:12:52,879 - > 00:12:57,039 you know, really honing our strategy and then how do we, you 263 00:12:57,039 - > 00:13:01,279 know, take various technologies and relationships and bring them 264 00:13:01,279 - > 00:13:05,440 together to leverage it so we so we provide that best experience 265 00:13:05,440 - > 00:13:07,360 for our partners that we can, yeah. 266 00:13:07,519 - > 00:13:11,200 Uh, and really predicate it upon that that homogeneity and uh 267 00:13:11,279 - > 00:13:12,879 with a mind towards scale. 268 00:13:13,120 - > 00:13:16,480 So I'm not I'm not someone who's gonna be great at going and 269 00:13:16,480 - > 00:13:21,759 evaluating code and and uh UX's per se, but we've got a lot of 270 00:13:21,759 - > 00:13:24,720 good folks on the team who have different parts of those skill 271 00:13:24,720 - > 00:13:25,039 sets. 272 00:13:25,440 - > 00:13:27,759 SPEAKER_01: You you mentioned sort of the the network. 273 00:13:28,000 - > 00:13:34,159 Um, and one of the uh b best ways to build out that network 274 00:13:34,159 - > 00:13:36,559 is is like at an event like fintech meetup. 275 00:13:36,799 - > 00:13:39,039 Have you attended FinTech Meetup and what what was your 276 00:13:39,039 - > 00:13:39,600 experience like? 277 00:13:39,919 - > 00:13:42,159 SPEAKER_00: I think this is three years now, three or four 278 00:13:42,159 - > 00:13:44,559 years perhaps uh where we've attended. 279 00:13:44,639 - > 00:13:47,919 And it's it's always been a great, you know, open 280 00:13:48,000 - > 00:13:51,120 collaborative place where we we always think of these things as 281 00:13:51,120 - > 00:13:52,000 extremely efficient. 282 00:13:52,159 - > 00:13:52,480 Yeah. 283 00:13:52,720 - > 00:13:55,919 First year or two that we attended, nobody knew us, we 284 00:13:55,919 - > 00:13:56,799 didn't know anybody. 285 00:13:56,960 - > 00:13:59,200 And you know, we're kind of walking around with our eyes 286 00:13:59,200 - > 00:14:01,759 pretty wide, thinking, what what is this? 287 00:14:02,000 - > 00:14:05,360 And and candidly, my first takeaway uh from you know, 288 00:14:05,440 - > 00:14:08,799 whether it's fintech meetup or or other large, you know, large 289 00:14:08,799 - > 00:14:12,960 events is wow, there is a lot of capital pointed straight at 290 00:14:12,960 - > 00:14:15,519 community banks like as a weapon. 291 00:14:16,000 - > 00:14:21,600 And so uh one, I'm thankful that we're you know have been our 292 00:14:21,600 - > 00:14:25,679 eyes have been open to see that and understand that and to take 293 00:14:25,679 - > 00:14:27,120 part and benefit in that. 294 00:14:27,279 - > 00:14:31,919 But I really am worried about uh the thousands of banks who 295 00:14:31,919 - > 00:14:36,480 either have no idea or or or have no idea uh that it it 296 00:14:36,480 - > 00:14:39,120 exists or of how to manage it. 297 00:14:39,200 - > 00:14:39,679 Yeah. 298 00:14:39,919 - > 00:14:42,799 Um so so that's kind of the first thing that it did for me 299 00:14:43,360 - > 00:14:48,879 was can was very confirmatory and uh open up you know kind of 300 00:14:48,879 - > 00:14:52,720 mental horizons more than more than maybe I had had realized 301 00:14:52,720 - > 00:14:53,440 they needed to be. 302 00:14:53,519 - > 00:14:53,919 Yeah. 303 00:14:54,159 - > 00:14:56,480 And then through that, we've just grown, you know, 304 00:14:56,559 - > 00:15:00,159 relationships and our our business in the market that uh 305 00:15:00,399 - > 00:15:03,200 when we go now, like I said, it's it's a very efficient see, 306 00:15:03,679 - > 00:15:04,799 many familiar faces. 307 00:15:04,960 - > 00:15:09,200 And so that that also makes it easier to meet new people and to 308 00:15:09,200 - > 00:15:14,159 find new opportunities or or new companies, new products that we 309 00:15:14,159 - > 00:15:17,840 maybe wouldn't have had access to in the normal day-to-day 310 00:15:17,840 - > 00:15:22,000 course, but we're able to um you know either find it ourselves or 311 00:15:22,000 - > 00:15:24,080 we get introduced by many of those friends. 312 00:15:24,240 - > 00:15:28,879 So uh it's become a very familiar, friendly type place to 313 00:15:28,879 - > 00:15:28,960 go. 314 00:15:29,919 - > 00:15:33,200 SPEAKER_01: What advice would you have for let let's say uh a 315 00:15:33,200 - > 00:15:36,879 f a fellow, a banker who is thinking about attending fintech 316 00:15:36,960 - > 00:15:37,360 meetup? 317 00:15:37,519 - > 00:15:38,639 Any any words of advice? 318 00:15:38,960 - > 00:15:40,559 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I I think they should just go. 319 00:15:40,799 - > 00:15:44,799 Even if they don't believe that they uh have any real place with 320 00:15:44,799 - > 00:15:49,600 fintech or would even know uh how to start, or it might seem 321 00:15:49,600 - > 00:15:52,159 daunting or or out of reach or out of touch. 322 00:15:52,399 - > 00:15:57,120 I think uh there's nothing there there's no instinct in in the 323 00:15:57,120 - > 00:15:59,600 human set of instincts quite like survival. 324 00:16:00,080 - > 00:16:03,519 And so that that's maybe the first thing that they would 325 00:16:03,519 - > 00:16:08,000 figure out if they they showed up is that maybe they uh need to 326 00:16:08,159 - > 00:16:11,759 need to figure out what's going on and why there are so many 327 00:16:11,759 - > 00:16:14,480 people here and why there's so much capital and why it's 328 00:16:14,480 - > 00:16:16,240 growing so much every year. 329 00:16:16,559 - > 00:16:19,279 SPEAKER_01: Looking at your background, I I would be remiss 330 00:16:19,279 - > 00:16:24,960 if I didn't ask you about being an F-16 fighter pilot, uh a 331 00:16:24,960 - > 00:16:29,039 trainer, and and like any analogies between like running a 332 00:16:29,039 - > 00:16:32,559 bank and and and flying a flying a fighter jet? 333 00:16:32,960 - > 00:16:34,000 SPEAKER_00: Well, it's funny. 334 00:16:34,159 - > 00:16:38,240 Uh people on my team right now are are rolling their eyes and 335 00:16:38,240 - > 00:16:40,799 going, I can't believe he just asked that question of Chris, 336 00:16:40,960 - > 00:16:44,000 because they're the the analogies, uh I probably have a 337 00:16:44,000 - > 00:16:48,559 book of analogies that that I use and many I have a saying. 338 00:16:48,720 - > 00:16:51,519 There there's a book, uh, maybe you've heard of it, that 339 00:16:51,679 - > 00:16:54,639 everything I needed to know in life I learned in kindergarten. 340 00:16:54,720 - > 00:16:55,039 Yeah. 341 00:16:55,360 - > 00:16:57,200 I I say and the Air Force. 342 00:16:57,600 - > 00:17:01,440 So you know, that maybe maybe for an L2, a little bit, uh, but 343 00:17:01,519 - > 00:17:05,200 but really and in the Air Force, because it's just so applicable. 344 00:17:05,519 - > 00:17:05,680 Right? 345 00:17:05,839 - > 00:17:12,079 There's no um there's no room for posturing, there's no room 346 00:17:12,079 - > 00:17:16,400 for fabrication, there's no room for lack of transparency. 347 00:17:16,799 - > 00:17:19,200 Everything literally is life or death every day. 348 00:17:19,839 - > 00:17:22,880 And you know, you nothing can happen on your own. 349 00:17:23,039 - > 00:17:26,480 Even in a, you know, an F-16 is a single seat, single engine 350 00:17:26,480 - > 00:17:30,240 airplane, but we're completely meaningless without our wingmen, 351 00:17:30,799 - > 00:17:33,680 uh, without the air traffic controllers, without the 352 00:17:33,680 - > 00:17:36,880 intelligence folks, without the absolutely the maintenance, you 353 00:17:36,880 - > 00:17:38,880 know, our our maintenance guys. 354 00:17:39,279 - > 00:17:43,920 And so it's it's kind of an across the board life lesson in 355 00:17:44,079 - > 00:17:50,079 uh in in in how to be successful on a team uh as you know as an 356 00:17:50,079 - > 00:17:53,519 individual and how to work toward common goals and and 357 00:17:53,519 - > 00:17:58,880 really uncertain problem sets that um you know that that you 358 00:17:58,960 - > 00:18:01,039 you are not gonna have the full answer to. 359 00:18:01,519 - > 00:18:05,440 And therefore, the only way you can approach it is with maximum 360 00:18:05,440 - > 00:18:11,200 preparation, discipline, and a very flexible mindset uh that 361 00:18:11,279 - > 00:18:13,599 that you're going to change, you can change immediately as 362 00:18:13,599 - > 00:18:15,519 conditions change and and risk management. 363 00:18:15,680 - > 00:18:17,519 So it's across the board. 364 00:18:17,680 - > 00:18:22,400 I I have all kinds of all kinds of sayings uh that that that 365 00:18:22,559 - > 00:18:25,200 that's and you said analogies, and I apply it. 366 00:18:26,000 - > 00:18:29,680 A lot of a lot of the folks, my kids can uh probably recite 367 00:18:29,680 - > 00:18:30,880 these these things. 368 00:18:30,960 - > 00:18:34,319 I one of them, if you want, is aviate, navigate, communicate, 369 00:18:34,400 - > 00:18:35,359 always in that order. 370 00:18:36,400 - > 00:18:39,599 And and what that means is many, you know, unfortunately, many 371 00:18:39,599 - > 00:18:43,359 pilots have died or gotten, you know, really hurt and the people 372 00:18:43,359 - > 00:18:47,039 who are with them because they'd completely misprioritize. 373 00:18:47,200 - > 00:18:48,480 They were focused on the wrong things. 374 00:18:48,559 - > 00:18:50,880 They were they were down in the weeds when their head should 375 00:18:50,880 - > 00:18:54,079 have been out uh and figure out where they were going. 376 00:18:54,240 - > 00:18:58,720 Instead, they were focused on making a beautiful radio call as 377 00:18:58,880 - > 00:19:00,319 they're crashing into the ground. 378 00:19:00,480 - > 00:19:00,799 Wow. 379 00:19:01,039 - > 00:19:06,640 So aviate, fly your airplane first, don't crash, navigate, 380 00:19:06,799 - > 00:19:09,200 you know, hopefully you'll get to the right spot where you 381 00:19:09,200 - > 00:19:11,519 intended to go and then communicate. 382 00:19:11,680 - > 00:19:14,480 Hopefully you flew your airplane to the right spot and you told 383 00:19:14,480 - > 00:19:16,480 everybody and you got there legally and no, and you're not 384 00:19:16,480 - > 00:19:19,440 gonna get yourself in trouble because you landed at the wrong 385 00:19:19,440 - > 00:19:22,000 spot without telling anybody, or the right spot without telling 386 00:19:22,000 - > 00:19:22,240 anybody. 387 00:19:22,319 - > 00:19:22,720 Yeah, yeah. 388 00:19:22,960 - > 00:19:25,759 And so there's a lot of there are a lot of life and business 389 00:19:25,759 - > 00:19:29,839 lessons, uh, particularly as as it relates to banking in that. 390 00:19:29,920 - > 00:19:33,920 Yeah, another one is is near rocks, far rocks, check six. 391 00:19:34,000 - > 00:19:38,079 So that's a that's a cross check that pilots, fighter pilots do 392 00:19:38,079 - > 00:19:39,440 when they're flying low level. 393 00:19:39,519 - > 00:19:41,759 So you're you're flying, and you know, there's a lot of this 394 00:19:41,759 - > 00:19:46,079 stuff going on today, active uh with with brethren, you know, 395 00:19:46,240 - > 00:19:51,759 far, far overseas and in danger, and with uh of whom I could not 396 00:19:51,759 - > 00:19:56,000 be more proud, but it it is an unbelievable thing to to to 397 00:19:56,000 - > 00:19:59,680 watch our our guys and girls just execute a plan. 398 00:20:00,079 - > 00:20:03,200 Uh people can agree or disagree with the plan. 399 00:20:03,359 - > 00:20:05,359 That's not you know what I'm talking about. 400 00:20:05,440 - > 00:20:10,240 It's their ability to execute in so it's it reflects great credit 401 00:20:10,240 - > 00:20:13,279 upon them, uh on the country, on everybody else. 402 00:20:13,440 - > 00:20:16,480 But but all these things is what they're thinking about and what 403 00:20:16,480 - > 00:20:19,599 business people should be you know gearing toward this near 404 00:20:19,759 - > 00:20:21,119 rocks, far rocks concept. 405 00:20:21,200 - > 00:20:25,279 You're flying low level, 500 feet above the ground, 500 406 00:20:25,279 - > 00:20:25,839 knots. 407 00:20:26,079 - > 00:20:28,079 A lot of things can happen bad quickly. 408 00:20:28,559 - > 00:20:32,000 And so you you look at the near rocks, what what could I hit in 409 00:20:32,000 - > 00:20:33,200 the next 15 seconds? 410 00:20:33,680 - > 00:20:35,680 Make sure I don't hit those rocks on the ground. 411 00:20:36,079 - > 00:20:38,640 And then far rocks, are there mountains in the distance? 412 00:20:38,799 - > 00:20:41,920 Are there you know things I need to be planning to navigate 413 00:20:41,920 - > 00:20:45,599 around uh out and then when I've done that, then I'm gonna look 414 00:20:45,599 - > 00:20:49,039 behind me, check six to see if there's anybody coming back 415 00:20:49,039 - > 00:20:49,279 there. 416 00:20:49,440 - > 00:20:49,759 Yeah. 417 00:20:49,920 - > 00:20:52,880 And then I'm I'm gonna look at my wingman and then I'm gonna 418 00:20:52,880 - > 00:20:53,839 start it all over again. 419 00:20:54,400 - > 00:20:57,440 And that's how that's how you break down and you you do flying 420 00:20:57,440 - > 00:21:02,720 things, is a bunch of small tasks done the same way and done 421 00:21:02,720 - > 00:21:05,680 repeatedly into good habit patterns, and then you 422 00:21:05,680 - > 00:21:07,119 instinctively manage your risk. 423 00:21:07,200 - > 00:21:10,319 And so it it's really no different than every day running 424 00:21:10,319 - > 00:21:11,279 a company to me. 425 00:21:11,680 - > 00:21:14,079 SPEAKER_01: Thank you for those analogies and and and great 426 00:21:14,079 - > 00:21:15,839 words of advice, uh, Chris. 427 00:21:16,079 - > 00:21:20,640 Uh to close out, um, is there anything in ahead in the world 428 00:21:20,640 - > 00:21:23,200 of fintech that gets you particularly excited? 429 00:21:23,599 - > 00:21:25,839 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I think it's it's a good question. 430 00:21:26,079 - > 00:21:27,200 There, there's a lot. 431 00:21:27,359 - > 00:21:32,480 Uh some is uh creates anxiety, other others create excitement. 432 00:21:32,799 - > 00:21:36,880 But I think what we're seeing a lot of is a lot of validation of 433 00:21:36,880 - > 00:21:37,519 the model. 434 00:21:37,759 - > 00:21:41,359 You know, I think the first few years we were doing this, there 435 00:21:41,359 - > 00:21:44,240 were a lot of question marks in the market, you know, 436 00:21:44,480 - > 00:21:49,039 regulatory-wise, uh and and and from others, and from fintechs 437 00:21:49,279 - > 00:21:49,599 even. 438 00:21:50,079 - > 00:21:52,799 And yeah, I think the events over the last couple of years 439 00:21:52,799 - > 00:21:56,960 have really solidified the the nature of what the bank is in 440 00:21:56,960 - > 00:22:00,960 this uh in this ecosystem, you know, in these structures, what 441 00:22:00,960 - > 00:22:04,559 the role of the bank charter is, and how I I say it's primal, you 442 00:22:04,559 - > 00:22:08,960 know, it's it's actually the common denominator between every 443 00:22:08,960 - > 00:22:12,160 activity that that goes on in banking is the bank charter. 444 00:22:12,799 - > 00:22:16,720 And so I think uh the most exciting part is is there's uh 445 00:22:17,119 - > 00:22:21,200 such uh really strong, strong leadership at on the regulatory 446 00:22:21,359 - > 00:22:21,680 front. 447 00:22:21,920 - > 00:22:25,839 And we've been privileged to uh you know to really get to know 448 00:22:26,079 - > 00:22:30,160 at at the senior levels and then then down through the ranks and 449 00:22:30,160 - > 00:22:34,319 have seen firsthand how this is is really happening and kind of 450 00:22:34,319 - > 00:22:37,599 the you know the acceptance and the understanding that that 451 00:22:37,599 - > 00:22:41,440 banks, that community banks really have to innovate and have 452 00:22:41,440 - > 00:22:45,200 to really focus on how do they become more efficient, more 453 00:22:45,200 - > 00:22:49,279 scalable, and competitive with other offerings out in the 454 00:22:49,279 - > 00:22:49,599 market. 455 00:22:49,759 - > 00:22:51,440 So I think that that's a pretty awesome thing. 456 00:22:51,519 - > 00:22:52,559 It's a pretty big change. 457 00:22:52,720 - > 00:22:56,720 It's been, you know, kind of won through blood, sweat, and tears 458 00:22:56,720 - > 00:22:59,519 in a lot of ways, you know, a lot of ways that we all know of 459 00:22:59,599 - > 00:23:02,720 and and other ways that maybe aren't so obvious. 460 00:23:02,960 - > 00:23:06,799 And that's that's been a pretty, pretty awesome, uh, awesome 461 00:23:06,799 - > 00:23:11,279 thing to see and has me very optimistic about uh you know our 462 00:23:11,440 - > 00:23:14,480 our future in particular, but but many others. 463 00:23:14,559 - > 00:23:17,839 And I think the door is wide open if people want to come in 464 00:23:17,839 - > 00:23:21,119 and do it the right way and uh and lean in. 465 00:23:21,200 - > 00:23:24,319 And I think the regulator, which was is always a necessary 466 00:23:24,319 - > 00:23:28,240 precondition, is for the regulators to understand and be 467 00:23:28,240 - > 00:23:28,640 on board. 468 00:23:28,720 - > 00:23:31,039 And and I I really do think that they're there. 469 00:23:31,200 - > 00:23:34,079 Uh and the the motivations are are really well founded. 470 00:23:34,160 - > 00:23:36,480 So that that's a pretty exciting setup for everyone. 471 00:23:36,640 - > 00:23:38,720 SPEAKER_01: Well that that that sounds great, uh Chris. 472 00:23:38,799 - > 00:23:42,319 And uh once again, thank you for joining us again uh at FinTech 473 00:23:42,319 - > 00:23:44,880 Talks and uh look forward to seeing you soon. 474 00:23:45,119 - > 00:23:45,519 SPEAKER_00: Awesome. 475 00:23:45,599 - > 00:23:47,119 Thank you very much, appreciate the opportunity.