I help bankers think like entrepreneurs, create non-technical innovation, and break free from being a commodity. I believe banking is ripe for revolution, so I'm leading a group of innovators working to make it happen and prosper from it.
I’m in the process of assembling my startup team to help me build Tribed. I’m looking for a small number of great people to join my crusade and bring engaging financial services experiences to niche communities (like Wag). The most important thing is that my team members:
Share my passion for Tribed’s vision
Are inspired by the chance to to make their mark on our industry-altering business concept
On Monday, the CU Water Cooler Liquid Lunch show featured a conversation between host Carla Day and special guest Jimmy Marks. On the agenda was a discussion about initial thoughts on Wag, The Bank for Dog Fanatics. I was busy during the live show and was not able to dial into the call, but I listened to the replay of the show and wanted to provide a few comments and responses.
Overall, I must say the discussion was very good (from my perspective), and—to be totally honest—did not ridicule Wag nearly as much as I expected. Rather, I felt Carla and Jimmy truly did grasp a good portion of the idea behind Wag and Tribed.
Note: If you listen to the replay, the portion discussing Wag is between 9:00 To 17:45.
Five Responses
1) Jimmy: “You have to be a dog lover to identify with this group”
That is exactly right…and is in many ways the point. When you truly create a distinct brand experience, it should completely turn off and sound ridiculous to those who it is not designed for. In other words, it should polarize.
2) Carla: “You can get your debit card with the dog on it….and learn how to save money.”
These are both true. But the point I want to emphasize is that these two things just barely scratch the surface of the vision for Wag. A debit card dog photo is by itself just cosmetic and doesn’t really make the experience to dog fanatics more relevant than at another financial institution. Rather, what truly defines the experience is:
Connecting with other members—and all employees—who are dog fanatics
Members adding to the community dialog on an ongoing basis about financial issues related to the dog-oriented lifestyle
Products that are tailored to the dog fanatic’s lifestyle, when possible
The Bottom Line: an experience that is 1000% relevant to a dog fanatic’s lifestyle…and 0% relevant to a non-dog lover
This brings us to…
3) Jimmy: “It’s not that this is just a bank for dog lovers, but is a community of dog lovers that even has its own bank.”
Bam. Exactly. Couldn’t have said it better myself, and therein lies the core of this business.
4) Carla: A new definition of common bond….
Carla nicely alluded to another key point of Wag and Tribed as a whole: we are redefining what a “common bond” is. Even though we are creating a bank, not a credit union, the principle is same. So much, in fact, that (no offense to credit unions), I expect that Wag customers will feel the “membership” vibe WAY more at Tribed’s banks than at a credit union. And we’ve developed several ways to make sure of it.
5) Jimmy: “Geographical lines are not the only lines we draw, and they’re not the only lines we start to erase.”
Right again. Damn, you guys are really getting this—I’m impressed. (seriously)
Last reminder: as people evaluate Wag, I hope they will actually evaluate Tribed just as much. Keep in mind, Wag is just the first of a large portfolio of banking experiences we are creating. And when evaluating our business model, remember there will be 20-50 Wag counterparts.
Thanks to Carla and Jimmy for their interest in Wag, and for doing a great job discussing several of the salient points.
Friends: I am very excited to share a new entrepreneurial venture with you that I’ve been working on for quite a while, albeit anonymously: Tribed, and Wag: The Bank for Dog Fanatics. Please take a moment to watch this video to learn more.
As I was sitting in the presentation by Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com yesterday at the EO Texas University, I was reflecting on the overall trend Terry pointed out about how we’ve seen such an emergency of do-it-yourself (DIY) culture in the past several years–thanks to the Internet. Travel agents are obviously just about obsolete now because of this DIY movement.
It’s similar in banking.Thanks to the Internet, consumers can shop for the best rates, products and services online, and then after making a selection, take action. They can do it all by themselves, without any real help from the individual banks they are considering.
So I got to thinking, “what if….”
(Note: as with all my “what if” ideas, I’m not saying the following is necessarily a good idea–I’m just saying it’s an idea that should at least be pondered for a few minutes if you advocate innovation in financial services)
What if there were a layer of “banking agents”? Would they be able to add any value to the consumer or the bank, and thus earn revenue? Is there money to be made stepping into the middle of what is otherwise a DIY situation? Here are a few quick ideas I had:
Buyer’s Agent: There is a (small) market for car buying agents–people who have established relationships with car dealers, and can help consumers get the best prices, sourced from a large network of dealers, without price haggling. What if a banking agent could develop special relationships with banks and credit unions, and be able to offer special exclusive deals to consumers who worked with that agent? The consumer would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for that. This model would work if….
…The agent could guarantee the delivery of a certain volume of business to the banks and credit unions. It would like being an independent sales rep for the bank and credit union, and the financial institution would be willing to pay a commission for those sales.
Commercial Loan Participations. A banking agent could be a great resource for coordinating the funding of large loans that individual financial institutions couldn’t or wouldn’t want to fund. It’s likely both the borrower and the lender would pay for this matchmaking and coordination.
Continuous Evaluation: A banking agent could continuously evaluate his/her client’s banking relationships (for both deposits and loans), and proactively create better deals and arrangements with other banks, and then let the customer know when it was ready. The customer would find value in this and would pay accordingly.
What are your ideas? Let’s add to this list. Or, on the flip side, feel free to disagree!
I’ve often pondered the need for a business model revolution in the banking industry. Until now, I always thought the problem was that bankers wouldn’t know how to evolve (or completely change their business model). But now, the book has me realizing this question is only half of the real issue.
The other half of the question is: ”If a bank knew how to evolve or change its business model…would it?” In other words, would it have the guts? Would it have the resolve to stick out a painful transition? Would it be willing to go against the grain and be a champion of change?
This is an entirely different question. Deep thoughts.
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