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By Kevin TweddleThe ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator bootcamp has begun! I’ve been in Little Rock for the past week and can attest to the continued excitement since our launch.
Things are moving quickly, and we’re hard at work helping our 10 finalists develop their products and pitches so they’ll be ready to unveil solutions before the nation’s largest gathering of community bankers at ICBA LIVE® in Nashville on March 18.
The energy at The Venture Center is contagious as our finalists orient themselves to the work plan over the next 12 weeks. I’ve already witnessed solid product concepts, and our participants are eager to engage, learn and evolve their offerings to better meet the growing needs of community bankers.
To give you an idea of what the 12-week bootcamp will entail, here’s a list of the key topics that will be discussed as finalists get their community bank solutions closer to the finish line:
The bootcamp couldn’t have happened without the help of our selection committee, who, along with me, Tina Giorgio and The Venture Center team, helped determine the finalists out of a pool of 190 applicants. The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator selection committee participants include:
These community bankers were invaluable to the selection process, and I want to thank them for their time, expertise and dedication. They will continue to provide guidance and input over the program’s duration as our fintech finalists further refine their offerings.
Over the course of the bootcamp, we’re also planning to solicit feedback from other community bankers across the country. As I mentioned previously, community banks will join us each week at the bootcamp from now through March at the Venture Center. This will provide bankers with a “front seat” to innovation as they offer our finalists insights into community bank challenges and needs.
But it’s not just a one-way street; bankers will benefit as well. Through their participation in the accelerator, bankers gain early access to best-in-class startups for pilot or partner consideration, experience meaningful engagement with financial innovators and creators, learn new ways to solve banking business problems, expand their bank’s innovation culture, uncover new challenges and opportunities, and shape the technology solutions of tomorrow.
The fact remains that visiting the accelerator may in and of itself spark new ideas for community bankers. It’s our hope that these interactions will inspire you to think differently about your current offerings and infrastructure. If you are interested in visiting the Venture Center, I encourage you to reach out to your ICBA Member Relationship Officer. You can also reach out to me directly.
To support that innovative mindset, we’ll be sharing perspectives from banker participants, as well as profiles of the 10 finalists and their companies, over the coming weeks. This means you’ll get a firsthand account of where the products and solutions are heading as the entrepreneurs refine their solutions to bring more targeted, efficient technologies to market for community banks and our customers.
While this may be a fintech bootcamp, we’re all going to learn from the experience. I, for one, am ready to see what we uncover.
Kevin Tweddle is chief operating officer of the ICBA Services Network.