This month we are focusing on a long-time member and supporter Kirk Drake who has just published his first book CU2.0: A Guide for Credit Unions Competing in the Digital Age.
PART ONE: Life Story and Experiences
What’s your current position and can you give me a brief overview of what it is you do in your work?
I am currently the President and CEO of Ongoing Operations, LLC and founder of Credit Union 2.0. I focus on helping credit unions engage members digitally and compete with the onslaught of regulatory and fintech challenges – or as I like to call it Credit Union 2.0.
Where did you grow up and what was it like living there? Where did you go to school?
I grew up in Southern California until I was 15 and then my family moved to Southern Oregon. I finished high school in Grants Pass, Oregon and feel more connected to that area. It was a small town (20,000 people) that was really isolated from the mainstream – but was amazing for grounding me and providing some amazing opportunities like starting a high school bank. After that I attended George Washington University in Washington, DC and eventually graduated from the University of Maryland University College.
What would you say most motivates you to do what you do? What are you most excited or passionate about?
I love meeting new people (especially passionate credit union people) and helping them solve their problems. These days I am very motivated by helping our industry become relevant. I feel that we have missed the boat on connecting to members digitally and are at great risk of becoming obsolete to consumers. Helping credit unions connect in their communities and online has me fired up and focused!
Finally, can you share something interesting about you that would surprise our readers? It can be anything, a hobby, an adventure, sports, the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you.
I absolutely love adventure travel. I have hiked and backpacked all over the world in remote places. Some include the Italian Alps, Aspen, Anaconda Pintler Wilderness in Montana, Patagonia in Chile, Portugal, and New Zealand.
PART TWO: The Business Story
Tell me the story of how your CUSO/Company was created – the early days. Tell me about some of the memorable characters in the history, some that brought your story color, drama, comedy, conflict?
Originally the CUSO was created as expense sharing endeavor among 7 Washington, DC credit unions as a response to 9/11. The Credit Union CEO’s were awesome collaborators who understood trust at a different level and that fair vs. equal were two different things in collaborations. Miriam Lieb, CEO of Transportation FCU and Jury Valdov, CEO of Northwest FCU were some of the most memorable. They were not afraid to call it as it was and to make big bets. They also had some sage advice like – don’t worry about distributing profits – worry about distributing losses – nobody argues over profits…
One time I remember after 3 or 4 meetings where one CEO hadn’t shown up. He did and then proceeded to drag the other leaders through the formation conversation again and cast doubt –Juri abruptly told him to either get out or get in – but to stop making us rehash stuff. It was great!
Who were your mentors along the way? People who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life? Tell me about them.
There are so many.
Margie Click, CEO of Agriculture, believed in me really early as a teller and then IT person. She really helped me understand a lot of the inner workings of management and credit union fundamentals.
Lindsay Alexander, formerly CEO of NIH FCU, was amazing at really letting me run with a vision or idea and making me feel like I was really part of something.
Juri Valdov, formerly CEO of NWFCU, was great at helping me focus and narrow my shiny object chasing habits!
Dave Serlo, founder of PSCU, helped me begin to look for ways to change the industry and think bigger.
And there were many many more…
PART THREE: Reflections and Lessons
If you could start your CUSO/Company all over again, would you do anything differently? Why and what would you do?
Yes – 1. Not all investors/investments are good investments. Be really picky, much the way you would in hiring a new employee, when taking capital, board members, investments etc.
- Make sure you always keep your investors informed of what you are thinking and doing. Don’t assume they are on the same page or that others are telling them.
- I don’t think we are raising money the right way for technology CUSOs. Instead of angel capital – I think we should have the credit unions pre-purchase services with warrants attached. That way when things go well – they look like heros – and when things go poorly (which is much more likely in start-ups – they can move on and not drag the credit union boards through innovation scars.
- Don’t shy away from hiring financial and legal help on day one. It will pay you back ten-fold through business model maturity and avoidance of problems. I have never once felt like I overspent on financial or legal advice in retrospect. I have many times felt like I have overspent on marketing, technology, leadership or other advice!
Finally, when you think of the future for credit unions, what gives you hope and what makes you concerned?
The single thing that gives me hope is that we are seeing the rise of new/younger leadership and the baby boomer leadership transition. I believe that is giving rise to a group of data driven, digital first, leaders who are really interested in making a difference and being relevant in their communities – and not just at growth/scale/looking like banks!
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Kirk was a judge for the 2017 Next Big Idea Competition at the NACUSO Network Conference. Mike Lawson of CU Broadcast interviewed Kirk at the event. Click here to see the interview.
