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by Multimodal
Main Street AI is an immersive content series probing the intricate intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence in the world of business and high-stakes industries. Journey with us into stories of challenge and triumph of innovators navigating their unique industry mazes, and of the transformative power of AI seamlessly merging into these narratives. Think of it as "Masters of Scale" but customized for visionaries, pioneers, and enthusiasts in the ever-evolving AI-for-business space.
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- 1 weeks ago27 min
CUES COO Expects 60% of Credit Unions to Stand Alone in 10 Years
Ankur Patel interviews Jerry Saalsaa, SVP and Chief Operating Officer at CUES.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastCUES is the association that develops credit union executives and boards. Jerry argues the best AI ideas come from emerging leaders rather than the C suite, warns that shiny new objects and thin board governance are the real danger, and expects only 60% of credit unions to still stand alone in ten years.Guest: Jerry Saalsaa, SVP and Chief Operating Officer, CUESHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Jerry0:30 Where the best AI thinking comes from2:20 Problem first or AI first4:05 Budgeting AI for 20276:07 Getting the data house in order8:01 When AI pays back9:10 Urgency and momentum11:42 Efficiency versus revenue13:29 The role of partners14:58 Choosing an AI partner16:08 Shiny new objects17:59 How CUES uses AI20:26 Consolidation and leadership turnover22:23 Who is taking the top jobs25:12 Rapid fire25:31 How many credit unions stand alone in 10 years27:30 Closing
- 2 weeks ago25 min
Small Credit Unions Understand AI. The Math Just Isn't Mathing.
Ankur Patel interviews Torrance Harris, Senior Director of Innovations at Luminate.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastLuminate is the league for Louisiana's credit unions, most of them $100 million or smaller. Torrance argues those small credit unions already understand AI and know what th ey need; the math just isn't mathing, so the league screens vendors for after-sale support and bundles small institutions into one price so they don't have to merge.Guest: Torrance Harris, Senior Director of Innovations, LuminateHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Torrance0:33 Torrance's path into credit unions1:45 Nobody calls asking for AI3:47 Membership growth5:46 Growing the loan portfolio8:07 Fintech speed vs. bank budgets10:02 How Luminate vets vendors14:24 The math isn't mathing16:12 Louisiana by the numbers19:40 Merger pressure21:09 What small credit unions need to thrive22:48 Rapid fire25:02 Closing
- 3 weeks ago30 min
How Orion Brought Fraud and Mortgage Servicing In-House With AI
Ankur Patel interviews Ben Mrva, EVP and Chief Operating Officer at Orion Federal Credit Union.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastOrion Federal Credit Union is a $1.3B credit union in Memphis, Tennessee. Ben, a twenty-year consultant turned COO, explains how Orion found its AI savings by bringing fraud and mortgage servicing in-house and leaning less on consultants, not by cutting staff, and why a data lake has to come before anything bigger.Guest: Ben Mrva, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, Orion Federal Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Ben0:34 How AI changed work at Orion1:52 Data readiness and the branch transaction count3:40 Why credit union data was never ready6:28 Incumbents, fintechs and the Filene pitch room8:59 From demo to production11:03 Who owns the integration12:58 Corelation KeyStone as a partner14:22 Bringing people along16:46 Hospitality first, AI second18:57 Competing with the big banks21:45 The fintech pressure24:43 Budgeting AI for 202725:51 Bringing fraud and mortgage servicing in-house28:59 Closing
- Oct 8, 202643 min
Under 1% of Credit Unions Could Run an Agent on Their Data
Ankur Patel interviews Garrett Jorewicz, who leads the Innovation and Enterprise Solutions team at Credit Union 1 (CU1).📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastCredit Union 1 grew from $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion in assets through eight to ten mergers a year and doubled its members without adding a single person to its contact center. Garrett's argument is that this was the easy part: he puts the share of credit unions that could run an AI agent against all their data at under 1%, CU1 included, and says getting there means freezing projects to fix the data layer first.Guest: Garrett Jorewicz, Innovation and Enterprise Solutions, Credit Union 1 (CU1)Host: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Garrett0:21 Under 1% of credit unions0:48 Why the data still isn't in order3:37 Voluntary open heart surgery5:41 Contact center as the entry point6:59 Eight to ten mergers a year13:08 Four AI vendors, four knowledge bases15:31 The contact center RFP17:04 The data cockpit19:04 Sorting through vendor noise23:22 Who pays for AI27:44 Do I need to replace that person29:11 Same vendors, same tools34:05 Friction drives behavior37:03 Twelve seconds or eleven minutes on hold38:55 Credit unions in ten years41:06 What credit unions should stop doing43:42 Closing
- Sep 23, 202625 min
What a $4.6B Credit Union's Growth Officer Actually Worries About
Ankur Patel interviews Whitney Anderson, Leadership Strategist and founder of Anderson Growth Advisors.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastWhitney advised credit unions before taking the chief growth officer role at Sunward Credit Union, which runs $4.6 billion in assets and more than 170,000 members out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. After seats as an operator, a sitting CEO, and an outside consultant, Whitney's read is that what blocks AI in credit unions isn't the technology but fear, and that the goal was never to be first to market, just a very close second.Guest: Whitney Anderson, Leadership Strategist and founder of Anderson Growth AdvisorsHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, MultimodalWhitney's memoir, She Walked Anyway: The Story of a Woman Who Refused to Stay Down: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1636988776Her consulting practice, Anderson Growth Advisors: https://andersongrowthadvisors.com0:00 Introduction: Meet Whitney0:41 The career arc4:13 Walking again, the book, and Anderson Growth Advisors5:01 What adversity changed6:26 What a consultant sees from the outside8:06 The challenges facing credit unions9:26 Is AI just more technology12:02 Drawing the line on member-facing AI15:13 Moving the AI skeptics16:50 Fear, not technology18:32 Can small credit unions keep up20:07 The leader credit unions aren't hiring yet22:16 What the leading credit unions do differently24:21 Where to find She Walked Anyway25:24 Closing
- Sep 17, 202634 min
If You Offload Expertise to AI, You Offload Control
Ankur Patel interviews Erik Librader, Client Partner, and Ian Butler, Chief Technology Officer, at Vistrada.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastVistrada is a business risk and technology consultancy that sits inside dozens of institutions after the AI contract is signed, which makes this an outside-in view of what actually works and what quietly fails. Erik and Ian break down the 95% of AI spend that never produces measurable return, why the right architecture is usually a chain of small models rather than a chatbot, and why handing expertise to AI means handing over decision making and control with it.Guest: Erik Librader, Client Partner, VistradaGuest: Ian Butler, Chief Technology Officer, VistradaHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Erik and Ian0:39 What the first AI call sounds like2:11 Clients who don't know where to begin3:10 AI is the tool, not the chair5:14 Speed is what's different7:38 Why AI projects fail10:59 Business process optimization in an AI coat13:59 Not an AI consultancy15:45 Repurpose the headcount18:24 Offload expertise, offload control21:23 Snake oil in the vendor market23:24 Loan origination and traceability26:59 Where the real AI risk lives31:25 Budget, sponsorship, ownership32:55 Is the organization ready34:30 Closing
- Sep 10, 202629 min
Why the NCUA should give credit unions a sandbox
Ankur Patel interviews Jason Stverak, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Defense Credit Union Council.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastDCUC is the 63-year-old trade association for the 200-plus credit unions serving the U.S. military, holding $525 billion in assets for more than 40 million members. Jason argues that with 4,200 credit unions left from north of 10,000 fifteen years ago, the small ones survive AI by pooling through CUSOs, deliberately targeting a B instead of an A-plus, and getting the NCUA to hand them a sandbox rather than a rulebook.Guest: Jason Stverak, Chief Advocacy Officer, Defense Credit Union CouncilHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Jason0:55 What DCUC is2:38 CU Unplugged4:44 Consolidate or die8:40 Credit unions as the AI proving ground11:31 The volunteer board pushes the agenda13:22 Automation and the member relationship15:02 Finding the dollars for software18:35 AI was supposed to democratize20:20 We need a B, not an A plus23:28 The case for an NCUA sandbox25:56 The regulator as matchmaker27:30 What Jason is protecting29:02 Closing
- Sep 3, 202634 min
Why the Smallest Credit Unions Are the Best at AI
Ankur Patel interviews Mike Lawson, Founder and Host of CUbroadcast.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastMike has interviewed more than 8,000 credit union leaders as host of CUbroadcast, giving him a view across the entire industry rather than one seat inside one institution. His sharpest take: the smallest credit unions are often the best AI adopters because their teams wear so many hats they have to automate, while SoFi onboards more new customers in a year than the whole industry combined.Guest: Mike Lawson, Founder and Host, CUbroadcastHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Mike0:39 What's changed, what's stayed the same2:26 Fintech and big bank pressure4:35 The collaborative advantage8:39 Where credit unions are in the AI journey10:17 Budgeting for AI11:55 Use cases bubbling up14:02 Why small credit unions excel at AI16:55 AI in the call center19:20 Fighting AI-powered fraud23:10 Lessons from the global movement24:07 The membership age problem28:09 Consolidation and mergers30:50 Fintech partnerships and vendor risk33:06 Two imperatives for the next five years34:40 Closing
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About Main Street AI
Main Street AI is an immersive content series probing the intricate intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence in the world of business and high-stakes industries. Journey with us into stories of challenge and triumph of innovators navigating their unique industry mazes, and of the transformative power of AI seamlessly merging into these narratives. Think of it as "Masters of Scale" but customized for visionaries, pioneers, and enthusiasts in the ever-evolving AI-for-business space.
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