Where did the jam session originate? Kansas City, of course.
In addition to jamming, Kansas City has always been great at making connections. The world famous stockyards connected cattlemen with buyers. The Kauffman Foundation, one of America’s largest and best, connects the dots on entrepreneurship and growth. And for a few days Filene’s Kansas City big.bright.minds meeting connected members of our research council, our i3 innovators, our staff, and a smattering of big thinkers and entrepreneurs.
What follows are the briefest of summaries of the ideas. If any of them pique your interest, please contact research [at] filene.org:
Dane Stangler, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation – Economic growth is virtually welded to the success of entrepreneurs and small firms. The policy makers, lenders and business communities support them, the further we’ll grow.
Dan Shapiro, Google Advisor – File this one under either “clap for joy” or “cry”. With the biggest name on the Internet looking to get your deposit and loan offers in front of everybody, you can either consider your marketing problem solved or your commoditization problem thornier than ever.
Michael Steinberger, Pomona College – Steinberger’s Age, Wage, and Marriage (PDF) presentation shows that the growth among the 65+ segment, the hollowing out of the middle class, and the gradual shift away from traditional marriage patterns will have clear implications for credit unions (especially those that don’t roll with the changes).
Brent Dixon, The Cooperative Trust – The young professionals movement that started with “crash.coop”: is taking a step up as it morphs into (sneak peek!) The Cooperative Trust (PDF). The idea is to make sure young professionals don’t just socialize, but have a sustainable place to build their ideas into actions.
Michael Barr, University of Michigan – The Michigan Law professor and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury shared details of his comprehensive Detroit Area Study, which tugs at assumptions about check cashing and payday lending.
Ellen Seidman, CFSI – If the financial/housing/economic crises have proved anything, it’s that regular consumers can get cross-wise with their finances. Throw in some excitement and the occasional unscrupulous provider and things can get toxic. So CFSI wants banks, credit unions, and all who offer products to commit to the Compass Principles going forward. What do you think?
Annamaria Lusardi, George Washington University – As the term ‘financial education’ gives way to ‘financial capability’, how can we actually help consumers make good decisions. Not with just a teacher in a classroom. Instead, try games and services that reach members in the moment they’re making decisions.
Glen Sarvady, Global Concepts/McKinsey & Company – In a bit of refreshing news, Glen is the first expert I’ve heard that thinks the two-tier interchange fee structure will hold up over time. He also introduced us to a valuable resource for those who eat and sleep payments (even if they don’t want to).
Mike Higgins, Mike Higgins & Associates – The author of a well-received Filene report (Credit Union Strategic Growth and Budgeting) won a few friends by pooh-poohing ROA as a useful metric and arguing for credit unions to focus management attention on revenue growth. My favorite line from the presentation: “GAAP is crap.”
Hannah Day, cbanc – Think of this as formalizing the I’ll-share-my-policy-if-you-share-yours network that credit unions have long employed. The twist: the more you share (and the higher your quality), the more you get in return.
Bill Dwight, FamZoo – This parent of four children was ready to sign up at the end of the presentation for a service that lets you manage allowances, track balances and spending, and share teachable moments around money. Doubly interesting as a white-label product for CUs to share with members—maybe part of an expanded family account offering?
Arjan Schutte, Core Venture Capital – Arjan caught our attention with a well-reasoned blog post called Don’t Bank the Underbanked ; he expanded on the idea in his presentation Them (PDF), which supported many of the insights of REAL Solutions that low- and moderate-income consumers are a membership target you cannot afford to ignore.
Tracy Johnson, Context-based Research – Ethnography eschews surveys and even focus groups for in-depth insights into why people behave the way they do. Attendees were invited to join with Filene’s project with Context-based Research to examine either the financial habits of Gen Y OR the emerging needs of today’s borrowers. Intrigued? Description and costs here (PDF).
Priya Haji, SaveUp – How can we make saving more rewarding? By making it more fun. This is the insight at the core of the “Save to Win”: lotteries, and now Haji and her crew (who bring some serious VC cred to the table) are taking it to the next, very social level. The pitch to credit unions: bring a prize-based savings program to your credit union without any of the administrative or legal hassle. Definitely one to watch; I’m on their beta list and waiting eagerly for my invite …
Paul Hofmann, SAP Labs – Nothing like a scientist with a German accent to make you think hard about the future of mobile, big data, social media, cloud computing, and consumerization. Hofmann’s review of the Big Five Megatrends (PDF) in IT is enough to send you back to your own tech drawing board.
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