ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the third year in a row, employees of various credit unions across the nation spent 24 straight hours brainstorming the next great financial technology offering.
On Sept. 11, starting at 10 a.m., 150 people in four time zones split up into 34 teams to create a working prototype of a process or solution that solves a real business need or challenge.
"We are a company of ideas and that is our currency," said Mike Kelly, the CEO of PSCU, the credit union services organization that organized the event. "Three years in, we hope to find incredible ideas that get birthed. And we hope that the people leave here with a different attitude and spirit."
Hackathons and similar competitions are catching on at financial services companies.
Most of the teams at PSCU's event worked through the night at the company's St. Petersburg headquarters. The other teams burned the midnight oil in Hawaii, Arizona and Michigan.
Given the date, the event started on a somber note.
"9/11 is always a sobering day, and that day 13 years ago changed America forever," said Kelly. "We began with a moment of silence for those fallen. We encouraged people to honor that by embracing the moment we have now. Time is our only resource and you don't know when the clock ends."
After a rendition of "God Bless America," the event kicked off with festivities. A boxing coach was on hand passing out gloves and teaching moves. "It was like line dancing with boxing gloves," said participant Myles Bristowe, who leads the Make Your Money Matter initiative at PSCU.
Getting KnockOut
For those who weren't into boxing, there was a deejay spinning tunes getting the crowd pumped — many of whom danced. Monster energy drinks and food was aplenty. "This was my first KnockOut experience," a punchy Bristowe told Credit Union Journal in the twenty-third hour. "All five of on our team did not rest once. We worked straight through."
Due to proprietary issues, Bristowe could not divulge his team's innovation, but explained that it would be a member-driven social media method of scoring a credit unions and banks' ability to best serve its members. Their video presentation also included a
All 34 teams had to stop at 10 a.m. Friday morning.
The judging panel consists of: Tom Gandre, COO of PSCU; Matt Kerper, head of sales, prepaid programs at PayPal; Filene Institute Innovative Director at Andrew Downin; First Data Corp.'s Director of user experience and innovation Deneen Luxford; Connect Financial Software Solutions' President Grant Parry; and representative from Visa.
"We feel we have a well-rounded panel of judges this year," said Kelly. Six semi-finalists will be selected and uploaded to PSCU's website. The company's 1,600 employees will then vote on the best video with the winner announced by the end of the month.
While technology meet ups are usually considered nerdy, Kelly said this event is where the "cool kids" hang out. "Our call to action is that credit unions have a place in the market and have a right to win in this space."
In 2012, the winning entry was a mobile app that allows cardholders to report a card lost or stolen. Kelly explained that PSCU adapted this idea and incorporated it into a larger credit card data and account servicing app that is offered on iTunes. "It's in the market and one of the only of its kind from any issuer."
While the 2014 entrants wait for the winning nod, Bristowe said he was struck not only by the amount of innovative ideas, but from the collaborate spirit.
"I had a real math problem I couldn't figure out. A person from one of the other teams came over and helped me out," said Bristowe. "Later on, I was able to help him. Competition is fierce, but we are really all on the same team."
