We created TRUPOINT Partners and the TRUPOINT Analytics platform in response to a question we repeatedly asked community bankers during the darkest days following the financial crisis.
We asked them to tell us about the challenges they were now facing and what they believed the future held. We asked them if there was a way we could help. We also did one other thing: We listened. We really listened.
Our question was prompted by our belief that community banks were under tremendous duress and critical to a healthy economic recovery. We believed that Washington’s concern over the failure of large banks overlooked the needs of community lenders. We felt the media unfairly included community bankers in their reporting of “big bank” mismanagement, lending discrimination, and the problems on Wall Street. Knowing community banks as we do, we understood that nothing could be further from the truth.
We didn’t know what to expect when we asked the question, but what we heard was interesting.
Bankers told us they were overwhelmed, stressed out, overburdened, and under pressure. They told us that budgets were being cut and that they “had to do more with less.” We heard that there were “too many new regulations for one person to manage.” Many told us that some of their current tools were “too complex and too expensive to maintain.” They told us that they needed to become more efficient and “could no longer afford to maintain and learn multiple systems when they used only a small portion of its functionality.” We heard that bankers were looking for someone they trusted to help “take the load off” and they needed “answers, not another tool.” One banker elaborated, saying, “I need expertise and understanding, not another sales pitch.”
The feedback also provided us an answer to the second half of our question, “How could we help?”
We took what we heard and began to explore ways that we could add value to the industry and address the concerns we heard at a cost that made sense. In early 2011, we introduced a series of analysis reports using publicly available data and generated using our newly created analytics engine. Our reports were designed to help community banks deal with fair lending compliance. The response we received was encouraging, with more than 300 institutions purchasing our fair lending reports.
The enthusiastic response to our fair lending reports prompted us to begin developing TRUPOINT Analytics. We sought to reduce the cost of analyzing bank data and delivering valuable content and answers to community bankers on-demand. As a technology company with a history of understanding data, compliance, statistics and community banks, we believed that we had the right set of skills to accomplish this. We also adopted the simple-yet-powerful idea of attempting to see how
much value we could provide for a dollar, not how
little.
TRUPOINT Analytics is our response to all we heard. We believe we’ve successfully leveraged the latest technology, analytic expertise, and industry know-how, without sacrificing the human element. We believe TRUPOINT Analytics has the potential to improve the way community banks manage their businesses, while simultaneously saving time and money.
If you are a community bank, we would love to have you request an invitation, access some free reports, and see for yourself how well we’ve been able to accomplish our objective. And we hope, one day soon, we will have the opportunity to help you too.
Trey Sullivan
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Great ideas and great companies rely on great people. Take a minute to learn more about some of the great people who are working behind the scenes to help TRUPOINT Analytics -- and our customers -- become more successful
Trey Sullivan, president and CEO
Praised in the media for his innovation and resourcefulness, Trey has successfully launched, grown and managed several technology startups. This serial entrepreneur is product focused and dogged when it comes to delivering real value to clients. In his free time, he enjoys golf, classic cars, spending time with his wife and four “great kids" and, when possible, finding a quiet, out-of-the-way mountain stream full of brook trout.
Andy Barksdale, executive vice president and managing director
Andy has been focused on community banks and credit unions for more than 20 years. His vast experience working for (and with) community-based financial services companies has earned him an additional title at TRUPOINT Partners: client listener and advocate. He is a die-hard Georgia Bulldogs fan, golfer, little-league coach, husband and father of three.
Philip Dodds, chief technologist
If it involves software or application development, Philip has done it. His focus over the past 19 years has primarily been on data-management and enterprise financial-services systems, with experience ranging from Wall Street enterprise software to open-source startup incubators. When his head isn't stuck in cloud technologies or other work-related challenges, he enjoys spending time with his family and has recently started a program in Charlotte to teach programming to underprivileged kids.
Justin Smith, vice president of relationship management
For more than 10 years, Justin has provided compliance insight and guidance for community banks. A resident of Charlotte, N.C., he is a Formula 1 racing enthusiast and the “proud papa of a toddler.”
Mark Piccolo, manager of client services
Mark has been helping banks and credit unions navigate compliance requirements for 10 years. A Pennsylvania native, he roots for all of Pittsburgh’s professional sports teams, and enjoys golf, vegetable gardening, bowling, bass fishing and mining for gemstones in the North Carolina mountains. His most precious gem is his new granddaughter.
Michael Peresta, geoanalysis wizard and demographer
Fifteen years ago, Michael was a groundbreaker for the geographic information services used by financial institutions. His innovations and experience help ensure that TRUPOINT Partners provides the best reports in the industry. A renaissance man with a background in philosophy, he’s committed to finding a solution to every problem he encounters – and leaving every customer with a smile.
Tim Ryan, vice president of finance and administration
Tim’s background as an auditor for KPMG, combined with his past positions as controller and consultant for several start-up companies, bring added value to his role at TRUPOINT Partners. Through his experience with start-up companies, he has learned to fill multiple needs, including: finance, operations, IT, human resources, office manager and painter. He is a basketball fan, and roots for the Boston Celtics and Syracuse Orangemen.
Shakti Shankar, database engineer and statistician
Shakti earned his master’s degree in computer science from UNC-Charlotte, where he also worked as a teaching assistant before embarking on a career as a software developer and engineer. He is a native of India, and enjoys playing soccer and reading Wikipedia. His musical tastes are eclectic, with Michael Jackson and Metallica topping his list of favorites.
Jayesh Mori, software engineer
With a strong background in software and computer engineering, Jayesh helps TRUPOINT Partners meet customer demands more quickly and efficiently. He is a native of India and earned his master’s in computer science from UNC-Charlotte. He enjoys reading blogs and books, listening to Indian music, and honing his table tennis skills.
Stuart Johnson, software engineer
Whether he’s building websites or engines for hotrods, Stuart is good at making things run quickly, efficiently and effectively. He’s originally from Washington state, and moved across the country three times before settling in North Carolina and his current role with TRUPOINT Partners. It’s been said he moves pretty well across a dance floor, too.
Kshipra Thanvi, data reporting analyst
A graduate student studying software and information systems, Kshipra is putting her education to good use at TRUPOINT Partners as a member of the data reporting and analysis team. She enjoys poetry and cooking Indian food. And, she adds, “like every other Indian, ‘cricket is my religion.’”
Jane Duckwall, marketing, communications and freelance writer
Jane began working as a writer for financial-service companies, universities and non-profit agencies more than 25 years ago, after cutting her teeth as a journalist at newspapers in Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, Though she earned her journalism degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, her loyalties are divided during basketball season, when she cheers for Duke.
Justin Brown, relationship manager
For more than 10 years Justin has been involved in almost every aspect of mortgage lending. His dedication to customer service makes him a great person to contact for sales and relationship management. When he’s not cheering on his ECU Pirates or Carolina Panthers, Justin can be found floating around Lake Wylie, S.C.
