Operate Podcast

Peter Nguyen is the founder and CEO of Ad Exchange Group, based in Irvine. It is a leading direct-to-consumer digital performance-based agency, reaching $100M in revenue in less than 2 years in business. Both Peter and the company have received many awards for growth and entrepreneurship from people like Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Ernst & Young, and the Orange County Business Journal.

He’s also the founder and CEO of Push Innovation, a leading logistics and service provider to direct-to-consumer brands. Push has over 100 employees and ships tens of thousands of products every day. Another of his ventures, Chargeback360, is also growing rapidly.

I'll speculate and say that Peter was born an entrepreneur, as he started a web design and development firm while he was still in college in Florida many years ago. He’s started a number of businesses, including an educational one to help others launch their own product or service online. Baylor University adopted it as a class and it's been a student favorite there for many years. He’s been here in Orange County for about 10 years and has done business all over the world.

Enjoy some amazing stories, perspective, wisdom and advice from Peter!

Spencer Rascoff and I had a lively conversation about many of the exciting things happening in the LA and Southern California startup community. Spencer has fully immersed himself here and is helping to build it as the next global innovation center, and I couldn't be more excited to have him here! We discussed the many advantages we have here, such as diversity of economy, creativity in abundance, and quality of life that is second to none.

He has done a lot so far in his career. He has co-founded two businesses that became household names, Zillow and Hotwire. And earlier this year he launched his latest company, dot.LA, a media company dedicated to covering and connecting L.A.’s startup world. I also hear he has at least one other new startup he’s developing, which is in stealth mode.

Spencer co-founded Zillow in 2005, had several roles, including CEO for nearly 10 years and took them public. He also led them through 15 acquisitions. He co-wrote a best-selling book while he was there, and led a company where people loved to work, as they were often awarded for it and their culture. He also co-founded Hotwire.com and we all know that jingle. He and his team sold it to Expedia in 2003. Prior to that he worked in private equity and investment banking. He’s lived several lives!

Spencer relocated back to LA a few years ago, after many years away. I’m excited that he’s back here to share his wealth of experience in building world class and industry shaping technology companies. When you build a company that gets a single letter ticker symbol, Z, and reaches $10B market cap, people should listen. It will be fun to work with Spencer and the dot.LA team to highlight exciting developments and people here.

Scott has a huge heart for entrepreneurs and the Orange County tech startup community. In 2018 he founded the Orange County Startup Council to provide a resource for the various pillars of the community - startup entrepreneurs, investors, partners and potential customers - with the goal to help startups thrive and grow here. He is building momentum with it and helping to Accelerate OC startups!

He also hosts a regular startup founder mastermind group and is a member of Tech Coast Angels. Join the conversation that Scott and I have about the many resources here and ideas to keep building our ecosystem.

Visit: Orange County Startup Council

I’m excited to bring back the podcast with Alice Frazier, CEO of Bank of Charles Town (BCT). Alice is one of the most progressive leaders in community banking, and leads her bank that way. She’s active with the ICBA as its current Chair of the Policy Development Committee, and previously served as Secretary,. She is also active in her state with the Community Bankers of West Virginia and Virginia Association of Community Banks, where she is a past Chairperson.

We had a great discussion about her bank, the last 2 years of challenges and opportunities, how her bank has adapted and thrived, and how she's planning for the next seasons for it. We also discussed her leading role in investing in BankTech Ventures, a new fund in which I'm involved.

The episode is also sponsored by BankTech Ventures, the first strategic investment fund designed by the community banking industry for community bank innovation and investment. BankTech identifies leading products and technologies for community banks, and works with the founders and management teams to maximize the impact for community banks and their businesses. If you’re a bank looking to innovate and invest in the future, or a founder who wants to work with community banks, reach out to BankTech Ventures – banktechventures.com

In this episode of the Operate Podcast, we dive deep into the evolution of 'Banking as a Service' (BaaS) and its complexities. My guest, Rafael DeLeon, the SVP of Industry Engagement at NContracts, shares his extensive insights on the partnership dynamics between community banks and fintech companies. We explored how these relationships started, the operational challenges they faced, and how they've matured over time. Rafael discussed the importance of trust, risk management, and regulatory compliance in these partnerships, highlighting the transition from what he calls the 'Wild West' of BaaS to a more structured environment today.

We also talked about the broader regulatory environment in the banking industry, focusing on how regulators are handling the rapid pace of change, interest rates, and macroeconomic challenges. Rafael provided his perspective on recent enforcement actions and what they signal to the industry, emphasizing the need for transparency, strong risk management systems, and strategic planning.

From there we addressed the impact of technology on smaller banks and how it can enable them to be more efficient and competitive. Rafael shared his optimistic outlook on the future of community banking, particularly how fintech partnerships and regulatory guidelines will shape the industry's landscape.

Towards the end of our conversation, Rafael reflected on his career transition from a long tenure at the OCC to his current role at Ncontracts. He discussed how his new position allows him to leverage his regulatory expertise and passion for the banking industry to foster innovation and compliance. This episode provided a comprehensive look at the current and future state of community banking, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in financial services, fintech, and regulatory affairs.

Thank you to show sponsor, BankTech Ventures.

EPISODE CHAPTER MARKERS:

00:00 Preview

00:36 Intro

00:49 Sponsor

01:21 Meet Rafael DeLeon: SVP of Industry Engagement at Ncontracts

02:27 Banking as a Service: Challenges and Evolution

05:58 Regulatory Oversight and Compliance

10:56 Risk Management in Banking Partnerships

19:46 Future of Banking and Regulatory Environment

35:36 Technology's Role in Small Banks

38:09 Bridging the Tech-Bank Language Gap

41:27 Journey to Becoming a Bank Regulator

47:20 Transition to NContracts

50:19 NContracts' Growth and Innovations

53:38 Rafael's Superpower: Connecting People

56:23 Future of Banking: AI and Payments

57:50 Regulatory Vigilance and Risk Management

59:47 Accountability in Regulatory Agencies

01:01:05 Final Thoughts and Farewell