Stephen Bohanon
Co-Founder and CSSO
Alkami Technology (NASDAQ:ALKT)
GET TO KNOW STEPHEN...
Hometown:
Oklahoma City, OK | Currently resides in Plano, TX
Alma Mater:
Moore High School
Hobbies:
Golf and IT support to my family
Q: What was your first job?
A: When I was 15 years old, I got a job “throwing tires” — stacking semi-truck tires in a tire warehouse. After 6 months of that, I knew manual labor was not for me and started working for The Finish Line selling sneakers until I graduated high school.
Q: Tell me the history of your company. What is the mission and how did you get started?
A: Alkami was founded just over 12 years ago with the intent to level the digital banking playing field and with a vision to help mid-tier financial institutions compete with the mega and challenger banks. We predicted that the nation’s financial institutions would go through the transformative change that disrupted industries like media, travel and others, and we recognized that established, legacy players didn’t have the right solutions to replace the in-person branch experience. The Alkami Platform is the result of that vision. We set out to build a digital banking solution that offered a single, unified platform for all interfaces and user types. We dedicated ourselves to beautiful, intuitive UI and bleeding edge UX built on powerful APIs, and a network of data from multiple systems to drive marketing and cross-selling opportunities. Our cloud-based solution makes it possible for banks and credit unions of any asset size to manage “all things digital” from a single source. Our mission remains to empower these financial institutions to grow, adapt and build thriving digital communities.
Q: What problem is your company trying to solve?
A: Community and regional financial institutions contribute to the strength and durability of our economy. However, organizations in this asset class generally don’t have the internal resources or capabilities to fully build and customize their own technology platforms to keep pace with their larger competitors, like the mega or challenge banks. With our help these institutions are able to not only keep up with the pace of innovation, but they have new opportunities to grow, thrive and achieve a technology advantage.
Q: Tell me about your funding journey and how your company is looking to grow into the next 5 years.
A: We started with our Series A of $8.5M from August 2011 to June 2013 and raised five additional rounds (Series B to F) of approximately $413M from October 2013 to September 2020. We became a public company in April 2021, raising gross proceeds of $207M. Over the next 5 years, we see ourselves growing through continued penetration of our TAM with our flagship digital banking product and by adding additional complementary product offerings through organic and inorganic initiatives.
Q: What has been your most satisfying moment in your business journey so far?
A: Probably our IPO because of what it means to all of the employees and investors who believed in us.
Q: Who or what has been the biggest support or resource within the startup ecosystem that has impacted your company’s future for the better?
A: Our investors; not only for the capital but for the network connections and the wisdom/guidance provided.
Q: What are the biggest lessons you have learned so far as an entrepreneur? What is the best advice you have received that you would like to share with others?
A: Stay true to your vision and mission. When you are chasing revenue, it is easy to be lured off-course in order to ensure you can just pay the bills, but you can become lost quickly.
Stay true to your culture and don’t fall into the trap of hiring people that may solve a short-term need but ultimately will dilute or corrupt your culture. Better to keep the seat open for longer than deal with the consequences of corporate corruption.
Q: What is your favorite thing about doing business in Texas?
A: Texas has a very business-friendly climate, which also results in the ability to recruit exceptional talent to Alkami that supports our culture and our focus on continuous innovation. Additionally, it provides a great central location to accommodate and connect with a client base that spans from coast to coast.
Headquartered in Plano and founded in 2009, Alkami is a leading provider of cloud-based digital banking solutions. Alkami’s solutions reshape the modern banking landscape by delivering bold and innovative digital capabilities to U.S. banks and credit unions.
“Stay true to your vision and mission. When you are chasing revenue, it’s easy to be lured off-course in order to ensure you can just pay the bills, but you can become lost quickly.”