In this episode of Members First Mindset, Dan Daggett and Melanie Munsey sit down with Nate Anderson, President and CEO of Rekindle, and Tony Kitt, CEO of Plexcity, to talk through one of the harder decisions any organization faces: when to stop doing something yourself and trust a partner to handle it. Both guests have built businesses around that question, and Credit Unions First answers it from personal experience, having handed off HR, payroll, and fractional CFO functions to Plexcity. The conversation gets into how both organizations were built, where the shared services model works and where it breaks down, and why CUSOs are as much a fit for this model as credit unions and leagues.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The founding of Rekindle (formerly rkGoBig) by six Pennsylvania-area credit unions in 2014 and how shared services, shared contracting, and shared knowledge form a "rekindle cell"
• The three core services Rekindle delivers: compliance, cards back office, and ACH and share draft exceptions
• Why shared services tend to work best for credit unions under approximately $500 million in assets, and what shifts above that threshold
• The founding of Plexcity in 2015 out of the league system, and how the model grew from three leagues to approximately 60 organizations sharing pieces of their back office
• How Plexcity helped leagues reduce operational risk, lower costs, and access talent that would have been out of reach as standalone organizations
• Why shared services aren't just for credit unions and leagues; CUSOs need them too
• Credit Unions First's own experience transitioning HR/payroll and fractional CFO services to Plexcity
• What prompted Nate Anderson to join the Credit Unions First advisory board
• Other shared service organizations in the movement: Xtend, OTS, S3, MSS

On This Episode:

• Dan Daggett - Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Credit Unions First
• Melanie Munsey - CEO & Co-Founder, Credit Unions First
• Nate Anderson - President & CEO, Rekindle
• Tony Kitt - CEO, Plexcity

For more information about Credit Unions First, visit creditunionsfirst.org.

To learn more about Rekindle, visit rekindlecuso.org. To connect with Plexcity, visit plexcity.org or email tony.kitt@plexcity.org.