Florida Banking August 2022

Dotherow, CEO of Winter Park National Bank, for a better understanding of how the landscape had changed. Dotherow spent an hour with Costello, talking about how he got his bank going, and sharing great ideas. Costello, too, is willing to return the favor for others. “Startups are a lot of work. We’re working harder than we ever have,” Costello said. “Every day is different; every day is a challenge. But there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t have a good time. It’s not a job. We believe in what we’re doing, and that’s the difference.” “OUR ABILITY TO ITERATE AND MAKE CHANGES IS ONE OF THE HUGE ADVANTAGES OF OUR SYSTEM. IT’S A PROCESS, BUT IT’S A WORTHWHILE PROCESS.” - KEITH COSTELLO

Intracoastal Bank, Continued from page 9

and we demonstrated that what we’re doing with this cloud-based infrastructure is safer than traditional on-premise servers,” Costello said. Of course, launching a new bank with new technology is not without its challenges. The bank’s soft launch in January gave employees and the board of directors the opportunity to open accounts and test the technology, identifying and correcting the issues before rolling it out to shareholders. “You come out with a version, and then you come out with another version, but it never ends… that’s how technology works,” Costello said. “Our ability to iterate and make changes is one of the huge advantages of our system. It’s a process, but it’s a worthwhile process, because our systems are going to be superior to anything else that’s out there due to this continual process of iteration and upgrading the technology.” Costello’s advice for fellow de novo s is to talk to the people who have done it. “I’m grateful for the relationships I’ve made with bankers through the FBA. I have this collaborative network I can call to compare notes. Eddy Arriola, Bud Stalnaker, Ginger Martin, David Dotherow… I could go on and on,” Costello said. Though Costello himself had prior de novo experience, he turned to fellow banker David

Locality Bank leadership available for photo (l to r): SVP and Chief Risk Officer Cindy Sheppard, Cofounder, President and CEO Keith Costello, Chief Banking Officer David Eiler, Cofounder and Chief Lending Officer Drew Saito, and EVP and Chief Financial Officer Michelle Gioia.

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