Podcast
Main Street AI
Hosted by Multimodal · EN
"Main Street AI" is an immersive content series probing the intricate intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence in the world of business and high-stakes industries.
Journey with us into stories of challenge and triumph of innovators navigating their unique industry mazes, and of the transformative power of AI seamlessly merging into these narratives. Think of it as "Masters of Scale" but customized for visionaries, pioneers, and enthusiasts in the ever-evolving AI-for-business space.
19episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How LMCU Cut a 150-Step Process to 15 with AI
1w ago00:50:06Tap to summarizeAnkur Patel interviews Chris Ortega, who leads technology transformation at Lake Michigan Credit Union; a $17B asset institution and the 13th largest credit union in the US.What's distinct about Chris's approach is that he restructures how the organization operates before deploying the tools - agile teams, a Center of Excellence, and a single Emerging Technology Governance Board that owns AI, RPA, and stablecoin. The episode covers how that structure was built, where RPA vs. agentic AI is the right call, and the cost discipline that keeps emerging tech from running away from the institution.Guest: Chris Ortega, CIO, Lake Michigan Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Chris Ortega0:32 Stabilizing the IT landscape at LMCU1:40 Inside a top credit union3:23 Building conviction for transformation5:20 The Center of Excellence and the three C's7:43 What surprised him about emerging tech9:31 Where traditional project management falls short11:25 Why agile fits today's pace14:06 One committee for AI, stablecoin, and whatever comes next15:53 From planning to execution to ROI18:33 Closing the gap between business and engineering22:09 Building trust through real back-and-forth24:35 Why remote teams are an asset, done right26:44 What smaller credit unions can take away29:20 Pick your tech, then match your partners to it33:25 Where agentic AI is showing up35:45 The HUMDA win: 150 steps cut to 1536:56 Mortgage, the call center, fraud, and audit38:51 The token-bill trap40:46 RPA vs. agentic AI44:13 AI bootcamps, lunch and learns, and Co-Pilot48:42 Star Trek, not Terminator
Transcribe →UKFCU's Change Agenda: New Mortgage Dept, Zest AI, First Merger
2w ago00:42:02Tap to summarizeAnkur Patel interviews Lisa Highley, Chief Lending Officer at University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union (UKFCU). They chat about the credit union's new mortgage department, a rebuilt commercial lending operation, Zest AI live in consumer lending, GLIA live in the call center, and the institution's first merger.Guest: Lisa Highley, Chief Lending Officer, University of Kentucky FCUHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Lisa Highley1:03 UKFCU at $1.75B and the full lending portfolio2:30 Why the change agenda4:01 Diversifying out of indirect auto and home equity dependence5:46 Branch referrals driving the new mortgage department7:05 Build vs. buy9:04 What Empower automates in mortgage origination13:02 Document review pain still left for AI to solve17:13 How many hours a mortgage file still takes today18:27 Staying competitive in indirect auto22:00 Where software actually helps24:52 Why same-day funding matters to dealers25:57 Zest AI rollout, year-one goals, six-month review29:04 How UKFCU decides what Zest can auto-approve32:11 GLIA on day two33:30 Reducing after-hours call support by 70%34:30 Voluntary staff repurposing, not layoffs35:43 The case for AI close to the member37:03 Lessons from UKFCU's first merger40:17 Two-to-three-year vision
Transcribe →How Capital Credit Union Uses AI in Marketing: From Strategy to Adoption
3w ago00:40:33Tap to summarizeAnkur talks with Steve Zich, Chief Marketing Officer at Capital Credit Union in Green Bay, Wisconsin, about an operator's playbook on deploying AI in the marketing department.The conversation goes deep on personalization done right (vs. creepy), competing with big banks and fintechs on community rather than spend, and the team-level mindset shift that makes AI adoption stick.Guest: Steve Zich, Chief Marketing Officer, Capital Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal00:00 Intro00:38 What a credit union marketing operation actually owns01:34 Filtering AI signal from marketing theater — Steve's three filters05:06 Differentiating brand voice in a world driven by AI07:56 Rolling out Jasper12:56 Measuring ROI14:29 Content cannibalization16:45 What good personalization actually feels like21:49 Personal vs. creepy — drawing the line in member outreach24:34 Competing with big banks and fintechs on community + data33:17 The fear narrative around AI38:57 Why generations are shrinking40:23 Wrap#CreditUnion #CommunityBanking #AI #FinancialServices #Marketing #AIStrategy #CMO #DigitalTransformation #MainStreetAI #Multimodal
Transcribe →How Wescom Lifted First Contact Resolution by 34% with Copilot
3w ago00:28:15Tap to summarizeAnkur Patel interviews Hashim Forrester, SVP of Remote Service Delivery at Wescom Financial — one of the largest credit unions in Southern California.Hashim brings three decades of operations and service delivery experience, and his team has become the trailblazers for AI adoption at Wescom — running Copilot in production, deploying intelligent virtual assistants on the phone system, and building out AI-driven quality assurance.Guest: Hashim Forrester, SVP of Remote Service Delivery, Wescom FinancialHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Hashim Forrester1:02 Inside Wescom's remote service delivery1:54 From single-channel to omnichannel banking3:52 Volume across channels: 1M+ inbound calls5:01 The Anywhere Branch7:46 Omnichannel's knowledge problem10:56 Rolling out Copilot14:54 Why the first Copilot launch failed17:25 Where Copilot ends and member data begins20:46 Three years of intelligent virtual assistants24:46 Moving QA from random sampling to 100% coverage27:48 Prioritizing AI use cases: member-first, not tech-first30:06 Build vs. buy35:27 Driving real ROI39:04 Closing the AI adoption gap44:06 The future: agentic AI, but with humans in the driver's seat
Transcribe →How a Credit Union CIO Picks Vendors in the AI Era
4w ago00:48:53Tap to summarizeAnkur Patel interviews Jeffrey Staw, Chief Information and Innovation Officer at Firefighters First Credit Union. Firefighters First has one of the most unique membership models in the industry, serving career firefighters and their families exclusively. Jeffrey brings a rare dual perspective, having previously led one of the most influential CUSOs in the country doing large-scale technology work for some of the biggest credit unions in the US.Guest: Jeffrey Staw, Chief Information and Innovation Officer, Firefighters First Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Jeffrey Staw1:01 Inside the firefighters-only membership model3:27 Specialty products for a specialty membership10:23 High tech + high touch at national scale14:25 Best-of-breed vs. single-vendor20:07 Why he says no to AI-first vendor pitches24:27 Deploying Copilot across the org28:02 Closing the AI adoption gap with frontline employees33:37 What RPA can teach us about the agentic wave39:29 The data exfiltration risk everyone's forgetting42:03 Adapting AI to non-technical executives44:40 Lessons from the CUSO world46:54 The 5-year vision
Transcribe →Building an AI Startup in 2026 (the last 3 months changed everything)
May 400:25:08Tap to summarizeAt Multimodal, agentic AI is reshaping how the team ships product, hires, and thinks about work itself. In this episode of Main Street AI, Ankur Patel sits down with Ishita Jaiswal, Head of Growth at Multimodal, for an internal look at how a 3-year-old agentic AI startup is operating in a market where the last three months brought more change than all of 2025.What makes this conversation different: just a candid conversation between two operators about what's actually changed. Why prompt engineering is dead. Why planning now takes 25 minutes and execution takes 5. Why Multimodal scrapped entire product lines when Claude and ChatGPT caught up. Why the team is doubling down on agentic coding before hiring more engineers. And why "10x workers" are about to become the norm across every function — not just engineering.Host: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, MultimodalGuest: Ishita Jaiswal, Head of Growth, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: The last 3 months changed everything1:08 How agentic AI reshaped product development at Multimodal3:18 What taste and judgment look like when execution is free5:21 The product lines we scrapped in 2026 (and why)7:30 Why prompt engineering is dead9:50 Planning 25 minutes, executing 5: the new workflow12:48 Working more, not less — the magical powers problem13:57 Inside Multimodal's lean engineering team16:29 How GTM is changing alongside engineering17:51 What we hire for now vs. a year ago20:54 Specialists vs. generalists in an agentic world22:30 What this means for banks, credit unions, and legacy institutions23:57 Closing Thoughts#MainStreetAI #AI #AgenticAI #Startups #ProductDevelopment #ClaudeCode #VibeCoding #FutureOfWork #AIinBanking #Multimodal #StartupLife #EngineeringLeadership
Transcribe →430% Growth and Why Human Connection Wins
Apr 2900:34:20Tap to summarizeAnkur Patel interviews Jed Meyer, CEO of St. Cloud Financial Credit Union — a 5-branch, $425M institution serving 28,000 members in central Minnesota. Jed has driven 400% organic growth in nearly 12 years at the helm, with 2025 marking the best year in the credit union's 96-year history.Jed is focused on using technology to create more human connection, not less. From launching the first-ever CU Digital Asset Vault, to deploying ITMs without removing the human behind the window, to a meaningful difference program that empowers every teller to impact a member's life. Guest: Jed Meyer, CEO, St. Cloud Financial Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Jed Meyer0:52 What drove 400% growth and a record-breaking 20253:08 Competing as the 3rd smallest in a market of 41 institutions5:49 Price, convenience, service11:34 Operationalizing human connection at scale17:58 Where AI fits (and where it doesn't)26:03 ITMs, drive-throughs, and why the human still sits behind the window30:25 How a $400M credit union invests in tech vs. the $5B competitors36:08 The 2026 roadmap: doubling to $1B and 50,000 members41:00 Tech for survivors of domestic abuse42:37 Closing thoughts#MainStreetAI #AI #CreditUnions #CommunityBanking #MemberExperience #DigitalAssets #Blockchain #ITMs #HumanConnection #AIinBanking
Transcribe →How the World's Largest Credit Union is Scaling Digital
Apr 2400:32:46Tap to summarizeWhile many financial institutions are still figuring out their digital strategy, Meghan Gound is running digital at a scale most will never see. In this episode of Main Street AI, Ankur Patel chats with Meghan Gound, SVP of Digital at Navy Federal — the world's largest credit union with over 15 million members across the military community, veterans, and families. Meghan owns digital strategy across online banking, mobile, chat, and the omni-channel experience that ties it all together.Navy Federal has 10M+ members logging into digital every month — 27 times a month on average — from every corner of the globe. Meghan's team is blurring the lines between self-service and human-assisted channels, extending the same digital interface to team members in a 24/7 contact center, rolling out features like Trusted User for deployed military, and thinking hard about what conversational AI looks like when "human in the loop" isn't a buzzword but a design principle.Guest: Meghan Gound, SVP of Digital, Navy Federal Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Meghan Gound0:40 Leading digital at the world's largest credit union1:20 What "digital" actually means at Navy Federal2:18 Why 380+ branches still matter3:30 The scale challenge: 10M members, 27 logins a month5:20 How AI is reshaping the digital roadmap7:50 The context problem across channels10:00 Keeping AI authentic: human in the loop12:30 How the roadmap actually gets built14:30 The Trusted User story16:13 Balancing digital with human connection20:45 Where new ideas come from22:00 How Navy Federal tests and pilots25:00 How being member-owned shapes decisions28:30 What the rest of the industry can learn30:40 What keeps Meghan up at night31:50 The 5-year vision: transactional to conversational32:17 Closing thoughts#MainStreetAI #AI #CreditUnions #NavyFederal #DigitalBanking #MemberExperience #OmniChannel #ConversationalAI #AIinBanking #DigitalTransformation
Transcribe →AI and Member Experience at an $11B Credit Union
Apr 2200:34:10Tap to summarizeWhile many are still theorizing about AI in financial services, Amy Stevens is running it in production. In this episode of Main Street AI, Ankur Patel sits down with Amy Stevens, SVP of Member Experience at GreenState Credit Union — Iowa's largest credit union with $11B in assets, 450,000 members, and a fast-growing footprint across Illinois and Nebraska. Amy owns the contact center, the NPS program, and the hard work of figuring out what members actually need.What makes this conversation different: Amy's team has real AI in the wild. Co-pilot mining, NPS feedback analysis, real-time sentiment scoring that guides agents mid-call, voice biometrics that just went live last week, and a roadmap toward full agentic AI that becomes part of the team.Guest: Amy Stevens, SVP of Member Experience, GreenState Credit UnionHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction: Meet Amy Stevens0:48 A day in the life of an SVP of Member Experience2:29 Why GreenState is still opening branches4:21 Expanding into Illinois & Nebraska6:00 Why digital members are the most profitable7:55 Scaling without losing the personal touch9:51 Bringing AI into member experience (without the slop)14:13 The multi-channel member experience, then and now15:15 The COVID pivot that members loved17:50 AI's first quick win: quality management19:21 Real-time sentiment and "happy endings"20:59 Voice biometrics goes live21:35 The agentic AI roadmap22:52 Why AI makes agents *more* human27:27 Chatbots, ITMs, and AI in branches28:00 Replacing jobs or augmenting them?29:37 Closing the gap with consumer apps30:33 The 5-year vision: frictionless and ethical32:22 What keeps Amy up at night34:05 Closing thoughts
Transcribe →How Mid-Market Banks Can Leverage AI for Growth ft. Aman Mahapatra
Jan 2100:36:53Tap to summarizeRead the blog post: http://www.multimodal.dev/pioneers-content/how-mid-market-banks-can-leverage-ai-for-growthSubscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://www.multimodal.dev/pioneersWhy do so many financial institutions struggle to scale AI beyond pilots?Amman, Chief Strategy Officer at Tribeca Softech, joins Ankur on Pioneers to unpack the realities of AI adoption in financial services. Despite widespread experimentation with AI, Amman explains why only a small fraction of organizations achieve enterprise-wide impact—pointing to misalignment, legacy system constraints, and cultural resistance as key blockers. The conversation explores how governance, compliance, and risk management can become competitive advantages, the differences in AI maturity between mid-market firms and large enterprises, and what lagging organizations can learn from early adopters. They also discuss generative AI’s growing influence and the strategic role AI plays in private equity decision-making.Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction: AI Adoption and Scaling Challenges02:33 Guest Introduction: Amman from Tribeca Soft Tech03:44 AI as a Business Transformation Tool04:35 Challenges in AI Implementation05:50 Strategies for Financial Institutions10:01 Mid-Market vs. Enterprise AI Adoption23:18 Private Equity and AI Adoption27:00 2026 AI Adoption Insights35:09 Conclusion and Future OutlookFollow Ankur Patel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankurpatel9/Follow Ankur Patel on X: https://x.com/aapatel09Follow Multimodal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/multimodalai/Follow Multimodal on Twitter: https://x.com/MultimodalAI
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