The 18th annual Executive Leadership Forum (ELF) — featuring Barry University alumnus and 2019 winner of Forbes 30 Under 30, Mark Kilpatrick — was a huge success! We sat down with Mark for an insightful and inspirational Q&A, where he discussed some of the challenges, rewards, and growing pains surrounding starting a business.
As cofounder and Chief Product Officer of Urban FT (formerly Waspit), Mark described the huge directional shift that his company underwent in order to really make an impact in the market:
Waspit was a student-alternative to banking. It was a prepaid card, and the whole strategy was that we were going to take these prepaid cards onto college campuses, and we were going to distribute those by leveraging student ambassadors on campuses. But we realized that it wasn’t a sustainable business model. […] Trying to sell our original product as Waspit into the college demographic was going to be challenging. There was a lot relying on that, and we made the best possible decision in transition to what is today Urban FT. We went from being in this consumer mindset — youthful, we’ve got energy, we’re having these amazing launch parties and trying to attract college students — to, now we’ve got to appeal to banks and credit unions. So trying to figure that out — that was a huge transition. And it was a little painful for a while.”
He talked about how large-scale pivots like these can be necessary steps toward developing a thriving business, and, although they may be difficult in the moment, they can be what makes all of the difference in the long run. Since that transition, Urban FT, Group, Inc. has grown to become one of the most progressive and successful companies of its type in the financial services industry. Mark is its lynchpin, fueling the company’s mission to empower small to mid-sized financial institutions with service, functionality, and user experience that matches or outshines those offered by larger institutions.
Community service and giving back are Mark’s core values, both personally and professionally. Since graduation, he has demonstrated support for Barry through generous annual giving and in his role as co-president of the NYC Alumni Chapter. He also established a pick-up soccer league for adults, coordinated charity soccer tournaments, and engaged with Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. He’s an active member of the Young Entrepreneurs Club (YEC), American Marketing Association (AMA), and the Federal Reserve System's Faster Payments Task Force. Mark says he’s proud of his time at Barry, and that he’s glad to be making such an impact in society now.