Aaron Graft is the Founder, Vice Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Triumph Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary TBK Bank, SSB. He also serves as a Director and Vice Chairman of The Bank of the West of Thomas, Oklahoma. Before establishing Triumph, Mr. Graft served as the Founder and President of Triumph Land and Capital Management, LLC.
On this episode, Aaron shares the story of how he bought Triumph Bank as a 28-year-old during the GFC. Chris and Aaron deep dive into the trucking industry, how truckers get paid, and building factoring technology that will change the future of the trucking industry.
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(01:14) - Aaron’s Backward Entrance Into the Banking Industry
(12:40) - Why did you say a bank should always generate cash flow?
(14:42) - What was your original thesis behind acquiring a bank?
(19:26) - Would you be approved to buy a bank if you were in the same situation again today?
(20:55) - What was your experience on Day 1 as the CEO?
(24:29) - How were you offloading assets during your first year of ownership?
(25:49) - Buying a Trucking Company
(32:02) - Why did it make sense to buy this business inside of a bank as opposed to another venture?
(37:31) - How have you scaled the business to where it is now?
(40:34) - Are you really a bank? Or are you a transportation company?
(42:53) - When did you start building technology for the bank?
(45:58) - Would you consider yourself a visionary?
(47:49) - The Back-Office Offering For Truckers
(50:26) - Is the trucking industry heading towards consolidation?
(52:24) - Do you help truckers determine what to charge?
(54:16) - Do you finance trucks?
(54:40) - How does Triumph Pay work?
(1:05:23) - How is Amex different from Visa?
(1:06:13) - Do truckers keep deposits with Triumph?
(1:07:00) - Do you trade like a bank or a fintech company?
(1:08:21) - Why did you go public, to begin with?
(1:11:10) - What are you buying these days?
(1:12:49) - Why are shipments slowing down?
(1:15:04) - How does the trucking industry change in size as more people buy things online?
(1:16:48) - Is there anything that keeps you up at night about the trucking industry?
(1:20:38) - Is there any other industry you could model what you’re doing in?
(1:22:21) - What do you predict for your company in 10 years?
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The Fort