#218: Aaron Graft: CEO of Triumph Bancorp, Inc - On a Mission to Change How Truckers Get Paid

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.

Follow Chris on Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris
Follow Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: https://www.FortCapitalLP.com
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Listen & Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7oIeNSaSJ4zkTQOXiedyOr?si=dEM48cSPQ9OIQ1HiD8sjrg

Listen & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fort-with-chris-powers/id1410549811

00:03 - Aaron’s Backward Entrance Into the Banking Industry

11:32 - Why did you say a bank should always produce cash flow?

13:30 - What was your original thesis behind acquiring a bank?

18:14 - Would you be approved to buy a bank if you were in the same situation again today?

19:43 - How messy was the bank for you on Day 1?

23:17 - How were you offloading assets during your first year of ownership?

24:40 - What happened after the bank was finally able to play offense?

30:54 - Why did you decide to buy a trucking company within a bank instead of an outside venture?

36:20 - How’ve you scaled the business to where it is now?

39:24 - Are you really a bank? Or are you a transportation company?

41:45 - When did you start building technology for the bank?

44:50 - Would you consider yourself a visionary?

46:41 - The Back-Office Offering for Truckers

49:26 - Is the trucking industry heading towards consolidation?

51:00 - Do you help truckers determine what to charge?

53:09 - Do you finance trucks?

53:35 - How does Triumph Pay work?

59:30 - Good blurb on grandma writing a check (IG for sure)

1:04:22 - How is Amex different from Visa?

1:05:12 - Do truckers keep deposits with Triumph?

1:06:00 - Do you trade like a bank or a fintech company?

1:07:21 - Why did you go public, to begin with?

1:10:10 - What are you buying these days?

1:12:03 - Why are shipments slowing down?

1:14:05 - How does the trucking industry change in size as more people buy things online?

1:15:49 - Is there anything that keeps you up at night about the trucking industry?

1:19:48 - Is there any other industry you could model what you’re doing in?

1:21:36 - What do you predict for your company in 10 years?