Meet Michelle Katics, Co-Founder and CEO at BankersLab. We are excited to welcome Michelle to the LinkedIn Live stage Tuesday, May 25th at 12pm CST to share more on her journey, software simulations that help bankers and retail lenders excel in the digital age, and more. Read more below on Michelle’s day to day and how she became a leading lady in the digital transformation, innovation, and technology realms.
Q: How did you end up as a FinTech industry leader?
A: I became an entrepreneur to solve my own problem. In the banking industry, it was difficult to teach a diverse audience about the finer points of portfolio and risk management. Simulation was like magic! Test and learn, compete, have fun, and learn along the way. Now, we deploy the same simulation to help lenders figure out how to deploy new tools and data, as an impactful next step after our original mission of training.
Q:Â What advice would you give to young women today who are looking to start a career in the industry?
A: The same advice I’d give to anyone – metacognition is your superpower. Metacognition is ‘learning how to learn’. Going forward, no matter what you studied in school, your ability to constantly integrate new skills sets and knowledge are a superpower. Those who can combine a ‘deep’ skill set (eg. whatever you studied in depth in school) with a ‘broad’ skill set will be scarce for years to come. The engineer who knows how to talk to the sales guy. The data scientist who is able to build  a business case. Precious as gold.
Q:Â What are you most excited about with new advances in Technology?
A: Democratization. Yes, we have machine learning, big data, AI and other innovations. But the game changer is the availability and ease of use of so many new tools. This empowers smaller institutions – credit unions, community banks, small businesses to benefit from these tools and technology. It also empowers anyone with an internet connection to teach themselves to use these tools. This will empower innovation across more diverse elements of humanity and the economy.
Q: As a female leader, how do you start your day? What are your tips for productivity in the midst of a busy schedule?
A:Â I used to roll over and start reading email. I have stopped this, and instead start with a short meditation and then review my intentions for the day before springing into action.
Q: What are some of your favorite ways to spend your time when you aren’t working? Any tips for relaxation and destressing?
A: Sitting in chairs all day is going to kill us slowly. I did always run and cycle. Now I also do weight training and yoga over zoom with friends. Covid drove us to exercise together over zoom, but now its here to stay – we enjoy that daily touchpoint with close friends to keep us sane. Also, accountability to actually do core exercise (which I don’t enjoy) seems to be working!
Q: Is there one piece of technology you cannot live without?
A:Â My iPhone
