David Becker has always thought of himself as an entrepreneur and marketer.
As a 9-year-old, Becker began his first paper route and quickly realized that he would make more money if he sold more newspapers. That motivated him to persuade more people in his designated geographic area, even those who were skeptical, that they needed a newspaper.
“If I got a faster bike I could get to more houses,” Becker said. “I learned the sales marketing side and how to get creative in convincing people. … I had a pitch for everyone.”
By the time his family had moved away, Becker had tripled the number of subscribers along his route.
Becker applies many of those lessons as president, chairman and CEO of First Internet Bancorp in Fishers, Ind., convincing clients, regulators, analysts and investors to believe in his branchless, internet-only bank. It took three years to satisfy regulatory requirements before First Internet could launch in 1999.