Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Cory Roberson, Founder and CEO with FIN Compliance

Episode Date: September 26, 2023

Cory Roberson serves as the Founder/CEO of FIN Compliance (FinCompliance.io), a comprehensive consortium specializing in compliance, consulting, and training management solutions tailored to assist boutique investment firms in structuring, maintaining, and enhancing their internal regulatory review programs.In collaboration with partner brands like FIN Disclosure, Lancer, and Auditor, Cory addresses compliance, consulting, disclosure, and training challenges within the broader financial services ecosystem. This ecosystem encompasses investment advisors, Broker-Dealer (hybrids), auditors, and financial service consultants.Cory is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). His firm, FIN Compliance, has earned recognition with the National Association of Personal Financial Planners (NAPFA), the Association of African American Advisors (ÁAAA), Kitces.Com Advisor Tech Directory, and has been featured in various articles in Financial Planning Magazine.Cory has also been a featured speaker at notable events, where he has engaged in discussions such as “RegTech & The Current State of the Compliance Ecosystem” at the FinTech Diaspora Forum, sponsored by Prohaus VC, The Fintech School, and Innovate the Next. Additionally, he has spoken on “RegTech: Re-Engineering Compliance for Wealth Managers and Financial Advisors” during the ICO4Impact Virtual Summit, sponsored by Beyond Capital Markets. His previous publications include an article titled “Raising the Bar for Compliance: 10 Tips for Practice Management,” which was featured in a Financial Planning Association – Silicon Valley (FPA) newsletter in 2014.Impact:Over the course of 15 years, Cory has devoted his time to volunteering with three church ministries, school programs, and currently a youth-based organization in Fairfield (“Leaders of Men”). As a part his past global projects, Cory has held business sessions and classroom instruction for students in South Korea, China, South Africa, Thailand, Peru, and India. In alignment with his book, “From Student to Entrepreneur: Making the Transition to Business,” Cory is a dedicated design strategist with a fervent commitment to creating a space for innovation, ministry, creativity, and business.Learn more:https://fincompliance.io/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-cory-roberson-founder-and-ceo-with-fin-compliance

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us Corey Roberson, who's the founder and CEO with Finn Compliance. Corey, welcome to the program. Oh, thank you for having me, Mike. and I appreciate the time.

You're welcome, and I will tell you that I do a tremendous amount of work with financial professionals, and that C word that rhymes with appliance is red flag. So I'm excited to talk to you because I think that you've got some great ways to streamline and clarify. So I want to learn what you do and how you do it. But get us started first with what's your story, what's your background, and how did you get into the financial services industry? Yeah, and of course, it's a challenge with any.

business owner when they're dealing with structuring their business. So, you know, long story short, I started in the year 2000. So I started, I worked for a small financial planner when I was in college, actually. And so, you know, I did everything from, you know, filing paperwork, doing operations, even making trades on behalf of clients. And during that time, it was kind of a jack of all trades type of role. You know, grew up doing that in that space. And then when I graduated college, I was like, well, this is a great background. And let me figure out to see if this makes sense to continue further. So what I did is I worked about two years after college in that same position. And then some friends called me up on the phone and was like, do you want to move out to L.A.

So I moved out to L.A. had a great time. And then I worked for about two other firms, specifically in compliance at the time. And really during that time, it was kind of a period of self-discovery, figuring out, do I want to stay in the industry? Do I want to continue? Do want to grow? There was opportunities to travel. So what I did is in 2008, actually the timing was right before the financial crash. I ended up leaving the industry and then I went traveling. So the first plus I went is I went to Africa. So I went traveling in several countries in Africa for about eight weeks. You know, camping trip safari first landed in Cape Town, South Africa.

And then I came back and went, did a teaching English project in China. One of the things is when I was working in the industry is I didn't want to be defined as just doing one thing or, you know, not being able to explore other creative pursuits. And so I spent time outside of the industry working with kids. And then I did several volunteer projects and to that regard. And then about 2010, 2011, you know, I got into this period of like, well, I need to figure out what I want to do as far as financially, you know, figuring out how to make money, how to have a stable career, have a stable life. And like a lot of people, you know, they're trying to figure out what, you know, what makes them tick. they're trying to figure out their sweet spot, their passion, something that they can go 110%.

And so really, I got to that point of like saying, okay, how can you take all these experiences together? Work in the investment industry, all the experience you did there, traveling, working with kids. How can you figure out a way to put all those things together in an impactful way? And so what I did is, you know, I came back. to the Bay Area after leaving LA needed to make money after all. You know, we live in a world where you have to make money. Yeah. You know, so it was a challenge really starting over again.

It was almost like, okay, well, I need to get a job. I've run out of money. And it was one of those things where, okay, you have a lot of credit card debt rolling on. You need to figure something out very quickly. And I was thankful at the time that my parents helped me out because, you know, That was a great, you know, I was just so thankful for that and then gave me time to figure it out. So what I did is I went into a coffee shop and I started working on ideas. I started, you know, seven days a week.

I was writing notes in my notepad trying to figure out how to make everything fit. And it didn't immediately fit, you know, my background in the investment industry also combined with my passion for creative mission. based pursuits, whether there's traveling, work with kids, serving, and then putting all those things together. And so what I did is while applying for jobs, because you still need to make money after all. And then none of the job opportunities were working out. So I was like, well, I need to figure out something. So that was kind of the beginning of my entrepreneurial pursuit, is that no other business, no other job opportunities at the time were really working out. And then the last company that was thinking about hiring me, they decided to go with a consulting firm.

So at the time, I was like, well, Corey, why don't you set up a consultant firm? Yeah. Why don't you do that? Like, yeah, set that up. You have certain subject matter expertise. Why don't you compile that into a series of services, you know, at the time? So I started that. I spent about $500 on my first website while I was working at an after-school program just to make a little bit of money.

So pretty much everything I invested at the time in the after-school program went into either paying some bills or into the business. like this was probably the end of November of 2011. And I didn't get my first client until February of 2012. So during that, you know, a couple month period of working in an after-school program, wasn't making much until getting my first client was a struggle. And so it was that period of, really, it was humbling.

It was that period of like, well, if this works great, if it doesn't, you'll just have to figure something out. And, you know, you have to just do what you have to do. And so I was thankful to get my first client from there, that client, you know, I did a good job with them. And they actually are still in my client to this day after 13 years now. And yeah, so I still have my first client, which is crazy in this, you know, day and age of,

you know, people work with other people and such. And so what I did during that time, he referred to. me to another business. And then I really refined those my products and services at that time. Got a mentor, you know, one of his advice at the time, he told me, what is the quickest way, the quickest path to money. And so that was something that resonated with me at the time. It's like, okay, what is something that you can sell that is someone's going to give you a check right away, you know, and then grow it, develop it out. And so that's really what I did at that time. And during that time when I was still writing notes in my notepad,

you know, I still had this creative, you know, I still had this passion for doing things creatively as well. I didn't want to be just defined in the compliance space. So I wanted to do other things as well. And so I went traveling. So I found out ways to do mission work, volunteer works. I had a chance to go to conferences and do volunteer programs in, let's say, went to Greece, went to Vietnam, went to Dubai, went to South Africa, went to Peru, got a chance to go to Thailand, teaching English there. I went to South Korea twice and taught English there while working half the time as well. So there was always this balance of the professional and creative, creative pursuits.

And of course, at the time, I was single, you know, so single with no kids. So it was a time where I had the most flexibility. Yeah. You know, so, and when you have the most time, you have to use it, you know, it's like, use that time. And so while. Make all the sun shines. Yeah, exactly. So while I spent time doing all that, I put a book together.

Because one of the things is I wanted it in the book is called from students, entrepreneur making the transition to business. And that book came out about traveling and journaling. And one of the problems is when I journaled, I lost a lot of the notes because I didn't put them down in a, I didn't back them up in my cloud storage. So I lost a lot of the perspective and the notes that I and the journaling notes that I wrote at the time when I first went to Africa and there's China. And so I told myself, it's like, okay, how can you redeem that? That you didn't, you weren't disciplined enough to write those things down and save them and store them. What is something that you can do? You can build up your discipline and, you know, so that you can

get to the next level. And so I put a book together. So I was like, well, I'm not going to waste any other experiences that I had at the time. So I, especially when I spent so much time writing notes and compiling things together. So I put a book together and as a way of telling myself that you can do it. You know, you can be disciplined enough and focus enough to do something that you wanted to do. The goal, the original goal was to when I was traveling and journaling was to put that together in some kind of travel journal. Well, I missed that opportunity, but I did end up writing a book as well. And it's actually still future on Amazon. And, you know, in that several years over compiling the discipline, which helped me in the business world. And so, yeah, so really compiling all those

experiences together into 2023, you know, and coming full circle now in 2020, in 2023 here, you've built your company, you've got clients, you've got some problems you solve for your clients. Give us the elevator pitch. What is it that you do for your clients regarding compliance? And how does that serve them? Yeah. So we really branched off into the tech space as well. So that's another story in of itself, too, it'll be in time. But we provide compliance and training systems for investment advisors, consulting firms, and other financial vendors in the space. So really what that means is that we'll create everything from the, we'll help you with the consulting solution, all the way to the software and technology side of maintaining your RAA or your financial service-based business. And if you try to figure that out on your own or launch it a division of your company on your own, I'm certain that it's a list about three miles long and you'd just be pulling your hair out.

So having that outsourced partner like what you can provide would be extremely beneficial. Exactly. And we do both. So we are consultants first. So we will actually talk to you on a telephone. We will meet with you in a Zoom. We're not going to just give you some AI software automation tool and then tell you to leave us alone. So we'll actually talk to you over the phone. And then we also have engaged in the software side as well. because we just realized that's where things are going to. And, you know, and how I got into the software space is I actually went to compete in an edutech conference, startup weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil. So I got a chance to do that in the, I think it was the end of 2015.

And that was from wanting to challenge myself to embrace technology and to embrace the tech world. And so, you know, everything that I was doing was something to challenge myself. Like, I may have told myself at a certain time, this is not for you to do or this is something that you can't do. No, get in there and try it and see if it works for you. Some things work, some things didn't, you know. Of course. You know, it's like success begins at the end of your comfort zone.

It's that old saying, it's like, you know, if you just do everything that you feel comfortable doing, you're not stretching yourself. You're not, you're not striving. And boy, you are the world traveler and the trier of new things. And then when you find something that you can dig your heels into, then you just make it work. So talk a little bit about some of your projects from your partner program to your impact projects. Yeah. So I realize everything when you create the concept, it's bigger than just you. And so really when you're thinking about scaling or automating your business in certain ways, invite people to join. So we have our partner. program where we are reaching out to other compliance consultants. If they have their own book of

business, if they have their own consulting firm, partner with us. It's a win-win game. If you are looking for a software solution, we can build or white label a solution for you. And if you are looking for other subject matter experts, you know, we have a network, which we called it Finlancer. So we have a network of other subject matter experts in CRM, marketing, let's see, IT, cybersecurity. I think we have someone who helps us with, yeah, general IT work as well. And so, you know, we're just looking at different opportunities to collaborate with other consultants out there, you know, to where everyone can win. Everyone has their own book of business, but then they can work in our ecosystem that we've created as well.

Yeah, I love it. You know, because I think when you come at things from the perspective of there's plenty out there for the whole world of, you know, in your world, your sector, there's plenty to go around. Let's not be, you know, restrictive. Let's help each other out. It tends to have that abundance mindset. And, you know, people really are attracted to that and resonate with that because they see that you're not just trying to fight and claw and scratch and keep what's yours. Exactly. It doesn't work.

You can, the market is big enough to where you can, you can have your business, but then you could collaborate with other people and everyone still wins and grows their business. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Well, I tell you, it's been just really neat here in your story and your world travels and the way that you serve your clients, Corey. If someone is interested in learning more and also reaching out and connecting with you,

what's the best way that they can do that? Yeah. So they can reach out to me directly on LinkedIn. If you find me, you can look up my profile on LinkedIn, or you can send a message through our website, which has been compliance, one word, dotio. You can reach out to me and I'm fairly responsive. So unless I'm swamped with something, you know, I'll try to respond back. And yeah, definitely.

Excellent. Well, Corey, thank you so much for coming on. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. Oh, thank you, Mike. appreciate your time as well. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www. www.Influentialentrepreneursradio.com.