Nook was founded to tackle a problem every credit union faces – truly engaging members at a deeply personal level. To grow, credit unions have expanded their fields of membership and the products and services they offer. As a result, credit unions have raced to become all things to all people, offering a wide variety of products and services to diverse demographics, leading to lower engagement and member loyalty – and ultimately decreased profitability. Recognizing these challenges, Nook presents a unique solution to redefine how credit unions connect with their members by reintroducing and modernizing the focused, targeted model that originally set them apart.
Nook’s solution to the engagement challenge takes credit unions back to their roots to empower them to leverage niche strategies. Credit unions originated the niche model, which was their core differentiator that allowed them to build trust and relationships with their members. With Nook’s Niche Experience Platform, credit unions no longer need a new brand, website, or technology stack to deliver Niche Experiences to their members. By partnering with Nook, credit unions benefit from their own niche strategies without sacrificing their existing brand.
Nook Executive Team
Austin Wentzlaff is the Co-Founder & CEO of Nook and brings 10+ years of credit union industry, CUSO, and Fintech startup leadership experience.
Prior to starting Nook, Austin was the Founder and CEO of Fintech Accelerator, a consulting firm focused on bringing new technologies to the credit union industry, whose client list included CUSOs, RenoFi and Illuma, among other successful startups. Prior to founding Fintech Accelerator, he was the Chief Revenue Officer overseeing sales and marketing efforts at OnApproach, a CUSO acquired by Trellance in 2019. He has spent the entirety of his career in the credit union industry, where he has worked exclusively for Fintech startups from the earliest stages of growth through exit. Austin has extensive experience working with Fintech startups as an early employee (joining OnApproach, Illuma, and RenoFi all with less than 10 employees) and a key contributor, instrumental in their early success.
Austin is an alumnus of Gustavus Adolphus College, where he received a degree in Financial Economics.
![OnApproach OnApproach](https://www.nook-inc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/oa%20logo%20with%20text%20(1).png?width=136&height=105&name=oa%20logo%20with%20text%20(1).png)
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Mark Portz brings 10+ years of marketing experience with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services, software, and food/beverage industries. Mark has proven skills and results in inbound/content marketing, strategic planning, and event marketing. He recently worked as CMO for OnApproach, driving the inbound marketing strategy and establishing the company as the premier information and analytics solutions provider to credit unions.
He earned Bachelor's Degrees focused on Entrepreneurial Management and Public/Nonprofit Management from the University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management.
![OnApproach OnApproach](https://www.nook-inc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/oa%20logo%20with%20text%20(1).png?width=136&height=105&name=oa%20logo%20with%20text%20(1).png)
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Paul Ablack is the Co-Founder, Chief Evangalist, and Board Chair of Nook and is also the Founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of Anasazi Holdings, LLC.
Prior to Nook and Anasazi, Paul was the Founder and CEO of OnApproach which developed and patented middleware that enabled credit unions to integrate banking data from disparate systems and then normalize that data to a common standard necessary for analytics, aggregation, and machine learning. OnApproach quickly emerged as the market leader for data integration middleware to the point where the company was acquired in February 2019 by Trellance, Inc., based in Tampa, Florida.
Paul has a passion for business transformation and a track record of success. His experience spans multiple industries, including finance, energy, manufacturing, sensors, software, and for the last ten years, retail banking. He earned a business administration degree with honors from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, where he graduated in 1988.
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Nook Strategic Advisors
![Luke Winskowski](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/10-1.png)
Luke Winskowski
CFP® MBA · Senior financial services executive![Kirk Drake](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/9-1.png)
Kirk Drake
CRO, Quilo - President & CEO, Painted HIlls - Founder, CU 2.0![Julie Esser](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/7-1.png)
Julie Esser
CEO & Founder, Ignite FI![Kirk Kordeleski](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/Kordeleski.png)
Kirk Kordeleski
CEO, Kordeleski Consulting - Executive Benefit Consultant, PARC Street Partners![Jack Smith](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/8-1.png)
Jack Smith
CEO & Founder, Pure IT![Chris Otey](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/6-1.png)
Chris Otey
Co-Founder and CRO, CU 2.0 Chairman of the Board, South Bay Credit Union![Kyle Stutzman](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/5-1.png)
Kyle Stutzman
CEO and CoFounder, Janusea, Inc. - CoFounder. Pure IT![Rhys Parry](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/3-May-23-2024-06-26-05-4700-PM.png)
Rhys Parry
Principal, KickStart LLC![Anne Legg](https://www.nook-inc.com/hubfs/2-May-23-2024-06-26-05-5028-PM.png)
Anne Legg
Founder, THRIVE Strategic ServicesOur Investors
![Anasazi Holdings Anasazi Holdings](https://www.nook-inc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/anasazi%20logo.webp?width=300&height=105&name=anasazi%20logo.webp)
![Dort Financial Credit Union Dort Financial Credit Union](https://www.nook-inc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DortFintrans.png?width=218&height=105&name=DortFintrans.png)