Curiosity, mentorship, and sushi…three things that might not seem connected, until you meet Lee Easton.
In this episode of Travillian Next Trailblazers, host Keith Daly, Principal – Banking & Fintech Search at Travillian, sits down with Lee Easton, Founder of iDENTIFY, to talk about how a childhood mentor and a love for solving complex problems led Lee into the heart of one of banking’s biggest challenges: data.
From building a unified data hub for community banks to navigating the industry’s slow shift to the cloud, Lee shares the ups, downs, and the driving force behind it all—genuine care for the people he serves. Whether you’re a founder, a banker, or just someone who enjoys hearing how innovation actually happens, this one’s worth a listen!
Tune in now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or if you prefer a quick read, check out the summary we’ve put together below.
(00:00 – 03:30) Icebreakers and Island Vibes
Keith Daly kicks off the episode with some lighthearted questions for guest Lee Easton, founder of iDENTIFY. If Lee could have any superpower? Teleportation. His desert-island album? Legend by Bob Marley. A playful start that sets the tone for an open, thoughtful conversation.
(03:30 – 08:30) From Mentorship to Foundership
Lee shares the early roots of his entrepreneurial journey, from a 12-year-old mentored by an oil-and-gas entrepreneur to experimenting with multiple side businesses while working full-time. His website dev company in 2014 eventually led him into banking tech.
(08:30 – 12:30) Data Problems, Oil Analogies, and the Birth of iDENTIFY
Lee realized dashboards were only useful if the data was clean, and for banks, it rarely was. He shifted gears to help banks fix this foundational issue. Keith likens bad data to crude oil: valuable, but useless unless refined. Lee runs with the analogy, noting that iDENTIFY is doing the “upstream work” of getting data flowing.
(12:30 – 16:30) Cloud Migration: Inevitable and Essential
The shift to the cloud isn’t the pitch, it’s the byproduct. As banks seek modern tools, cloud adoption becomes a necessity. iDENTIFY works with Snowflake to create scalable data hubs, often within a month. Sponsor banks, with their complex fintech stacks, accelerated iDENTIFY’s architecture maturity.
(16:30 – 20:30) Adoption Hurdles and Culture Shifts
While data and security fears cause hesitation, attitudes are shifting. Lee credits early encouragement from fintech veteran Wade Arnold, who predicted slow but inevitable cloud adoption. That’s now coming true.
(20:30 – 23:00) Platform Thinking and Scaling with Care
After a big 2024, Lee began reinvesting in his team and processes to prepare for the next phase: platform-as-a-service. Now, banks can either build their own data lake with iDENTIFY or lease a ready-made one.
(23:00 – 26:30) Founder Advice: Be Curious, Really Care
Lee offers simple but powerful advice to aspiring founders: Be genuinely curious. He and his team didn’t build a platform right away, they spent time listening to banks and learning the real problems. That’s what made iDENTIFY click.
(26:30 – End) Closing Thoughts and… Sushi
In a final light moment, Lee shares his dream meal: sushi. It all ties back to that island life—Bob Marley, clean data, and a founder who genuinely enjoys solving problems for community banks.
