In its early days, Louisville, Kentucky-based Codigo [1] developed its own proprietary software, “but I don’t know that I’d do that today,” says Brian Nutt, the company’s president and CEO.
![BrianNutt-headshot[1]](http://www.dailydooh.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BrianNutt-headshot1.jpg)
[2]Nutt was reacting to a question of why Codigo developed its own, and, further, his thoughts regarding the recent comments of Mark Boidman, managing director, Peter J. Solomon Company [3], New York, that there are too many software providers and that 2015 could be the year where we’ll see mergers and acquisitions in that industry sector. [4]
“When I founded the company in 2004, there weren’t that many software providers and none that did exactly what we wanted,” says Nutt. He says that he thinks that some of the software providers don’t have their business model nailed down today, and presumably may be losing money. These would be ripe for M&A.
Of course, when Nutt founded Codigo – owned by Nutt (as majority owner), a private equity company and another private investor – it wasn’t focusing on providing tools and solutions on the financial sector, particularly banks and credit unions, as it is today.
“That’s our vertical,” says Nutt. “Yes, we have clients in hotels, museums, convenience stores, which we got in many cases simply by referrals, but banks and credit unions are our focus. While more banks are opening than closing across the US, those opening are small operations of, maybe 2,500 sq. ft. and four employees compared to the old banks of 4,500 sq. ft. and 10 people.”
[5]Codigo screens in a credit union branch
“But people still have to come into the bank for certain transaction, advice, to arrange loans or other needs,” says Nutt. “However, in these small branches, the person they may need to see may not be in. So the banks are adding technology to boost the customer’s knowledge. They need a way to control the conversation in the branch. That’s where we come in.”
Indeed they do. Codigo now has digital screens and kiosks in 400 financial institutions across the US “in every state but Hawaii,” says Nutt. “We have our own creative department. We offer 3,500 pieces of information for the financial sector and add to it every month. We do animated video.
“And we don’t have a problem if the bank wants entertainment, trivia and other material, too. We provide that.”
In fact, Codigo partners with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [6] to provide localized weather for its clients, as well as Associated Press [7] and local news feeds for news, stocks information and other information.
“We have a huge vault of creative information that clients can use, but we can provide custom creative with a draft in five-to-seven days,” says Nutt. “We also have a huge amount of stock photography that we provide for free for use with our content.”
The company also offers on-hold messaging.
We asked Nutt if Codigo is open to mergers, acquisitions or further investments.
“We’re open to anything that will help us grow,” he says.
“We aren’t a digital signage company. Our mission is to provide what will have a positive effect on consumer behaviour on retail stores and bank branches. We help our clients to access products so that they can provide the right messages to their customers.”
Should you wish to meet Brian, Brian is one of the many small business owners attending The DailyDOOH Investor Conference [8] in New York on Wednesday, October 22, 2014