R&D for the Rest of Us: A Community Bank’s Innovation Playbook - Heath Fountain, CEO of Colony Bank

In this new format "brief" episode of the Operate Podcast, I caught up with Heath Fountain, CEO of Colony Bank, the largest community bank in Georgia with locations spanning Georgia, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. We explored how community banks can approach innovation strategically without overextending their resources. Heath shared the practical thinking behind his bank's decision to get involved in collaborative innovation efforts such at BankTech Ventures and how that choice has paid dividends in unexpected ways.

 

Our conversation centers on a fundamental challenge facing community banks today: the technology landscape is evolving rapidly, but most institutions lack the internal resources to evaluate every emerging solution on their own. Heath described how his team framed their innovation investment as research and development expense, a mental model that helped his board understand the value of staying connected to the broader fintech ecosystem. Rather than trying to be on the bleeding edge, Colony Bank has found success positioning themselves just behind the leading edge, keeping pace with change without taking on unnecessary risk.

Heath offered candid insights into the tangible outcomes of this approach, including how networking with other technology-forward bankers led to hiring their Chief Innovation Officer, someone they would have never encountered otherwise. We discussed how having access to vetted portfolio companies has streamlined vendor evaluation, helping the bank discover solutions they didn't even know they needed. The conversation also touched on Heath's advice for peers trying to make the case to their own boards, including the simple math of spreading investment over time and comparing it to the cost of consultants or dedicated hires.

 

Throughout our discussion, Heath emphasized that the goal isn't to chase every trend, but to have the knowledge and relationships in place to make informed decisions when opportunities arise.

 

LINKS

• Colony Bank (https://www.colony.bank )
• Heath Fountain on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathfountain/ )
• Bank Tech Ventures (https://www.banktechventures.com/ )

Chapter Markers

00:00 Preview

00:29 Intro

00:45 Sponsor

01:19 Why Community Banks Need Outside Innovation Partners

02:53 Finding a Chief Innovation Officer Through Networking

03:20 Getting Practical Value from Portfolio Companies

04:16 Making the Case to Your Board

05:15 Thinking About It as R&D Expense

06:27 Staying Just Behind the Leading Edge

06:53 Outro