1. ChrisGrimm: Takingthe Renaissance Pathtothe CornerOffice
by LizWheeler
Once upona time,there wasa farmboy insoutheasternIowawholearnedaboutraisinglivestockand
growinggrain.He had twinolderbrotherswhowere mechanicallyinclinedandcouldbuildfarm
machineryandrepairpracticallyanything.Thisfarmboyneverquite imaginedhow farfromthe farm
these twothingswouldtake him.
In the early1980s, ChrisGrimm wasmarriedand had his ownreal estate brokerage inWapello,Iowa.
His olderbrothers,KentandCurt,were takingcare of the familyfarm.While the twinshadonly
completedahighschool education,"those guyswere justgeniuseswhenitcame to thingsof a
mechanical nature," Chrissaid.
Chris'dad Mark, who hadalreadyretiredfromfarming,became acquaintedwithagentlemanwhose
companymade coin-operated pulse machines.Marktalkedhimintolettinghissonsfabricate anew
cabinetforhismachines.
The twinshad a farm shopwithabout2,000 square feet,andthisiswhere theybeganbuildingthe
particle-boardcabinets.Butbusinessgrew quicklyandsoonthe brotherswere lookingatusingplasticto
create them.The three brotherswenttoa show andsaw thermalforming.Theythenwentoutand
boughta usedmachine inOmahathat had beensittinginastorage building.The twinsretrofitteditand
launchedGrimmBrothersPlastics.
"I soldmybusiness,real estate andinsurance brokerage,"Chrissaid,"andIsetupthe booksand
incorporated[the company.] Ourveryfirstcustomerwasthisguywiththese coinboxes."Christhen
begancallingonotherpotential clientslikeJ.I.Case."Theytookachance onus, and we endedupdoing
whatwas calleda cup andpencil holderfortheir580K backhoe."
"We launchedfromthese nothingjobsandleapedintodoingsomethingforaFortune 400 company.
From there,we startedcoldcallingoncompaniesthatwere nearsoutheastIowa,"Chrissaid.The
companiestendedtobe agrelatedat first,but "we quicklysaw thattheydidn'thave verydeeppockets,
so we transferredandstartedcallingonmedical companies."Injust10 years,the brothersexpandedto
over100 employeesandmore than$10 millioninsalesannually.
"We didtrade showsall overthe country,didbusinesswithFortune 500 companies,"Chrissaid."It
changedthe complexityfromall of usbeingsmall townfarmkidstobeingina little bitbiggerleagues."
At first,the three brothersgotalongverywell inbusiness."We complementedeachother,"Chrissaid.
"My brotherswere justincrediblefromamechanical andengineeringstandpoint.Iprovidedsalesand
administration."However,frictionseepedin, andaconsultantinthe 1990s toldthemthatif theywere
goingto stay brothers,thentheyneededtopartways.
Chris'brothersboughthimout."My whole life came downtothatpoint,"he said.He was leavingGrimm
Brothers,andhiswife of 15 yearslefthim.Chriswasplanningonleavingtownandgettingamaster's

2. degree,butone of Chris'acquaintances toldhimtostay put andtake care of his10-year-oldsonor Chris
wouldregretit.Chrislistenedand instead acceptedapositionasaSmall BusinessDevelopment
Corporationdirector.Overthe course of the nexttwoyears,Chris metwithover400 clients:small
restaurants,dressshops,manufacturing.Chrissaw the nitty-grittyof eachbusinessfromitsbalance
sheets,income statements,andevenmenus.
One morning,DickBuenneke,ownerof IowaState BankinWapello,calledChrisasking if he wouldbe
interestedinbecomingthe bank'schief executiveofficerwhenthe currentone retired."Iliterally
thoughthe had the wrong number,"Chrissaid."Ihadborrowedmoneyfroma bank,butthat's about
whatI knewaboutbanking.He basicallysaid'a bankis a business,andIheardthat youknow how to run
a business,andwe'll teachyouthe bankingpart.'"
EverythingChrishaddone tothispointhad preparedhimwell forthatrole."I was able toparlay my
whole repertoire—raisinglivestockandgrain,real estate business,keepingbooks,doingmortgages,
manufacturing,rapidgrowth,nowdoingconsultingforsmall restaurantsordressshops"intothisnew
bankingrole. "Ihad livedthe lifeof almosteverycustomer.Itdidcreate a differentsort of banker.I
empathize withalmosteveryone we dobusinesswith."
Once Chrisand Buenneke came toterms,BuennekeimmediatelyenrolledChrisinthe WisconsinSchool
of BankinginMadison.ChrisbeganhisjobinMay and startedschool in August.Inclass,Chrisfigured the
guy sittingnexttohim gotsick of himaskingquestionslikewhat'saNIM? What's a CSR? ALCO?
WhenChrisbegan,the bankhad $20 millioninassetsandtwolocationsinacountythat didn'thave
more than 20,000 people.Butfrom2001 until 2008, "life wasgood,"Chrissaid.The bankhad rapid
expansion,goodprofitsandnolosses.The banktripledinsize.Then,the recession hit.
Like a lot of banks,IowaState had done a lot of participationloansoutsideof the areaand neededto
workthroughthose."It tookus abouttwo to three yearstoturn ourselvesaround,"andby2012 or
2013, the bankwas doingokay.
WhenChrishad joinedthe bank,he hadthemlookintosellingmortgagestothe secondarymortgage
market.Banksin the area hadonlyofferedadjustable-rate mortgageswithone- tothree-yearballoons,
a fact that frustratedhimas a real estate broker.That secondarymarketincome helpedgetthe bank
throughthe recessionwith$80 millioninassets.
But, in2014 on a Fridayafternoon, anotherblow landed.AsChriswasjustgettingoff of a flight, he
turnedhiscell phone on.Immediately,itstartedpinging.Sevenemailsarrivedwithstaff resignations."A
competingbankhadbeentryingtohire,for12 years,one of my seniorlenders," Chrissaid.Butthat
year,the bank got more aggressive and,inordertoget the one,the bankhiredseven.The banker"gave
everybodymore money,more benefits,andpromisedtobuildabankacrossthe streetina townof 700.
It was catastrophic.If we had nothad two-weeknotice,Icouldnothave openedMonday,"he said."It
literallywipedoutthe entire backofficeoperations" alongwiththe bank'sseniorlenderanditsag
lender.

3. Chrisgot to callingjustabouteveryone he couldthinkof includinghis attorney,the IowaDepartmentof
Bankingandcore vendors."We outsourcedatinyfractionof things.We shadowedpeople leavingfor
those twoweeks.Because theywere abandoningshipandwere reservedlyaccommodating,inovertwo
weeks'time,we gainedenoughinformationtokeepourselvesafloat."Those sevenstaff,however,took
withthemnearlya century of IowaState Bankexperience and$20 millioninbusiness. "Itwaskindof
bankrobberyby anotherbank."
Withall the newstressbroughtonby the employee migrations,the bankexperiencedsomeadditional
turnoverinearly2015. The bankthenmoveditsoperationstoBurlington,Iowaandhiredadata
specialisttorebuildoperations"thatare strongerandbetterthan ever.We foundthingsthatwere not
beingdone correctly.[We] probablyneedanothersix monthsof maturation,butwe are getting
operationstobe rock solidagain,"Chrissaid.
Lendingisback ontrack, and Chrisexpectsthe bankwill have made upthe $20 millioninitsportfolio
and thensome bythe endof thisyear.
In addition,the bankalsoopenedanotherlocationinWestDesMoines. "We're very,veryexcitedabout
the future especiallywithwhat'sgoingonhere inDesMoines,it'sjustcrazy—there'salotof
competitionhere butalotof businesseshere aswell,"Chrissaid.
However,due toanotherbankwiththe same name in thattown,the Wapello-basedbankendedup
officiallychangingitsname."We didourapplicationunderIowaState Bankbutgot suedrightaway,"
Chrissaid.The WapellobankthentoldregulatorstheywouldjustgobyBANK.Regulatorsquippedthat
perhapseveryotherbankmightthensue themforname infringement.However,the onlyrequirement
for naminga state bankis that ithave the word'bank' init,so Iowa State Bank changedits entire charter
name to justBANK,so the Wapellooffice isknownasIowaState Bankand Office of BANK.
"We eventuallywill goacrossthe boardwithBANK,"Chrissaid,andhe thinksitwill gooverwell,"as
longas we brand ourselvesproperlyandkeepitfrombecomingcorny."
IowaState also launchedanewbusinessactingasa communitybankmortgage aggregator.Withseven
communitybanksalreadyonboard,Chrisexpectstosignanothersevenbyyear-end.Andthe bank
recently exhibited atthe IndependentCommunityBankersof America convention where anadditional
twodozenbanksshowed interestinthe product.
The turmoil of the lasttwoyears"have beenthe mostdifficultpartof my 35-yearworkingcareer,but
has beenthe mosteducational andrewarding,"Chrissaid.The "bankisstrongerandcleanerthanever.
Earningsare weakbecause of the lostportfoliobutare startingto come back as well...we are
recovering,quite nicely."
"Withadversitycomesgreatgrowthand greatopportunityif youdon'tquit."
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