Experiment ‘as Much as Possible,’ TFS Innovation Exec Says

Auto finance companies will need to “experiment as much as possible” to protect themselves from disruption, because “you have no idea which experiment, which plan or adaptation, is going to pay off,” said Chris Ballinger, senior vice president and chief financial officer of strategic innovation at Toyota Financial Services.

The auto finance industry “is an ecosystem that is developing so rapidly,” Ballinger told attendees at Auto Finance Innovation 2016. “You should be talking to everyone in it,” because there are “smart people who are doing something different than what you are doing, that see opportunities you don’t see.” It is difficult for any company to protect itself from digital disruption, he added.

“There is no business model. Everybody talks about disruption, and yet the best thing you can do is to struggle through.” Lenders should talk to as many people as they can, attend conferences, “go to Silicon Valley, talk to all those people in the startups, talk to the VCs backing them, find out what’s going on, and try to do as many experiments as you can to get your own company off the ground.”