PNC provides resources for zWORKS startups
What makes Ryan Blakley so perfect for his job? He’s been there. And done that.
Blakley grew up helping his parents transform Blakley’s Flooring into a flourishing company on the northside of Indy. He was there when they didn’t have the keys to their brand new building. One of the garage doors was cracked and he crawled under to let them in. He was there for the good times and bad and knows what startups go through.
You have probably seen him around zWORKS on Wednesdays during PNC’s office hours. Or perhaps at different Happy Hours. Blakley is the Business Banking Center Manager and VP at Zionsville’s PNC branch. He specializes in businesses who earn less than a million annually.
And he can relate to those businesses.
“I got to learn what it’s like when your last name is on the outside of the building,” Blakley said. “And how much harder you have to work than everybody else just to be even. Having watched that small business turn into something bigger was inspiring.”
Blakley has worked for a couple decades in supply chain management, change management and small business finance. He has been at the Zionsville PNC for 7 years.
He said they saw zWORKS as a perfect option to engage with the community.
“We’re super strong believers in small businesses,” Blakley said.
Blakley is at zWORKS every second and fourth Wednesday to provide anything from consulting advice to opening accounts for members. He said one of the main aspects he works with is price modeling.
“We have a lot of people who are starting businesses and seeing demand grow and they are wondering how to handle it,” he said.
Other things include how to get money from clients, how to get loans, how to deal with hiring your first employee, how to transition from a fulltime job to startup status, etc. He said they focus on ease, confidence and achievement.
“As much as we think banking is important, we want you to think about it as little as humanly possible because you want to be thinking about other stuff,” he said.
Blakley said one of his favorite parts of his job is being able to work with all types of businesses.
“Having a slight touch of ADD, I get to get that satisfied,” he said. “All day long, I get to deal with different people and different industries. Shiny object syndrome is not a problem.”
He can relate to zWORKS entrepreneurs because of their energy, he added.
“The energy level of smaller businesses is very high and you have to have that, or else you will fail,” he said. “That passion and energy, I have as well so it’s kindred spirit.”
If you have questions about your startup, check out PNC’s office hours or contact Blakley at ryan.blakley@pnc.com.
Getting to know Ryan…
Factoid
Ryan used to be a sports skydiver. He jumped out of airplanes over 100 times … on purpose.
Hidden Gem
He is a certified Star Wars costume artist. Emperor Palpatine and Count Dooku are his characters of choice.