Rotarians got an inside look at how Troy University’s IDEA Bank evolved in downtown Troy and how it serves the community.

IDEA Bank Program Coordinator Mauree Alice McCall and IDEA Bank Graduate Assistant and CEO of Studio 207 Reanna Thompson spoke with the club about the IDEA Bank’s history, how it serves students and what it offers to the community.

McCall said the building was originally Farmers and Merchants National Bank in the early to mid-1900s and Regions Bank operated in the building until 2017, when Troy University purchased it.

“The whole idea for the IDEA Bank came from a student,” McCall said. “There was a student who had a spice recipe that she wanted to start and get into production. Well, she was having a hard time doing this because she was getting passed around between all the different departments in the university.

“We have the marketing department where she was going to get her marketing assistance. We have the finance and the finance department where she was going to try to get help on her finances and how to build her finances. And then we have just so many different departments around the university that she was kind of getting juggled between. Well, this is where the idea came from. And through the assistance that we were able to provide for her, the idea came from her. The idea came to fruition. So, she was able to have a one-stop shop through the IDEA Bank where she could come and just get a really well-rounded business plan and business advising opportunity.”

McCall said the IDEA Bank is a one-stop shop for students who want to start a business or try out a business idea. She said students are able to get information on everything from business plans and financing to marketing and selling products in the Student-Made Store.
She said one of the focuses of the IDEA Bank is to expose students to the community so they’ll stay in Pike County after graduation.

“We have been able to show them how great of a community Troy is,” McCall said. “And we’ve been able to retain a lot of these students in our own community to where they’ve been able to get plugged in and serve in the Troy community, start their businesses in the Troy community, and stick around in Troy.”

Thompson said she was one of the students that “stuck around.”

“I was a student, I did undergrad at Troy in graphic design and general business,” Thompson said. “I graduated a year ago last May, but now all the seniors are graduating in May, and it’s like, whoa, I graduated a year ago. Like, that’s a really weird experience. And I got plugged into the Idea Bank in undergrad through an assignment. We had the assignment in my graphic design class to design Troy University-themed murals at the Idea Bank. So, we took a field trip over there, and I saw how beautiful it was, and I got plugged in through there.

“And then through my senior year of graphic design, me and my four friends started a graphic design business LLC here in Troy, and it’s called Studio 207. We do all of the graphic design work for Troy Regional, so all of their billboards up right now are designed by us.”

McCall said the IDEA Bank recently started a Community Membership Program which allows members of the community to join the IDEA bank for $20 per month and take advantage of the same services offered to students.