Product design · growth · fintech partnerships
Woods Strategy Advisors helps credit unions design products members actually talk about, and helps fintechs and CUSOs find their place in the credit union market. Built on fifteen years inside the movement and a track record of products that launched.
Blake WoodsFounder & Principal
The industry has mistaken competitive rates and bundled features for product innovation. The result is a market full of accounts nobody talks about, nobody remembers, and nobody switches for.
The Work
A decade of building deposit, lending, and engagement products inside credit unions, designed around member behavior rather than a competitor's rate table.
Deposit product
Tied a deposit product to a regional sports identity members already cared about. It became one of the most talked-about accounts in the industry and generated attention far out of proportion to its cost.
Checking product
Replaced overdraft and NSF fee income with a plain-language buffer members could actually explain to someone else. Fee redesign and a growth story in the same product.
Savings promotion
A headline generous enough that members participated, sharing valuable insights on their savings goals and helping connect their savings habit to their aspirations.
Financial education
Met an audience on a platform they actually spent their time playing rather than in a brochure they would never open. Paired with an in-school program that reached thousands of students.
The method
Most credit unions will not run a 6.10% offer, because 6.10% looks reckless on a rate sheet. It is reckless at scale. That is what the cap is for. The rate is the marketing and the cap is the budget. Set the cap so the whole campaign is a marketing line item, then be genuinely, memorably generous inside it. The clearest version of this ran a double-digit headline rate on a capped balance.
Services
For credit union leaders · signature practice
If your lineup looks like everyone else's, the problem is not your rate sheet. Distinctive deposit, lending, and engagement products built around member behavior: concept through economics, operational requirements, the question inventory your counsel works from, and a launch plan. Capped cost, memorable headline, and something your marketing team is glad to promote.
For fintechs & growth companies
This ecosystem rewards patience, trust, and the right positioning. Positioning strategy, buyer and investor segmentation, pilot structuring, and preparation for the executive and board diligence that decides whether you get in.
For CUSO builders & investors
Advisory for institutions exploring or building CUSOs, fintech investment programs, and foundations: business model design, governance and policy frameworks, portfolio construction, and board-ready roadmaps.
For executive teams & boards
Fractional strategic advisory, executive workshops, board facilitation, innovation program design, and keynotes. Most engagements are fixed-fee and milestone-based, whether that is a diagnostic, a sprint, or an ongoing relationship.
Tools
Interactive
Build a deposit concept around something your members actually do, with the economics attached. Or put your own product idea through the four tests and see what grade it earns.
Open the studio →60 seconds
Real industry data, one minute, and a grade at the end. Find out what you actually know about your counterpart across the table, whether you run a credit union or you are building for one.
Take the challenge →Product Briefs
Economics, operational requirements, and the questions to put in front of your compliance team. Occasional, free, and no sales sequence attached. The current brief covers a category of deposits almost no credit union is competing for.
About
Blake Woods has spent more than fifteen years in financial services, starting with a credit union internship while studying at Michigan State University. He has led enterprise strategy and strategic transformation as a senior credit union executive, served as president and CEO of a credit union service organization, chaired a credit union foundation, and advised institutions nationally as a senior advisor on TransUnion's credit union team.
His work sits where product creativity meets growth. Blake has built innovation functions and an innovation lab, launched and led a CUSO, developed fintech and vendor partnerships, and created deposit, lending, and education products that reached members and earned national attention. He holds an MBA and the Credit Union Development Educator designation, writes for the industry trade press, and speaks regularly at national credit union and fintech events.
Ready to talk?
Most engagements start with a 30-minute call. If you have been referred here, or you want the version of a concept built for your institution, the calendar is the easiest first step.