Since 1795, ABCorp has been a global leader in security, manufacturing, and innovation. Today we power payments, authentication, and additive manufacturing solutions all under one roof.
Jacob Troy, Chief Product Officer, shares the details on ABCorp and what it’s like to work there.
In this Video
We discuss:
- Details about ABCorp
- The history of ABCorp
- The scale of ABCorp
- The latest at ABCorp
- How ABCorp is leveraging AI
- The culture at ABCorp
- Why ABCorp should be on someone’s radar
Video Transcript
Keith: Jake, thanks so much for joining us.
Jake: Thank you, Keith. It’s great to be on your podcast. Appreciate it.
Keith: I’m excited to talk to you. And this is one of the reasons why I love what I do for VentureFizz. And it’s companies like ABCorp that we’re going to talk about. And it’s a fintech company in Boston that does so many things that you’re going to share. But one of the things is if you’ve ever used tap to pay with your credit card, it’s likely that ABCorp is involved in all that technology and making that happen. So let’s just talk a little bit about ABCorp broader what you guys do.
Jake: Sure. So you’re right. We are a secure products company. It’s very likely that you have three or four cards in your wallet that we’ve manufactured and power all the technology behind it. Whether it’s securely activating it or tapping it at a point of sale or adding it to a digital wallet, we’re powering the technology and the physical manufacturing of those products. We do payments, we do secure access, and we have a very large and growing additive manufacturing capability. So we do 3D printing or 3D manufacturing here on site as well.
Keith: So, it’s a company that just like when I learned about ABCorp, I’m like, how do I not know about this company? And what’s even better about learning about ABCorp is its history. And this is not just, hey, we’ve been around for a few years. This is like deep-rooted 230-year history of the company.
Jake: Yeah, you’re absolutely right. 230-year-old company. We actually have Paul Revere on our org chart, which is kind of wild to see. You know, we originally started ABCorp started as American Bank Note and a number of subsidiaries that rolled into this company, but one of the very first things that we did was securely print America’s first national currency. And so and really we’ve continued that legacy today. We still do a ton of work with the US government. We make secure identity products. So the US passport ID—if you’ve ever purchased a stamp, you know, stamps outside of a postal office, we manage the stamps-to-go program with them. And we work with really customers in a wide range of businesses.
Keith: So it’s just—and it’s so fitting that this company’s in Boston because of the history parallels. So like what’s the scale of the company like, like size or whatever you could share?
Jake: Sure. So we operate seven sites globally. We do—you know, the range of customers that we work with are really pretty neat and we’ve got facilities here in Boston. We actually won manufacturer of the year last year in Massachusetts, which is kind of fun. We have sites in Toronto and elsewhere in North America. We also have—we’re global and we have sites in Australia, New Zealand and beyond. So really we’re working with customers across the globe—fintechs and neobanks like Chime and Grit and others, Neo in Canada that are launching their own secure payment products. I mentioned the US government. We do—if you’ve been in New York City recently, we manufacture and produce the OMNY cards. So if you ride the metro, that’s us. On our 3D side, we do work with robotics and orthotics, prosthetics. We actually make cranial helmets for babies that have plagiocephaly. And so, you know, really just to correct head abnormalities and some of those things are completely treatable. And so really it’s neat to have the kind of impact that we have globally with our clients. So it’s—that’s pretty neat.
Keith: Well, you mentioned the OMNY card in New York, so I’m like, I have to show mine. There you go. That’s us. So, what’s the latest at the company? Like, the company has so much history but there’s so much advancement in terms of where the company’s going. So what’s the latest?
Jake: Yeah, it’s neat and it’s also a lot of people ask us, everything’s going digital and you’re still doing secure manufacturing. I think it’s really interesting because many of our clients, if we’re talking about fintechs or neobanks or some of these companies or large credit card processing companies, they are primarily digital-first companies. And so the physical products that we manufacture for them are, in some cases, their main or only physical manifestation of the brand for them, right? Like it’s their one product that they get to put out into their customers’ hands and really represent what they’re about. So the quality has to be really high, the execution has to be really good. At the same time, we are going digital and we’re doing more and more digital work, whether it’s digital wallet capabilities, activation, point of sale, digital capabilities and more.
Keith: All right. So obviously AI is everywhere and everybody’s curious about how companies are leveraging AI. So where does ABCorp stand in that realm?
Jake: Such a great question. Keith, this is a really fascinating time that we’re going through right now. You know, many people are saying AI is—you know, that you no longer need people and that AI is just going to take over and serve as your product and engineering function, and I think it’s really the complete opposite. Now is the time that we need to invest in people that have native AI skills and that are learning—because we’re all learning these AI capabilities now. And I think it’s the perfect time to be investing in people and empowering them, right? I’m a big fan of the Marty Cagan empowered product team concept. If we empower our product leaders, our engineers, our designers, and give them the resources and the tools and the right problems to solve, I think great things can come out of that. And we’re a big believer in AI capabilities here and the ability for us to accelerate and transform our business using those tools. So great question and it’s a fascinating journey that we’re on right now with AI.
Keith: Now you’re the company’s Chief Product Officer. So what’s it like working at the company? What’s the day-to-day like?
Jake: Sure. It’s fascinating because I come from an enterprise Software as a Service background. I spent the last nine years at SAP working on commerce products and travel and expense products. Coming here with a large manufacturer, it’s really neat. I thought SaaS was challenging; manufacturing is really fascinating and quite challenging. And the thing that’s really great about it is that we are a 230-year-old company. We’re operating at scale. We’ve been around for a long time and we have a really storied legacy. But at the same time, we’re acting as a startup. We are rethinking and reimagining many aspects of our business, figuring out how we can digitally transform, how we can enable our clients to really grow their business. And so in a way, we kind of think of ourselves as a 230-year-old fintech startup, and it’s neat to really be involved in that culture.
Keith: Now top-tier talent, they always have options in front of them for their career. So why should ABCorp be on the radar for somebody?
Jake: Yeah, it’s really interesting. I think on one hand the opportunity and challenge that we have is really, really neat. Large companies—when you’re joining a large company, it’s sometimes challenging to have real impact or to see your ideas come to life. Here, we are a small—we’re a global company but it really gives our team members the opportunity to really make a difference. I talked about the impact that we’re having with our customers on a global scale. We need builders, we need owners who can come in and really see the opportunities and help us grow our business. This is a place where ideas go to thrive, I would say. And that’s a real big part of why we reached out to you, Keith, and why it’s important that we’re on VentureFizz. We want employees joining us that are bringing that kind of a mindset, a builder mindset, a startup mentality.
Keith: Well, if you are interested in exploring opportunities at ABCorp, you need to go to their company page on VentureFizz, which has all their job listings. Go to venturefizz.com/abcorp and you’ll find their jobs there. Jake, thanks so much for taking us through all the details on the company.
Jake: Absolutely, Keith. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.