Like some other industries, companies working in the capital market space have experienced slow adoption into new technology solutions. Many of these companies still rely on Excel to store and manage data. In a rapidly growing marketplace, as the number of business tasks grows, it becomes more and more evident that the use of Excel for data management creates a bottleneck in workflows. Scattered data storage across multiple platforms limits quick decision-making and increases the risk of errors and compliance issues.
The Ascendix team spoke with Thomas R. Sherlock, Co-Founding Principal, and Carole Stanley, Controller at Talonvest, about the challenges of digital transformation in the capital markets industry, reasons for leveraging Excel, and why industry-tailored systems are better than scattered generic programs.
Ascendix: What’s the level of digital transformation in capital markets niche?
“ The Capital Markets industry is very slow to adapt to changes and new technology. There's a resistance to change and trusting that technology can be an effective resource and a tool for streamlining things. ”
Ascendix: What was Talonvest using before deciding on AscendixRE for Capital Markets and prior to that, Asana?
“ We were using Excel for finance data management; Excel was the sole warehouse for all our contacts. It was disorganized and stemmed from the principals exporting their Outlook contacts to an Excel spreadsheet when they left their previous firm and started Talonvest. As the team grew, it was incredibly hard to manage inputs, data integrity, and organization. That's what led us down this path. ”
Ascendix: Please, highlight some of the pain points Talonvest was running into with data management as a result of using Excel.
“ The pain points were sharing an Excel doc, trying to control how people input data, numerous errors due to lack of pull-downs or pick lists, and nonexistent search functionality and reporting capabilities. ”
Ascendix: What were the triggers that drove Talonvest to decide on a full migration from Asana+ to AscendixRE? We know that you were considering keeping Asana but then eventually decided against it. Could you explain why?
“ We had planned to implement a capital markets CRM for a couple of years to replace our Excel database management.
About a year prior to working with Ascendix, we had adopted Asana as a workflow process management tool and planned to keep utilizing it separate from AscendixRE.
But within months of launching, we decided to utilize Action Plans within the CRM and went all-in with AscendixRE for Capital Markets. Since the team was already diving in and learning the different tabs and relationships between objects, it made the most sense to have everybody work in one unified system. ”
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Ascendix: How did the story of the partnership with Ascendix begin? Why did you choose Ascendix?
“ We were referred to Ascendix by a consultant we had engaged to help with THE adoption of the full Teams suite of applications.
After 2-3 weeks of discovery, he proposed three or four different options. We chose AscendixRE for Capital Markets because it's tailored specifically to what our company does in the capital markets, while other options include more generic functionality. ”
“ Originally, Ascendix was one of 4-6 solutions we were contemplating to utilize.
When I watched a YouTube video of AscendixRE for Capital Markets, my jaw dropped because it was exactly what I was looking for! The practical application of capital relationships and programs to client deals and financing was impressive. The level of customization opportunities it provided for proper data management in the capital markets amazed me. That’s how Ascendix became a game changer for us as an organization. ”
Ascendix: Could you please highlight your favorite aspects of AscendixRE for Capital Markets?
“ My favorite aspect is the centralized data management system that is dynamic and interconnected. Having the data centralized in one place - AscendixRE for Capital Markets:
1) We are better educated on who the right client is, what the right assignment is, where we can add value in the capital decision process;
2) We can teach, educate and train team members to improve their efficiency and productivity in processing deals.
3) We can eliminate recency and other biases in recommending capital solutions to our clients. ”
“ Before implementing AscendixRE for Capital Markets, I had to create different Excel reports for Tom so he could make projections and business decisions for the firm.
I was chasing data scattered in multiple places. If the execution team updated a loan amount in Asana, I had to look there and make sure my Excel numbers matched. There were so many different moving pieces that weren't talking to each other.
Now there's one place where everything is updated, and everyone sees it at the same time. That makes my life easier. It's probably one of my favorite things about AscendixRE for Capital Markets. ”
Ascendix: What types of integrations, customizations and automations have you implemented in AscendixRE for Capital Markets?
“ The biggest were the action plans feature, lender matrices through the Composer tool, as well as building out loan programs on top of capital sources. ”
“ I get excited about quickly making fact-based decisions based on hard data in AscendixRE for Capital Markets. ”
Ascendix: Please, tell us about some of the future enhancements to the solution. It’s interesting to paint a picture of how your “vision” has grown along with the implementation and your understanding of the system and its flexibility.
“ There's a lot of data we're going to start extracting about how we do business and what we're working on. The amount of factual capital markets information will allow us to learn, refine what we do, and put value propositions on the various pieces of financial processes and that is much more possible to effectuate because of Ascendix.
There are so many potential ripple effects that can come from this. I'm seeing things for 2025 and 2026, even though we have to get to tomorrow. ”
Ascendix: How would you describe the user adaptation journey with AscendixRE for Capital Markets? Was it easy to get people to use the new solution after Asana?
“ I was pleasantly surprised. The adaptation journey was as good as I could have ever wanted it to be. The team jumped right in. ”
“ It was a hit! Surprisingly, the adaptation to AscendixRE for Capital Markets was intuitive and straightforward for everybody. ”
Ascendix: Could you please share your experience of working with Ascendix as a professional services software development team?
“ A+! There are 4 people we've interacted with (Wes, Erin, Catia, and Mauro). I had great comfort in working with every team member. I felt confident we would be well taken care of and get a high-quality product customized to our needs, not just an out-of-the-box solution. They immediately established trust and confidence when we first started interacting with the Ascendix team. ”
“ 10 out of 10. I couldn't think of a better team that understands us personally and professionally. It's been a joy. This has been a hard undertaking and the team we work with is the reason we're here. Even when there are hard conversations, we laugh. It is a wonderful experience. ”
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Kateryna creates engaging content about Salesforce consulting, Ascendix products, and CRM best practices for the commercial real estate industry and legal services. Her articles provide readers with relevant data, stats, business tricks and overviews of new industry trends and CRM updates.
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