INFORMAZIONI SU QUESTO EPISODIO
Join host Sam Davidson for a special re-release: the story of Rob McCabe and Terry Turner, founders of Pinnacle Financial Partners, ahead of their induction into the Nashville Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame at the 2026 NEXT Awards.
This episode, first released almost four years ago, traces how two bankers in their late 40s — with steady jobs, families, and nothing obvious to gain — decided to start a bank from scratch after a corporate acquisition sidelined them both. Original host Clark Buckner walks through the friendship that started at Park Bank in 1979, the failed acquisition that nearly sank their previous employer, and the moment Rob McCabe got a "no" on his AmSouth job offer that his gut told him to trust. From there: a bank charter application six to twelve inches thick, a pro forma built on an Excel spreadsheet neither founder knew how to use, and an IPO launched into the dot-com crash that still returned roughly 1,700% to early investors.
Sam Davidson closes the episode with the update: Pinnacle Financial Partners closed an $8.6 billion merger with Synovus Financial Corp in January 2026, and Rob McCabe is staying on as Chief Banking Officer through the end of 2027 to see the transition through. Twenty-six years after that first $25 million IPO, the "better way" Rob and Terry set out to build is still standing — and still growing.
