Corlux Consulting

Three engagements. Built for the decisions that shape a community Financial Institution's next decade.

Each engagement is fixed-scope, fixed-fee, and led directly by the principal. No bench, no junior consultants, no surprise upsells. We take on a limited number of clients at a time so the work is real.

Why this work looks different here

Trained in the playbooks your vendors use on you.

Corlux is formally trained in the same enterprise sales methodologies fintech vendors run when they engage your Financial Institution. We sit on the buyer's side of the table in your evaluation, with full familiarity with how the other side is qualifying, framing, and negotiating in real time.

That recognition shapes the questions we help you ask, the demo elements worth pressing on, and the contract terms worth negotiating for. The result is a sharper evaluation, conducted in real partnership with your team and with the vendors you ultimately choose.

VENDOR EVALUATION

Fintech vendor evaluation & selection

Community FIs get pitched by fintech vendors constantly. The RFPs that result eat months of executive time, and the selected vendor is too often the one with the best demo rather than the best fit. We run the process the way it should be run. Independent, evidence-based, and informed by years on the vendor side of the table.

Engagements span credit and identity, digital banking, lending, payments, BaaS and embedded finance, and adjacent platforms. We do not take referral fees, kickbacks, or compensation from any vendor. The recommendation is the recommendation.

  • DeliverablesProblem framing memo · Vendor landscape map · Disqualification framework calibrated to your FI · RFP design and management · Demo coordination · Reference call program · Finalist memo with disqualification rationale · Contract red-line support · Decision memo and post-signature review cadence.
  • Engage whenYou're starting an RFP, replacing an underperforming vendor, or entering a new category for the first time.

DIGITAL STRATEGY

Digital banking strategy

Most community FIs buy digital capabilities tactically. One platform at a time, often in response to a specific complaint, and they end up with a stack that no one designed. The cost is borne in member experience, integration debt, and capability gaps that compound year over year. The fix is a real strategy, grounded in what peer FIs are actually shipping.

We build the multi-year digital roadmap your board can defend, your team can execute, and your examiners can follow. Vendor-agnostic. Anchored in benchmarks, not opinions.

  • DeliverablesCurrent-state assessment · Customer journey map with friction and abandonment points · Peer benchmarking against FIs of your size and profile · Capability gap analysis (build, buy, partner, or accept) · Prioritized initiative roadmap with dependencies and capacity reserve · Business case construction · Strategic architecture and platform decisions · Governance and measurement framework.
  • Engage whenYou're entering strategic planning, working through a board mandate on digital, or integrating tech stacks post-merger.

AI & AUTOMATION

AI & automation strategy

Every vendor is selling AI. Examiners are nervous. The board wants a strategy. Internal teams don't know where to start, and the wrong pilot in the wrong place produces a stack of risk for very little value. We separate the AI use cases that actually make sense for a community FI from the ones that look good in a slide and create problems on the ground.

The engagement produces a plan that survives contact with your examiners. Not just an opportunity slide. Where it's the right call, we recommend pilots. Where it isn't, we say so plainly.

  • DeliverablesUse case map ranked by value, risk, and readiness · Data and infrastructure readiness assessment · Build, buy, or partner recommendation matrix · Regulated AI Readiness governance framework · AI-specific vendor evaluation · Pilot design with success metrics and exit triggers · Examiner readiness package · Scale-up plan integrated with the digital roadmap.
  • Engage whenThe board is asking for an AI strategy, your team is evaluating AI vendors, or you want a defensible starting point before committing budget.

How engagements work

Fixed scope. Fixed fee. Senior attention from day one.

Every engagement begins with a short scoping conversation, typically 30 to 45 minutes, to understand the decision in front of you, the constraints around it, and whether Corlux is the right partner. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.

If we are, you receive a written engagement proposal with scope, deliverables, timeline, and a fixed fee. No hourly billing. No scope creep dressed up as change orders. No bench staffing. The principal who scopes the engagement is the principal who delivers it.

Next step

Start with a conversation.

Tell us what's in front of you. We'll tell you straight whether and how we can help, and what an engagement would look like.

Get in touch →