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ABOUT CHRIS & DAN

Chris S. Bates

Chris is CEO of Agora Eversole Marketing Agency. Chris attended the University of Alabama, completing his B.A.in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration at Belhaven University in 1994. He was a nonprofit executive for 10 years, and then owned Mean Mallard, a 50-employee outdoor sporting goods retail operation for nearly a decade. In 2009, Chris focused his career experiences to guide other business operators through his marketing services agency, Agora Company.  On January 1, 2020, the agency merged with The Eversole Group, bringing more than 30 years of bank marketing expertise into a combined new agency, Agora Eversole Marketing Agency.

Now 17 years in, banking is their primary service specialties with endorsements and memberships in 9 state banking associations. He and his 16-person team deliver goal-focused marketing through partnerships with their clients, providing services in marketing strategy/design, digital marketing (SEO/GEO, Digital Advertising, etc.), web design and social media management. They are currently partnering with over 150 financial institution and other clients across 17 states.

Chris and his wife, Stacy, live in Madison, MS near their young adult children and attend St. James Episcopal Church.  Chris is an active outdoorsman, and serves in leadership roles on several nonprofit Boards of Directors including Harbor House and the Belhaven University School of Business Advisory Board.

Dan Novalis

Dan is the founder and CEO of Startline, an AI-powered prospecting service for community banks, based in St. Louis, Missouri. He also co-hosts The Bank Marketing Show, now in its fourth year with over 100 episodes. Dan earned his MBA in Marketing and Strategy from New York University’s Stern School of Business and holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to Startline, Dan spent nearly a decade as a fractional CMO for community banks through his consultancy 2Novas, and before that worked for a variety of ad tech startups and global agencies as a marketing and technology strategist. His prior clients include Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Bankrate, Liberty Mutual, and more.

Dan founded Startline with a simple insight from years of working with community banks: relationship managers know how to close deals, but they don’t have time to find them. Startline uses AI to score public filing data and deliver researched prospect briefs directly to RMs — no platform login required. The goal is to give every community bank the kind of business development intelligence that only the biggest institutions can afford to build in-house.

Dan and his wife, sons, dogs, and cats, live in St. Louis, Missouri, and are continually cleaning their home. When he can find the time, Dan is a powerlifter, drummer, and can grill a mean burger.