Banker seeks to get back to the life

Neil McCurry likes to tell the story of how he worked 500 days in a row when he founded People's Community Bank in Sarasota in 1999.

Then 33, McCurry worried he would be outdone by all the local bankers with many years more experience. So he decided to outwork everyone. The strategy was successful: McCurry built People's into a profitable entity, and within five years the bank was a local leader.

McCurry might need to dip back into his outdo-everyone bag with his latest venture, where he will team up with Sarasota-based Sabal Palm Bank on a $4 million capital raise. The challenge there is acute: Community banks have struggled to raise capital in the past few years — no surprise considering the recession and the squeeze it's put on banks.