SeedInvest Raises $2 Million in Crowdfunded Investment Campaign

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Crowdfunder, fund thyself.

That’s the strategy of crowd funding specialist, SeedInvest, which announced today that it is seeking to raise the balance of its $3 million Series A round from its own community of investors.

SeedInvest co-founder and CEO Ryan Feit explained: “Given that SeedInvest allows individuals to invest alongside VCs, we decided to eat our own dog food and hold the last millions for our own investors.”

SeedInvest has $2 million already invested, courtesy of investors such as Archer Gray, Avenue A Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Krillion Ventures, and Scout Ventures. The company is gearing up to take advantage of a key feature of the JOBS Act that will allow non-accredited investors to participate in crowd funding platforms like SeedInvest later this year. Feit pointed specifically to the new funding as enabling the company to service what he expects to be a significant increase in the number of potential new investors.

An equity crowd funding platform, SeedInvest focuses on directing investors toward startups and small businesses that are seeking funding. Among the companies that have received investment via SeedInvest are Vengo, a POS kiosk for digital media, and CapLinked, a PayPayl-like platform for businesses. SeedInvest was founded in January 2012, and is based in New York City.
SeedInvest demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco. See their video here. And for more information about our upcoming FinovateSpring event, April 29 and 30 in San Jose, visit our FinovateSpring 2014 page.

Finovate Alumni News– April 11, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6 is now up.
  • Jumio partners with IdentityMind to provide anti-money-laundering Bitcoin compliance for exchanges.
  • FIS launches GenNOW to make it easier for mobile and prepaid card users to access their funds from FIs.
  • Aon Hewitt and HelloWallet partner to help employers bring financial wellness to their workforce.
  • PayPal partners with Samsung to enable users to pay with their fingerprint, launches app for smartwatches.
  • Blackhawk Network recognized for Best Prepaid Innovation at Innovation Project 2014 conference awards.
  • CU Times looks at Citizens Business Bank’s success with Guardian Analytics’ fraud prevention tools.
  • App Developer Magazine looks at Lighter Capital’s RevenueLoan.
  • Birdback and Affiliate Window bring the ease of online offers to offline retailers based in Europe.
  • Betterment’s mobile app makes mobile PIN login available for users.
  • Bill.com wins Monarch Innovation Award in Innovative Industry Partner category.
  • BizJournals profiles Kabbage co-founder and COO, Kathryn Petralia.
  • American Express Open Forum takes a look at ZenPayroll. See them demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6

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Welcome to the finale of our FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek series. If you’re just joining us, then you might want to check out the previous five installments of our Sneak Peek (see below). There’s no better way to get to know the entrepreneurs and innovators who will be demoing on the Finovate stage on April 29 and 30 in San Jose.

You can find out more about our upcoming event – including our new location and locale – on our FinovateSpring 2014 page here.

Today we wrap up the series with eight more companies, starting with transaction management specialist Avoka and ending with WePay, an innovator in risk analysis for merchants, crowdfunders, and software makers. In between, we’ll talk security and digital currencies, alternative lending and credit decisioning, credit card vaults and Insurance Buying 3.0.

Enjoy!

Avoka_lo_res_logo
Avoka TransactWEB – an Omni-Channel 2.0 customer transaction experience form the leaders in SmartForm & Transaction Management.
Features:
  • Omni-Channel 2.0 – Seamless crossover between channels in a single transaction
  • Integration with ID verification and signature services for maximum convenience
  • All delivered without programming
Why it’s great:
Avoka TransactWEB delivers an Omni-Channel 2.0 experience for account opening, loan origination, etc. without programming.
Presenters:
Phil Copeland, CEO and Co-Founder
Phil is responsible for the company’s business strategy and worldwide operations.
Jeff Kalicki, Account Manager
Jeff is comfortable presenting technology to all levels of business, as well as leading architecture discussions.

Coinbase_lo_res_logo

Coinbase is a bitcoin wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact with the new digital currency bitcoin.
Features:
  • The ability to debit customers for a more convenient checkout experience
  • The ability to set individualized merchant permission controls via API keys
  • The ability to use recurring billing
Why it’s great:
Coinbase offers innovative tools that allow merchants to accept bitcoin payments easily and securely.
Presenters:
Roger Gu, Business Development Manager
Roger leads payment partnerships at Coinbase. He previously worked in Strategy and Development at Visa and in Investment Banking at Marcum Cronus. Roger holds an A.B. in Economics from Princeton.
Nahid Samsami, Business Development Manager
Nahid previously worked as a senior product manager at Playdom, acquired by Disney Interactive. She began her career at Bain and Company and holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University.

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CUneXus’ unique lending platform integrates at all digital and physical touch points, delivering an omnichannel borrowing experience, proven to significantly increase loan volume and reduce acquisition cost.
Features:
  • Customers can easily access loans anytime, anywhere – with no loan application
  • Lenders enjoy increased product penetration, loan volume, and ROI
  • Simple integration with online and mobile banking
Why it’s great:
CUneXus helps lenders drive substantial loan volume, by providing customers a refreshingly simple on-demand borrowing experience across traditional, online, and mobile banking channels.
Presenters:
Dave Buerger, Co-Founder and President
Dave is a finance and marketing visionary who has been recognized by CUNA and CUES for award-winning strategies that have yielded record loan volumes and response rates.
Darin Chong, Co-Founder
Darin is an expert strategist and has been instrumental in the development of the company’s Comprehensive Pre-Screened Lending (CPL) strategy.

OnBudget_lo_res_logo

OnBudget develops PFM tools, Mobile Apps, and Bank Companion Cards that give banked consumers simple budgeting tools and banks a profitable way to monetize them.
Features:
  • Uniquely profitable prepaid product simplifies banked consumers’ budgeting needs
  • Auto learns users’ spending habits, suggests budgets
  • Analyzes spending trends, offers insights/savings opps to help users stay on track
Why it’s great:
OnBudget’s intuitive and interactive solution delights banked consumers by simplifying their budgets. It’s a bank companion card that provides real consumer value at no cost to the consumer.
Presenter:
Jim Collas, President and CEO
Jim is a personal computing pioneer with nearly 30 years of senior exec
utive experience in computers, prepaid cards, and consumer markets. He is a successful entrepreneur and visionary leader.

Spreedly_lo_res_logo
Spreedly is the independent credit card vault that works with any PCI end point API. We provide all the benefits of tokenization without gateway lock-in.
Features:
  • Quickly extend your business to non-gateway end point APS’s (hotel, ticketing, transportation, restaurants)
  • Automatically update lost/expired cards
  • One integration, 60+ gateways, 70+ countries
Why it’s great:
Spreedly gives you all the flexibility of having your own credit card vault without the headache of PCI compliance or building your own integrations.
Presenter:
Justin Benson, CEO
Justin specializes in scaling startups from concept to IPO/acquisition. He’s experienced in driving direct revenue and leveraging partnerships to achieve double-digit SaaS revenue growth.

Sureify_lo_res_logo
Sureify educates consumers on their life insurance options, helps them build a plan that’s right for them, and take the next steps to get covered.
Features:
  • Learn about life insurance from simple text, visuals, & videos
  • Unbiased, third-party source for life insurance education
  • Define needs and build the right plan for you quickly
Why it’s great:
Sureify is the only unbiased, third-party source for life insurance education online.
Presenters:
Dustin Yoder, VP of Business Development
Dustin leads strategy, product and business development. Loves talking with our customers, prospecting all possible channels, and relationship building in every part of our business.
Chris Cichon, Marketing
Chris drives marketing and customer experiences. Loves digital marketing and growth hacking; dabbles in front-end web development.

True_Link_Financial_lo_res_logo
True Link protects vulnerable seniors from predatory marketing and fraud.
Features:
  • Seniors are victims of $100bn/year in scams
  • Seniors are the largest, fastest growing market in the U.S.
  • True Link is the killer app for the 43 million people caring for their aging parents.
Why it’s great:
Everyone deserves a safe way to spend their money without having to worry about scams, fraud or spending mishaps.
Presenter:
Kai Stinchcombe, Founder and CEO
Kai is a data scientist and entrepreneur who created the True Link Prepaid Visa Card after discovering that his grandmother was the victim of several credit card frauds.

WePay_lo_res_logo
WePay enables marketplaces, crowdfunding sites, and business software makers to offer payment services to their customers without worry about risk or loss.
Features:
  • WePay’s Veda risk engine leverages big data to make better decisions
  • WePay’s Innovative Risk API collects risk data from platform partners
  • Veda analyzes social footprint to verify users
Why it’s great:
Through its proprietary Veda social risk engine, WePay gives platforms a flexible payment API that provides a great user experience while still taking on all their fraud risk and compliance burdens.
Presenter:
John Canfield, VP Risk Management
John leads all our risk strategy, processes and tactics at WePay. He holds a Masters and Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and an MBA from Stanford.

Finovate Alumni News– April 10, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBoost Mobile waiving check loading, money transfer fees for its Wipit-powered mobile wallet through September.
  • Banno CEO Wade Arnold wins CEO of the Year award from Technology Association of Iowa.
  • CBS News takes a look at Dynamics‘ “credit card with a keypad.”
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

OTP Banka Slovakia to Deploy CRIF Credit Framework

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Add one more bank to the hundreds of financial institutions in more than 20 countries currently relying on CRIF to manage their lending business.

OTP Banka Slovakia announced this week that it was deploying the CRIF Credit Framework, replacing its old loan approval system with a technology that represents “global best practices in lending processes and risk assessment,” according to bank CRO, Peter Leško.

In addition to the technology itself, CRIF’s experience in helping banks make the transition to more sophisticated loan origination and credit management solutions also helped OTP Banka Slovakia make the switch. Leško cited CRIF’s “flexible software framework” and the company’s ability to “act on site in local language” as key to providing both the support and the independence the bank wants.

This last point echoes what we heard from CRIF in the days leading up to their Finovate debut in February at FinovateEurope 2014. “Banks are more and more requesting the ability to make changes,” CRIF marketing director Sheila Donahue explained in a pre-demo briefing. “They don’t want to be dependent on vendors or have their hands tied.” Read more from our briefing with CRIF here.
OTP Banka Slovakia is part of the OTP Group. Based in Bratislava and with more than 600 employees, the bank has a network of 63 branches throughout Slovakia. OTP Banka Slovakia reported assets of €1.4 billion as of the end of 2013.
CRIF was founded in Italy in 1988. The company’s 2013 revenues were €305 million. More than 2,400 banks and financial institutions worldwide use CRIF’s technology daily.

Jumio Partners with Equifax to Make Mobile Transactions More Secure

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There may be better ways to encourage cart abandonment than requiring customers to fill out forms in order to complete online transactions. But I doubt it. And if the consumer is on a mobile phone or tablet, the problem is even worse.

To this end, Equifax has teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Jumio to provide a set of solutions that will make it easier for mobile device users to safely and securely auto-fill information on their devices.

Two of Jumio’s technologies – Netverify and Netswipe – will be integrated with Equifax’s 1-Touch Services and Mobile Wallet. The 1-Touch integration will enable auto-fill of personally identifiable data. The integration with the Mobile Wallet will allow users to either scan their cards with their smartphone or complete the transaction in person at the point-of-sale with their smartphone.

The partnership was driven at least in part by Jumio’s research, it seems. The company’s Mobile Consumer Insights Study found in 2013 that nearly 47% of consumers blamed their cart abandonment on the inconvenience of entering personal data into forms on mobile devices.
Jumio was founded in 2010. Based in Palo, Alto, California, the company specializes in credentials management that is geared both toward minimizing fraud and reducing friction for consumers. Daniel Mattes is founder and CEO.
Equifax became a Finovate alum as a presenter at FinovateFall 2011 in New York. The company’s B2C unit, Personal Solutions, demoed Equifax Complete, a credit score monitoring and fraud alert solution accessible via the company’s mobile app.
Last on the Finovate stage in February (FinovateEurope 2014), Jumio is among the companies that will be demoing its technology at the upcoming FinovateSpring show in San Jose, California, April 29 and 30. For more information on how to see Jumio’s demo live and in person, visit our FinovateSpring 2014 page.

Leaf Launches Payments Apps Marketplace

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The developers of the Leaf mobile POS tablet realize that there is more than one way to attract merchants to your payments platform.

Leaf announced today that it is launching its Payments App Marketplace. The marketplace will make it easier for payment service providers to market directly to merchants, creating new branding opportunities and, potentially increased sales and retention. The two separate apps launched today by Leaf support credit cards and prepaid cards.

Leaf CEO and co-founder, Aron Schwarzkopf said:
“Our merchant customers often ask for our advice when choosing a payment provider … Now we can guide our customers to Payment Apps, where they are empowered to make an educated decision based on the needs of their small business.”
The new Payments Apps Marketplace provides payment processors with real-time, in-system product marketing. Messaging, upselling, and generated sales through online referrals are all ways that processors can take advantage of the Leaf POS system to reach new customers and do a better job of connecting with and serving existing customers. 
Moreover, the hope is that the the presence of a variety of payment processors aggressively competing for merchant business will help attract new merchants to the Leaf platform. Schwarzkopf said, “Many were losing portfolios to technology. We’re helping them be able to adopt technology without losing what they do day to day, which is processing.”
Leaf has raised $26 million in funding, including a $20 million venture round completed last September. Founded in 2011 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Leaf demoed its LeafPresenter technology as part of the FinovateSpring show in 2013.
And to learn about our upcoming FinovateSpring event at the end of April, go here to visit our FinovateSpring 2014 page.

Xero Announces 80% YOY Revenue Growth

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Fresh off news of its integration with Square, cloud accounting software specialist Xero announced the end of a fiscal year that saw the company grow its revenues by more than 80%.

A few other metrics just released by the company include:

  • NZ$70 million ($60 million USD) in operating revenues
  • NZ$93 million ($80 million USD) in annualized subscriptions
  • NZ$210 million ($180 million USD) in cash on hand to fund growth
  • 284,000 paying customers
  • 758 employees
Xero is the leading accounting software provider in New Zealand, and leads the online market in both Australia and the United Kingdom. In fact, Xero has seen the most significant year-over-year growth in the latter two regions, as well as North America. Metrics on Xero’s paying customers by region are below:
  • Australia: 109,000
  • New Zealand: 102,000
  • United Kingdom: 47,000
  • North America: 18,0000
  • The rest of the world: 8,000
And here are numbers on Xero’s year-over-year growth in subscription revenue:
  • North America: 154%
  • Australia: 120%
  • United Kingdom: 92%
  • The rest of the world: 86%
  • New Zealand: 48%
Xero demonstrated its technology as part of the show at FinovateSpring 2011. See the company in action here.

Finovate Alumni News– April 4, 2014

  • MasterCard partners with SIX Payment Services to bring MasterPass to Switzerland.
  • Texas Bay Area Credit Union to deploy Fiserv payments solution suite.
  • New agreement means MasterCard EMV debit cards will run on First Data’s STAR Network.
  • Pymnts News: Equifax partners with Jumio for Mobile Commerce.
  • Actiance’s partnership with Trustlink to give it access to a growing market in Africa.
  • D magazine interviews Yseop CEO John Rauscher. See Yseop demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 4

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 4

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What’s the only thing better than getting to know 18 of the companies that will demoing at FinovateSpring 2014 less than a month from now?

Meeting six more.

Here’s the fourth installment of our FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek series. In today’s edition, we’ll introduce you to a sextet of innovators in fields ranging from loan origination and in-store offers to mobile data capture, mobile banking, and mobile security.

If you missed any of our previous editions, the links below are a great way to get caught up. 
In the meanwhile, get ready to meet defi Solutions,Digital Retail Apps, Kofax, StrategyCorps, Rippleshot, and Vorstack. And to save your spot at FinovateSpring, April 29-30 in San Jose, California, click here to buy your ticket today.


defi_solutions_logo

defi Solutions takes auto lending to the next level with its SaaS Loan Origination System that can be configured and launched within days not months.

Features:
  • Affordable, enterprise system completely configurable for auto lenders of all sizes
  • Accesible from mobile devices
  • Browser-based solution allowing lenders to focus on lending v.s. technology
Why it’s great: 
defy Solutions SaaS Loan Origination System allows auto lenders to configure the system to meet market demands without costly development time.
Presenters:
Stephanie Alsbrooks, Founder
Founded defi Solutions with the mission to overcome the auto lender challenge of choosing between dated, inefficient, out-of-the-box systems and costly, long-to-implement custom solutions.
Chris Holt, Senior Engineer, Automation

Digital_Retail_Apps

Digital Retail AppsSelfPay is a platform to engage in-store shoppers. Shoppers scan items, view product details, and pay for their purchases on their own mobile devices.

Features:
  • Locates and welcomes the shopper using Beacon technology
  • Integrates with POS and merchant account
  • Offers lineup-free payments via shopper’s own device
Why it’s great:
We give in-store shoppers a natural shop + pay flow and merchants a way to engage in-moment while collecting deep insights into shopper in-store activity.
Presenter:
Wendy MacKinnon-Keith, CEO/Founder
Innovating by pushing payments into the background. Speaker at events such as SXSW and CNP; consulted to IBM, Nokia, Safeway, and others.

KofaxLogolarge.jpg

Kofax’s Mobile Capture Platform is helping consumers better connect with retailers by automating the process of checking balances on their gift cards through the use of their smart phone or tablet.
Features:
  • Use mobile devices to automatically detect retail gift cards
  • Eliminate the process of manually entering accounts numbers
  • Give customers immediate access to account balances and other information
Why it’s great: 
The solution makes gaining access to gift card information more convenient for gift card issuers. It gives vendors a cost effective tool that helps them deliver better service and faster transactions.
Presenter:
Drew Hyatt, Senior Vice President of Mobile Applications
His team is responsible for driving the company’s mobile capture business on a worldwide basis.

StrategyCorps_new_lo_res_logo

StrategyCorps’ BaZing expands basic mobile and online banking, connecting them closer to the way consumers use mobile and online financial services in their everyday lives.

Features:
  • Hundreds of thousands of local merchant discounts at your fingertips
  • Location-aware coupons and targeted notifications
  • A mobile financial services customer experience beyond basic mobile banking
Why it’s great:
BaZing boldly goes beyond basic mobile banking, delivering in-demand services that connect better with consumers and how they use their mobile phones every day.
Presenter:
Mike Branton, Managing Partner

Rippleshot_logo_with_slogan

RippleShot detects credit card data breaches. Our cloud-based solution helps merchants and banks proactively stop fraud before it occurs.

Features:
  • Next Gen fraud prevention – stopping fraud before it occurs
  • 24/7 monitoring – detecting breaches faster
  • Early warning alerts – proactively protects merchants, consumers and credit card issuers
Why it’s great:
It’s not if you are going to be breached, it’s when. Rippleshot’s 24/7 monitoring proactively detects, mitigates and stops fraud before it occurs.
Presenters:
Canh Tran, Co-Founder and CEO
Has over 25 years of experience focused on big data and predictive analytics to solve sales, marketing, fraud and credit problems.
Lucas Ward, Co-Founder and COO
Is a proven technology leader. At Fundspire, Lucas created an innovative product to change the way hedge funds viewed and analyzed their data.

vorstack_logo

Vorstack combats cyber threats with automated and collaborative threat intelligence. Brand-conscious organizations will lower risk, save money and protect intellectual property.

Features:
  • Automated analysis and correlation of disparate cyber threat information
  • Coordinated threat intelligence with industry and peers
  • Fine-tuned configurable control over shared threat info
Why it’s great:
Vorstach lowers the probability and cost of a cyber attack through automation and coordination. You’ll save time and money, and protect your brand.
Presenters:
Joe Eandi, JD, CEO and Co-Founder
Has served on executive management teams and boards, and was an attorney with Wilson Sonsini.
Mark Manning, VP Technical Services
Has founded and advised numerous startups, and held management roles at Trust Digital, ORBID, Phoenix Technologies, and British Telecom.

Be sure to join us next week for another installment of our FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek series.

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Weathfront Raises $35 Million in Round Led by Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital

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Investment management service Wealthfront will have some investment management of its own to do in the coming weeks and months: the company just reported that it has raised $35 million in new capital.

The funding round was led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, and included the participation of existing investors such as The Social+Capital Partnership, Greylock Partners, and DAG Ventures.

Wealthfront’s total funding now stands at $65 million.

Wealthfront is one of the largest automated investment management services in the world. In a market crowded with competitors, Wealthfront continues to see a bright future in automated investing thanks to the 90 million person, $2 trillion dollar millennial generation.
Said the company in a statement: “(Millennials) have grown up with software and lived through two market crashes. They overwhelmingly seek an investment solution that is automated, index-based, and low-cost.”
A few metrics from Wealthfront:
  • Growth of more than 700% since the beginning of 2013
  • Manages more than $500 million in customer accounts
  • Client accounts range from $5,000 to $10,000,000
  • More than 55% of the company’s users are below the age of 35
We last reported on Wealthfront when the company launched its new mobile app back in February. The mobile app lets users check account balances, view investment performance, and transfer funds to Wealthfront accounts.
Wealthfront (as “kaChing”) demoed on the Finovate stage as part of Finovate Startup in 2009. Former COO Adam Nash was promoted to chief executive officer in January 2014.

Finovate Alumni News– April 3, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTop Image Systems wins awards for innovations in crowdsourcing and mobile imaging.
  • Insuritas E-InsuranceAISLE Platform generated more than 2 million product impressions in March. The technology is deployed in more than 50 banks and credit unions, supporting more than $1.5 million in product sales. See them demo at FinvoateSpring.
  • Misys trade and supply chain finance processing platform embraced by National Australia Bank (NAB).
  • Nostrum Group announces opening of new office in London.
  • Kantox integrates AU10TIX B.O.S solution to auto-classify, authenticate and extract data from of images of customers ID documents.
  • Compliance Week looks at how Actiance helps banks stay compliant with social media.
  • The Australian looks at PayPal’s Braintree.
  • BancVue launches new youth spending app, PiggyBot.
This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.