Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

FinovateSpring 2014 Best of Show Winners

FinovateSpring 2014 Best of Show Winners
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: EyeVerify, FinovateSpring 2014, Loop, Motif Investing, Ondot Systems, PrivatBank, SaveUp, Stockpile

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Our record-breaking audience has spent a hot two days in San Jose watching 68 demos covering the best in fintech.

After watching the 68 demoing companies show off their newest innovations on stage in front of the sold-out auditorium, the crowd voted for their three favorite demos at the end of each day. The eight companies with the highest number of votes were crowned winners.

Here they are in alphabetical order:

Thumbnail image for EyeVerifyLogo.jpgEyeVerify, for its Eyeprint Verification technology that enables mobile biometric authentication

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Loop, for its smart mobile wallet system accepted at virtually every retail POS terminal without making changes to the existing POS system

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Interactions, for its voice-activated, self-service solution for mobile and phone interactions 

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Motif Investing, for its Advisor Platform that streamlines the way advisors build, monitor, and rebalance investment portfolios
OndotLogo

Ondot Systems, for its CardControl technology that allows users to remotely control their credit and debit cards via their smartphone

Privatbank_hi_res_FS2014

PrivatBank, for topless, contactless smartphone-enabled Android ATM technology

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SaveUp, for its Gen Y/Millennial-oriented solution that combines gamification with personal finance

stockpile_hi_res_FS2014

Stockpile, for their “give the gift of stock” solution that helps people invest in the brands they love  

As always, thanks for your continued support. See you next year at FinovateSpring 2015!
All of the demo videos will be available on Finovate.com in two weeks.

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Notes on methodology:  
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.     
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.    
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”  
4. The eight companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show.  
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners. 

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Pixeliris’ CopSonic Using Its Sonic Communication Tech to Authenticate Users for P2P Payments

Pixeliris’ CopSonic Using Its Sonic Communication Tech to Authenticate Users for P2P Payments
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Pixeliris
PixelirisLogo2014

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Next, Pixeliris demonstrated how its contacless mobile payment technology, CopSonic, works for both P2P payments to authenticate users without a password:
“CopSonic is the first universal contactless mobile payment system powered by our unique technology. It is based on sonic communication transiting through the devices’ speakers and microphones. Therefore, our technology is compatible with 100% of existing phones and smartphones, unlike NFC technologies. Several patents have been filed with regard to the security of the transaction.
Our technology allows peer-to-peer transactions between feature phones an
d smartphones but also enables online passwordless authentication turning the devices into security dongles.
We developed an SDK that allows third-party companies to integrate the modules and, therefore, create a business model based on transaction fees or licenses.”
Presenting: Emmanuel Ruiz (CEO & Head of Innovation) and Brian Roeten (Senior Project Manager)
Product Launch: September 2013
Metrics: €210,000 in capital, 11 employees in France, 120 engineers around the world
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through other fintech companies and platforms, licensed
HQ: Montauban 82000, France
Founded: April 1989
Website: copsonic.com
Twitter: @_Pixeliris

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StrategyCorps’ BaZing Helps Bring Profitability to Checking Products

StrategyCorps’ BaZing Helps Bring Profitability to Checking Products
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, StrategyCorps
StrategyCorpsLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Next, StrategyCorps showed how its BaZing product brings non-banking benefits to consumers using checking products:
“BaZing delivers non-banking benefits like 300,000+ local and national merchant discounts, cell phone insurance, and roadside assistance via customizable and easy-to-integrate mobile and online platforms. In today’s consumer marketplace, there are millions already paying for these money-saving and personal protection-oriented benefits, proving these benefits are worth paying for. 
BaZing uses this fee worthiness to provide a customer acceptable fee-based mobile and online banking solution. BaZing’s innovation and financial productivity enhances commoditized mobile and online banking, undifferentiated consumer checking products.”
Presenting: Mike Branton (Managing Partner) and Dave DeFazio (Partner)
Product Launch: April 2012
Metrics: 46 employees, 1.5M users, over 200 financial institution clients
Product distribution strategy: Through financial institutions, through other fintech companies and platforms
HQ: Brentwood, TN
Founded: November 2001
Twitter: @StrategyCorps

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FinBuddy’s Tools Help Retail Investors Better Understand their Portfolio

FinBuddy’s Tools Help Retail Investors Better Understand their Portfolio
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinBuddy, FinovateSpring 2014
FinBuddyLoLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Second up this afternoon, FinBuddy launched easy-to-understand tools that engage investors without intimidating them:
“Currently, retail investors are stifled by the lack of tools that speak the same language at the level they can comprehend. Vast amount of data that is available creates more confusion and does not provide enough actionable information or insight to investors. FinBuddy addresses this gap by providing very easy-to-understand tools that don’t scare investors but engage them without losing depth and rigor. 
We provide an intuitive stock & fund screener that helps investors discover new investment opportunities similar to how we discover things in the real world. We provide a comprehensive way to evaluate an investment without overwhelming the user. Our portfolio analysis toolset helps individuals understand their portfolios in easy terms and track them better. Finally, trusted friends can provide commentary and feedback on the investor’s portfolio and share tips over FinBuddy’s social network feed. Social collaboration combined with personalized and relevant insights help individuals make sound investment decisions.”
Presenting: Shyam Maddali (CEO & Founder) and Baker Nanduru (Co-Founder)
Product Launch: April 2014
Metrics: 
    • Funding: self-funded
    • Number of employees: 1 full-time, 2 part-time
    • Revenues: pre-revenue
    • Registered users: ~200 (friends & family)
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C)
Founded: May 2013
HQ: Fremont, CA
Website: finbuddy.com

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Visible Equity’s Fair Lending Analytics Can Mathematically Prove Borrowers Are Treated Fairly

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Visible Equity
This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.
Next, Visible Equity launched Fair Lending Analytics to help financial institutions prove they are treating borrowers fairly:
“Fair Lending laws have been around for decades, but more sophisticated Fair Lending analysis has recently become a hot-button issue and point of emphasis from financial regulators.
Our product uses intuitive design and advanced statistical modeling to determine whether discrimination or “disparate impact” is potentially occurring in marketing activities, during the loan application process, with pricing and add-on products, and with charge-off and collection practices.
It is unlikely that a financial institution is ever knowingly discriminating, but now with the use of Fair Lending Analytics, institutions can mathematically prove they are compliant and treating all borrowers fairly.”
Presenting: Matthew Court (VP Sales & Marketing) and David Gilbert (COO)
Product Launch: April 2014
Metrics: We serve over 300 clients and analyze over $120B in loans daily.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B)
HQ: Salt Lake City, UT
Founded: June 2008
Twitter: @visibleequity
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Wipit’s Boost Mobile Gives Underbanked Users an Easy Alternative to Retail Check Cashing

Wipit’s Boost Mobile Gives Underbanked Users an Easy Alternative to Retail Check Cashing
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Wipit
WipitLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Next, Wipit took the stage to demo Boost Mobile Wallet:
“Boost Mobile Wallet lets millions of prepaid wireless customers load cash to their mobile wallet account, then use the funds to send international money transfers, pay bills, or top-up their Boost Mobile phone − all from the convenience of Wipit’s Mobile Wallet app on their Android smartphone or iPhone. 
Customers are also provided with a convenient, cost-saving alternative to retail check cashing via Wipit’s in-app Quick Check service. For customers that prefer the convenience of card payments, Boost Mobile Wallet includes a personalized, linked Visa prepaid card that can be used for ATM withdrawals and Visa purchases.”
Presenters: Richard Kang (CEO) and John Janes (COO)
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C), through other fintech companies and platforms
HQ: Pasadena, CA
Founded: May 2010
Product Launch: May 2013  
Website: wipit.me 

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SaveUp Debuts its “Gummy Vitamin” of Personal Finance on an iPhone App

SaveUp Debuts its “Gummy Vitamin” of Personal Finance on an iPhone App
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, SaveUp
SaveUpLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Second up this afternoon, SaveUp debuted its iPhone app aimed at helping Millennials learn about and engage with their personal finances:
“SaveUp is the first rewards program for saving money and reducing debt with the opportunity to win life-changing prizes and merchant-funded rewards. SaveUp is the “gummy vitamin” of personal finance, generating unprecedented engagement with personal finance among Millennials. 
Six months after signing up, the average user links 6 – 8 accounts, and of these 20% are daily active users and 60% monthly actives. SaveUp users are engaged to learn about new financial products, seek financial guidance from CFPs, access financial education, and make better financial decisions. 
Personalization is based on data. SaveUp is a highly flexible, customizable platform that drives engagement and retention in different financial service verticals. SaveUp is premiering the iPhone app at FinovateSpring 2014.”

Presenting: Priya Haji (CEO & Co-Founder) and Sammy Shreibati (CTO & Co-Founder)

Product Launch: November 1, 2011
Metrics: The average user links 6 – 8 accounts, and of these 20% are daily actives and 60% are monthly active users.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C), through financial services channels including: banks, credit unions, digital wallet, prepaid, student loan, and employee wellness
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Founded: April 2011
Website: saveup.com
Twitter: @playsaveup

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Yseop Launches its Sales Force Productivity Suite in the U.S.

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Yseop

YseopLogo.jpg

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.
First to take the stage after lunch, Yseop stepped up for the U.S. launch of its Sales Force Productivity Suite:
“Yseop Sales Force Productivity Suite (YSF) and its email writing application, called “YseMail” (“Easy-Mail”), is an integrated sales performance boosting solution to be plugged into a CRM, which supports the financial advisor throughout the sales cycle. 
YSF analyzes customer data, dialogs intelligently with the advisor or customer to gather contextual data, and produces written conclusions such as pre- and post-meeting summaries, personalized marketing communications, and prep-to-meeting documents in less than a second.”
Presenting: Elizabeth Farabee (VP Marketing) and Matt Rauscher (Consultant)
Product Launch: April 2014 (in the United States)
Metrics: Privately self-funded. Over 20 years of research. 35 employees. 30 large customers with 20,000 users in production daily in the banking & insurance industries. 
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions
HQ: Dallas, Texas (U.S. HQ); Lyon, France (European HQ); offices in New York, London & Paris
Founded: First commercialized as a stand-alone product in Europe at the end of 2008
Website: yseop.com
Twitter: @yseopAI

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True Link’s New Prepaid Card Helps Keep Vulnerable Seniors Safe From Predatory Fraud

True Link’s New Prepaid Card Helps Keep Vulnerable Seniors Safe From Predatory Fraud
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, True Link
TrueLinkLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Then, True Link debuted its payment card that helps shield seniors from fraud:
“Vulnerable seniors lose $100 billion a year to predatory marketing and fraud. It’s easy to trick someone with memory loss – for example, you can sell magazines just by sending a free issue then calling and saying that they are overdue to pay for a subscription. 
Some of our customers spend thousands of dollars a month on magazines they never wanted. We offer a family-managed safe form of payment. When Grandma is out shopping with friends it works like any other Visa card, but if someone is trying to take her money, we decline the charge and keep her safe.”
Presenting: Kai Stinchcombe (CEO) and Claire McDonnell (COO)
Product Launch: March 2014 
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C), through financial institutions
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Founded: February 2013 
Website: truelinkcard.com 
Twitter: @TrueLinkCard

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Endeavour Partners with Zoot and Jumio to Create a Mobile Account Opening Solution

Endeavour Partners with Zoot and Jumio to Create a Mobile Account Opening Solution
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Endeavour, FinovateSpring 2014
EndeavourLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.


Then, Endeavour and Zoot took the stage to demo MobileAO, a mobile account opening solution:
“Endeavour has partnered with Zoot and Jumio to create a best-of-breed mobile account-opening solution− MobileAO. This unique, powerful, and flexible solution is capable of meeting the complex and evolving business requirements of large financial institutions regarding security, ID verification, and risk management; all while delivering a simple and intuitive mobile experience to the customer. 
Endeavour has integrated Jumio’s innovative ID validation and prefill capability along with Zoot’s real-time decision engine into a single mobile application and web portal, which empowers banks to open new deposit and credit accounts seamlessly and instantaneously.”
Presenting: Steven Staley (Dir. Banking & Strategic All.), Tom Johnson (VP Strategic Alliances),  and Alex Johnson (Marketing Specialist)
Product Launch: April 2014
Metrics: Endeavour is a privately held company with offices in Austin, London, Bangalore, and Singapore. Backed by Singapore-based private equity firm Basil Partners, Endeavour employs over 300 employees across four countries.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions, licensed
HQ: Austin, TX
Founded: February 2008
Twitter: @mobilitycompany

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Personal Capital Launches One Click Investment Proposals to Make Advisors’ Jobs Easier

Personal Capital Launches One Click Investment Proposals to Make Advisors’ Jobs Easier
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Personal Capital
This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.
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Then, Personal Capital took the stage to launch its One Click Investment Proposals:

“Traditional financial advisors have to manually collect, process, calculate, and report back on a prospect’s financial situation to generate a strategy for presentation. Personal Capital combines its award winning account aggregation and customer-facing user interface with a back office that allows our financial advisors to generate 90% of a proposal with one click, saving hundreds of advisor hours per month and allowing us to make our service both more personal and scalable. 
Once the proposal is created, the advisor can present and drive the discussion through our own remote sharing capability, viewable on any device.”
Presenting: Bill Harris (CEO) and Jim Del Favero (Chief Product Officer)
Product Launch: April 2014
Metrics: Over $50M raised to date, over 100 employees, over $4M in revenue from over $450M in AUM, growing 10% month over month, over 500,000 registered users who track over $60B of assets using our software.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C)
HQ: Redwood City, CA
Founded: July 2009
Twitter: @PersonalCapital

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Venovate Launches the Venovate Marketplace to Create Efficiency in Alternative Investments, Announces Investment from Studio 9+

Venovate Launches the Venovate Marketplace to Create Efficiency in Alternative Investments, Announces Investment from Studio 9+
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Venovate
VenovateLogo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2014.

Third up in today’s second session, Venovate launched the Venovate Marketplace:
“Venovate Marketplace is an online platform that makes investing in and fundraising for private securities faster and more efficient.
Our platform offers investors access to the broadest, most diverse set of alternative investment opportunities: private equity, natural resources, venture capital, infrastructure, hedge funds, and real estate. 
All members – both buyers and sellers – are put through a rigorous screening process to ensure that investors are qualified and that fundraisers present complete, transparent information. 
Investors can search for investment opportunities, get questions answered, indicate interest, receive acceptance, sign documents electronically, and close the transaction – all on a single platform.
Venovate is the smarter alternative for investing and fundraising.“

Additionally, Venovate is announcing that Studio 9+ has invested in Venovate’s initial round and plans to use Venovate Marketplace for its fundraising activities in the future. 
Presenting: Michael Raneri (CEO), Thomas Foley (President), and Michiel de Boer (Head of Prod., UX & Mktg)
Product Launch: April 2014
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C), Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions, through other fintech companies and platforms
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Founded: April 2013
Website: venovate.com 
Twitter: @venovate

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