Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Finovate Alumni News– October 24, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Bills.com, Currensee, Expensify, HelloWallet, InComm, On Deck Capital, PayNearMe, RobotDough, TradeKing, Weemba, Zecco
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgSouth Florida Business Journal covers Weemba’s borrower-lender matching service.
  • Deutsche Well World profiles eToro and also highlights Currensee and Zecco.
  • Expensify launches a lite version of its iPhone app.
  • RobotDough announces its Portfolio Monitoring Tool & discusses its FinovateFall experience.
  • NBC 12 in Virginia reports InComm named Leading Prepaid Organization and Best Prepaid Product Distributor at 2011 Prepaid Awards.
  • FierceFinanceIT looks at how Zecco and TradeKing are using social media.
  • On Deck Capital reviews its experience at BAI.
  • Fox Business News looks at PayNearMe’s quest to assist consumers without credit cards.
  • HelloWallet launches feature that allows users to manually add transactions.
  • Spectrem’s Millionaire Corner blog profiles Bills.com.
  • Pageonce launches Mobile Bill Pay Service that allows consumers to “Tap to Pay.”
  • American Banker on how four Finovate alums unwrap the payments genome.
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.

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Prosper’s Big Month: September Volume 4x Larger than 2010

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Prosper

Prosper Logo.jpg

Yesterday, peer-to-peer lending service Prosper.com announced a four-fold, year-over-year increase in the number of loans it has funded. 
In addition, it provided data for September:
  • “Record September originations of $7.4 mil, up almost four-fold from $2.0 mil last year
  • 11% compounded monthly growth rate over the last 12 months
  • Currently, providing a 10.7% “seasoned return” to investors
  • Actual annualized loss rate of 5.5%, beating forecast loss rate of 7.1%
  • High credit-quality consumer loans: 737 average Experian Scorex PLUS credit score for first-time Prosper borrowers.”
To learn more about Prosper.com, watch its FinovateStartup 2009 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News, October 21, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: billFLO, BillFloat, ChargeSmart, DoughMain, Dwolla, Prosper, Weemba
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAfter being acquired by Taulia, billFLO announces its services will be shutting down Dec 1, 2011.
  • Fox Business News mentions ChargeSmart’s mortgage payment solution.
  • DoughMain explains how to ease children’s financial fears. 
  • Business Insider uses BillFloat and Prosper.com as examples of alternative financing companies.
  • Dwolla now integrated with Active Merchant for use in Shopify.
  • Weemba seeks to help with cash-flow issues during the holiday season.
  • Prosper’s September volume is four times larger than 2010.
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.

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Finovate Alumni Website Traffic in August

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Adobe, Andera, Betterment, Bill.com, Billeo, BillFloat, Bills.com, BillShrink, Boku, BrightScope, Budgettracker, Bundle, Cardlytics, CashEdge, CashStar, ChargeSmart, Check Point, CheckFree, Cortera, Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, Credit.com, DebtGoal, Discover, Equifax, eRollover, eToro, Experian, findabetterbank.com, Fiserv, Geezeo, Google, HR Block, Infosys, Intuit, Jack Henry, Kabbage, Kapitall, Kasasa, Leadfusion, LearnVest, Lending Club, Lendio, MasterCard, Metavante, Mint.com, MoneyAisle, Motley Fool CAPS, MyBankTracker, Offermatic, Online Resources, Outright.com, Pageonce, PayPal, Prosper, S1, Sears Credit Score, Seeking Alpha, Simple Tuition, smartcredit.com, SmartyPig, Standard Chartered Bank, Stocktwits, Striata, Sybase 365, TradeKing, TransUnion Interactive, Truaxis, TrustedID, VISA, Wall Street Survivor, Wesabe, Wikinvest, wipro, Yodlee, Zecco
Each month we survey the Web-traffic performance of Finovate alums using data from Web-analytics company Compete. 
Out of 268 alumni, 75 had more than 10,000 unique U.S. visitors in August 2011 and are included in the tables below. Of those, 41 (55%) had more visitors in August than July. Year-over-year, 45 (60%) had traffic increases.
Private Companies
  • Seeking Alpha — the most-trafficked in August with 2.5 million unique visitors — also had the highest increase in number of unique month-over-month visits with 300,000 more visits in August than in July.
  • Budgettracker.com saw the highest monthly growth percentage with more than 6.5 times the number of unique visitors in August compared to July.
  • Betterment had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, up 88x.
  • Cortera had the highest number of unique year-over-year visitors, growing by 1.5 million. 
August2011PrivateWebTraffic4.jpg
Source: Compete.com retrieved week of October 3, 2011
1) The previous month recorded was July 2011
2) Truaxis was formerly BillShrink
4) Kasasa is powered by BancVue
5) Checkingfinder.com is powered by BancVue

Public Companies

  • Fiserv had the highest month-over-month percent growth, with 50% more visitors.
  • CheckFree had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, with over 5 times the number of visitors.
  • S1 also had a high percentage growth year-over-year, doubling its visitors.
August2011PublicWebTraffic5.jpg
Source: Compete.com retrieved the week of October 3, 2011
1) The previous month recorded was July 2011.
_______________________________________________________
Notes:
1. We reviewed 268 Finovate alumni. Only those with at least 10,000 unique visitors in July are listed. 
3. NM = Not measurable
4. t= Tie
5. Compete estimates online visitors based on the activity of a panel of more than 2 million U.S. Internet users. It is only an estimate of traffic and may undercount at-work usage.

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Finovate Alumni News– October 20, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Betterment, BillGuard, CheckFree, Expensify, Simple

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • FreeMoneyWisdom blog interviews Jon Stein, Betterment CEO.
  • Silicon India Startup blog lists Expensify as a good app for busy CEOs.
  • National Review Online holds BankSimple up to Richard Bronson’s new ethics initiative.
  • Bremer Bank to add CheckFree RXP from Fiserv.
  • Yaron Samid of BillGuard & Jon Stein of Betterment to show how their products help solve #occupywallstreet issues.
  • Check out Finovate Alumni Website Traffic in August.
  • mFoundry & SecondMarket Hit Deloitte’s 2011 Technology Fast 500 list.
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.

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mFoundry & SecondMarket Hit Deloitte’s 2011 Technology Fast 500 List

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Google, mFoundry, SecondMarket
This week, Deloitte announced the North America 2011 Technology Fast 500 winners. The list encompasses* multiple industries and ranks companies based on their 4-year revenue growth percentage (2006 to 2010).
Here are the Finovate Alumni listed in order:
Thumbnail image for SecondMarket.jpg


SecondMarket 

Rank: 84
Headquarters: New York, NY
Founded: 2004
mfoundry.jpg
Rank: 105
Headquarters: Sausalito, CA
Founded: 2004

Thumbnail image for Google.jpg

Rank: 425
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
Founded: 1998
To learn more about these companies, watch SecondMarket’s FinovateStartup 2009 demo, mFoundry’s FinovateFall 2010 demo, and Google’s FinovateFall 2011 demo.
—————————————————————————————————————————
*Methodology: In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company’s operating revenues. Companies must have base-year (2006) operating revenues of at least $50,000 USD or CD, and current-year (2010) operating revenues of at least $5 million USD or CD. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of five years, and be headquartered within North America.

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BillGuard Receives $10 Million in Series B Funding

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BillGuard

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for BillGuard.jpgYesterday, TechCrunch covered BillGuard’s new round of funding:

“Khosla led the round, a $10 million series B. Other investors include Founders Fund, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Bessemer, IA Ventures, Saul Klein, and Joe Lonsdale. The startup raised a $3 million series A in February, 2011.”
BillGuard seeks to use this funding to promote growth, support R&D efforts, and enhance business development and marketing efforts.
To learn more about BillGuard, watch its FinovateFall 2011 demo. 

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Finovate Alumni News– October 19, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BillGuard, BillShrink, Dwolla, Dynamics, InComm, PayPal, Prosper, Simple, T8 Webware
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMyBankTracker.com covers the FinovateFall Best of Show videos.
  • American Banker discusses the effects that PayPal and BankSimple will have on bank branches.
  • InComm named Leading Prepaid Organization and Best Prepaid Product Distributor at 2011 Prepaid Awards.
  • Dynamics wins Best of Show at 2011 BAI Retail Delivery Conference for its next-gen magnetic stripes.
  • Des Moines Register reports that Ben Milne, Dwolla CEO is to present at the Thinc Iowa event.
  • T8 Webware to provide Call FCU with a custom website.
  • A+FCU launches BillShrink: Statement Reward.
  • Prosper provides even better rate discounts for repeat Prosper borrowers.
  • BillGuard receives $10 Million in Series B funding.
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.

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Finovate Alumni News– October 18, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Betterment, BillFloat, BillGuard, CheckFree, Continuity Control, LearnVest, On Deck Capital, Plastyc, Prosper, SecondMarket, Simple, TSYS, Weemba
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTSYS signs payments agreement with Imperial Bank.
  • The Baltimore Sun mentions BillFloat & Prosper.com as two companies that are assisting cash-strapped consumers.
  • LearnVest launches LV Mom’s Newsletter & 2 new products: Baby On Board Bootcamp & LV Discussions.
  • Weemba gives small businesses simple, direct pipeline for raising financing pre-holiday season.
  • Morningstar recommends CheckFree to help control your bills by setting up automatic payments.
  • Continuity Control buys Compliance Services Group of Iowa & Kirschler Peterson & Associates of Atlanta.
  • Crain’s New York Business.com mentions BillGuard, BankSimple, Betterment, SecondMarket, On Deck Captial & Plastyc.
  • Jemstep launches out of beta to offer custom investment advice & guidance.
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.

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Jemstep Launches Out of Beta to Offer Custom Investment Advice & Guidance

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Jemstep

JemstepLogo.jpgJemstep launched an investment guidance and management service to the public today. The purpose of the free service is to help investors better control their financial future:

“Three years in development, the company’s patented investment evaluation technology analyzes more than 20,000 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to identify the best investment options based on each investor’s unique goals and preferences. Data-driven, unbiased and transparent, Jemstep’s recommendations enable investors to decide what to buy, what to sell and what to keep.”

Jemstep CEO Michael Blumenthal describes the new service as personalized, objective, and actionable.

To learn more about Jemstep, watch its FinovateSpring 2010 demo.

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Q2ebanking Partners with Unwired Nation to Expand Its Mobile Banking

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Q2ebanking

Q2ebankingLogo.jpgLast week, Austin-based Q2ebanking announced that it partnered with Unwired Nation, a company that provides mobile apps as a service.

“The enhanced offering is set to enable financial institutions to reach retail and business customers via multiple mobile channels and devices. Under terms of the agreement with Unwired Nation, Q2ebanking is to expand its ability to deliver mobile banking apps, making them available for both Android and iPhone users.”
Q2mobile, its ebanking platform, allows access to banking transactions at more than 300 financial institutions in the U.S.

To learn more about Q2ebanking, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News– October 17, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CarryQuote, ClairMail, Credit Karma, eToro, Geezeo, Lighter Capital, Prosper, Silver Tail Systems, T8 Webware, Tyfone
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgGCS Federal Credit Union selects Geezeo to provide PFM service.
  • eToro Blog increases number of daily posts.
  • T8 Webware presents Thinc Iowa Opening Party Oct. 20.
  • Clairmail wins BAI Mobile Pace Setter Award.
  • Silver Tail Systems is selected as a SINET 16 Innovator.
  • CarryQuote wins prestigious 2011 Bully Award.
  • Everything Finance Blog reviews Prosper.com.
  • Bank Innovation reports that Tyfone now allows banks to provide clients with mobile wallet solution.
  • Financial Edge lists the Credit Karma blog as 1 of 6 blogs to help you budget better.
  • T8 Webware signs 14 bank customers to its Grip Platform.
  • Lighter Capital CEO Andy Sack guest-posts about
    revenue-based financing on AVC blog.
  • Q2ebanking partners with Unwired Nation to expand
    its mobile banking.
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.

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