FinovateFall 2011 Best of Show Winners Named

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Wow, what a brilliant two days! Lots of new technology, creative twists on the state-of-the-art, and things that will someday be mainstream. As usual, at the end of each day the audience voted on their three favorite demos. Nine shiners were crowned Best of Show (see note for methodology).

FinovateFall 2011 Best of Show winners (in alphabetical order):

We’ll have videos of all 63 demos posted at Finovate as fast as possible (probably 2 weeks out). 

Thanks to everyone who participated. I know it’s a cliche, but we couldn’t have done it without you!

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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 as the day progressed and to choose just three favorites from the demos of that day. Ballots were turned in at the end of the last demo session each day.  
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. Note: Ballots with more than three companies circled will not be counted.”  
4. The nine companies (see #5) appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show. 
5. In general, we aim to highlight the top 10% of demos as Best of Show. In this case, we had a three-way tie for 7th place, so we ended up awarding 9.

Finovate Fall 2011 Best of Show Winners Named

Thumbnail image for Fall2011_BOS Logo.jpg

Wow, what a two days! Lot’s of brilliant new technology, creative twists on the state-of-the-art, and things that will someday be mainstream. As usual, at the end of each day the audience voted on their three favorite demos and nine ended up being crowned Best of Show (see note for methodology).

FinovateFall 2011 Best of Show winners (in alphabetical order):

We’ll have videos of all 63 demos posted at Finovate as fast as possible (probably 2 weeks out). 

Thanks to everyone who participated. I know it’s a cliche, but we couldn’t have done it without you!

——————————

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 as the day went on and choose 3 favorites from just the demos of that day. Ballots were turned in at the end of the last demo session each day. 
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. Note: Ballots with more than three companies circled will not be counted.” 
4. The nine companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show.

Bobber Interactive’s GoalCard Encourages Savings with a Social Twist

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This afternoon, Bobber Interactive demonstrated GoalCard, a financial tool for Generation Y:

“A cash management tool that simplifies daily spending, provides real-time budgeting, and incentivizes goal achievement. Cardholders engage in a highly interactive debit loyalty and cash-back rewards program grounded in their personal savings goals. GoalCard’s engagement engine and accelerated feedback loops drive a dynamic relationship across cardholder “save-spend” transaction activity. GoalCard is integrated within Facebook to amplify the social and viral user experience, publicly vesting cardholders in their own success. GoalCard’s platform deliberately reinforces behavior critical to a sustainable card program (viral acquisition, time to initial load, direct deposit, spending mix, dormancy response time, fraud profiling).”

Product Launched: September 2011 
HQ Location: Seattle, WA 
Company Founded: March 2010 
Metrics: $1M raised to date, 5 employees
Presenting Eric Eastman (CEO) & Nathan Affolter (Senior Software Developer)

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ReadyForZero Helps Reduce Bank Credit Losses By Working With Borrowers

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Next this afternoon is ReadyForZero, a startup that works with borrowers to help them pay down their debts:

“ReadyForZero’s online program reduces bank credit losses and lowers collection costs by helping average borrowers better understand, manage, and pay down their debts. By using real-time data about a person’s financial situation, ReadyForZero delivers personalized payment and behavioral recommendations that can immediately save people time and money while at the same time improving retention and reducing credit losses.”


Product Launched: October 2011 


HQ Location: San Francisco, CA 

Company Founded: May 2010 
Metrics: ReadyForZero has raised $4.7M in venture funding and has 6 employees. Active users are paying down debt twice as fast as others. ReadyForZero was founded by Rod Ebrahimi and Ignacio Thayer in the Summer of 2010 as part of Y Combinator. The site has received international media coverage since its debut 6 months ago and is helping its users pay down over $55M in credit card debt.
Presenting Rod Ebrahimi (co-founder & CEO) & Ignacio Thayer (co-founder & CTO)

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Offermatic’s Free Rebate Tool Generates Tailored Promotional Offers

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Today, Offermatic launched its Free Rebate tool:
“With Free Rebate, any merchant – small or large, online or offline – can offer compelling automatic rebates to its customers and grow sales at no cost. No integration is required and it is easy to set up: you can create your Free Rebate offer in less than 5 minutes.
This model enables merchants to get a great promotion to increase sales from current customers at no cost, while Offermatic gets new customers for its service.”

Product Launched: September 2011
HQ Location: San Mateo, CA
Company Founded: February 2010
Product Launched: September 2011
Metrics: Series A funding ($4.5M), 14 employees
Presenting Faisal Qureshi (founder & CEO) & Arnaud Collin (VP marketing & product management)

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IND Group Reinvents How Banks Can Communicate With Clients

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This afternoon, IND Group demonstrated how IND Internet Banking can change the way banks communicate with clients:

“Its “wow” innovation is a new online and mobile banking platform, which is reinventing the way a bank can communicate with its customers. Use of natural language, simplicity, usability and data visualization are the key differentiating factors. Easy-to-use main features include the account and transaction visualization, wizard-type money transfers and investments, zero-effort personal finance management, online sales engine and support center. 

Through IND’s use of iPhone and Android applications, mobile banking is more than just the extension of online banking features. We think the capabilities of the mobile should be fully used, like GPS location, camera, and the fact that it is always online.”

Product Launched: March 2011 

HQ Location: Stuttgart, Germany 
Company Founded: 1997 
Metrics: Number of employees: 180, Revenue: 10 million euro
Website: indgroup.eu
Presenting József Nyíri (CTO) & Roland Pecsenye (CEO)
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The Cool House of Financial Media’s eyeOpen Service Matches Consumer with Financial Products

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Next this afternoon, The Cool House of Financial Media showed off eyeOpen, a product that matches consumers with financial products:

“eyeOpen introduces matching technology in the financial world. The eyeOpen technology enables the business models of a free internet-based financial planner that lets users put information from several sources onto a single screen and then recommends suitable products. 

In order to get a match for a suitable mortgage, the consumer answers 13 simple questions. Based on his profile, he will be presented with the option that over 1,000 people like him have chosen, and also with 3 product choices based on what over 500 financial advisors would advise people like him. The algorithm behind this model crunches over 2 million data points per consumer and is based on extensive market research.”

Product Launched: June 2011
HQ Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Company Founded: December 2009 
Metrics: Money raised to date: credit line of €5 million, revenues: €400,000 in 2010, website traffic: 70,000 monthly
Website: chfm.nl
Presenting Diederick van Thiel (CEO) & Rosali Waleson (CCO)

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ActivePath & Cardlytics Team for Targeted Offers in eStatements

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Next up, ActivePath and Cardlytics did a joint demo of their eStatement delivery of merchant-funded targeted rewards:

“Offering bank customers an enhanced eStatement

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 experience using secure and interactive e-mail messaging to view, activate and otherwise interact with their targeted rewards with the full functionality found in electronic banking. Offers are embedded into relevant transactions using Cardlytics’ industry leading placement engine. Secure and interactive eStatement delivery is provided by ActivePath’s innovative ActiveMail solution.”

Product Launched: August 2011

HQ Location
  • ActivePath: New York, NY 
  • Cardlytics: Atlanta, GA 
Company Founded
  • ActivePath: 2007
  • Cardlytics: 2008  
Metrics
  • ActivePath: raised $6mm, 20 employees 
  • Cardlytics: raised $25mm, 80 employees, 70mm US households (Q1-12)
Website
Presenting Renan Levy (CEO, ActivePath), Jason Brooks (SVP Business Development, Cardlytics), & Denise Spell (Manager of Sales Engineering, ActivePath)

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Transparency Labs Condenses Fine Print Into Clear Content

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To begin the second set this afternoon, Transparency Labs demonstrated a tool that takes the headache out of reading the fine print:
“Imagine a day when you could easily understand your fine print and:
  • Buy a home and quickly decipher the Terms and Conditions of your mortgage
  • Know exactly what your insurance policy covers, with a click of a button 
  • Never have to lie again when you click “I have read, understand and agree to the Terms and Conditions” when visiting a website online
  • Save for retirement with confidence 
  • Know the true cost of your mobile phone plan, credit card, airline tickets and bank accounts
Transparency Labs works by: 
  • Aggregating thousands of pages of Terms and Conditions issued by America’s largest corporations and financial institutions
  • Analyzing the most widely used standard-form-contracts using an objective & empirical methodology
  • Cataloging over $100 billion in hidden fees and surcharges and millions of fine print data points
  • Tracking ongoing changes in fine print agreements”
Product Launched: September 2011
HQ Location: New York, NY & Los Angeles, CA 
Presenting David Hirsch (Founder) & Benjamin Texter (Vice President)

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Bundle.com Personalizes Recommendations Based on Demographics

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Finishing off this afternoon’s first set, Bundle.com demonstrated the ability to search for personalized recommendations, such as where to go for dinner:

“Bundle.com has recently launched the ability for people to personalize their search based on select demographic or behavioral profiles. So, for example, if you want to figure out where foodies are going to eat in Chelsea or where the 26-35 yrs people are shopping for clothes, it’s all available on Bundle.”


Product Launched: August 2011 


HQ Location: New York, NY 

Company Founded: June 2009 
Metrics: 1 million visits
Website: bundle.com
Presenting Jaidev Shergill (CEO) &  Phil Kim (CTO)

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DoughMain Offers Age-Relevant Financial Education Games

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Next this afternoon, DoughMain demonstrated a platform to help families keep their lives organized and learn good financial habits:

“The free DoughMain platform consists of a family calendar that is integrated with a chore tracker and an allowance/rewards tool. Parents set up their own customized DoughMain that serves as a secure micro-network for the family. On top of its family coordination platform, DoughMain offers financial education via three age-relevant game sites and integrated real-world financial experiences including a bank account and a Visa reloadable card.”

Product Launched: August 2011 

HQ Location: Princeton, NJ 
Company Founded: May 2010 
Metrics: $5M raised from angel investors, 7 FTE & 9 contractors
Website: doughmain.com
Presenting David Reim (CMO) & Ken Damato (Chief Executive)

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miiCard Creates Validated Online ID Card

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Later this afternoon, miiCard demonstrated an identity service that proves users are who they say they are:

“Simply put, we have a catalyst for change in miiCard – a user-centric federated identity that can truly change the way we transact online. A new proposition in the Electronic Identity and Verification (eID&V) market- place, miiCard, for the first time, offers the capability to establish online trust purely online and in real time. Whilst other identity providers and credit reference agencies validate informa- tion about someone – such as their address, credit rating and, more recently, some have introduced behavioral aspects such as questions about transaction history, miiCard validates that a customer is who they say they are. Equally important to the vendors, benefits to the consumer are:

      • Security and control of personal data 
      • Convenience, consistency and simplicity 
      • Trust between parties in a purely online environment

miiCard is a federated identity service, which means it sits between the consumer and the vendor (or other consumer) and provides a level of trust between parties. miiCard can support not only the UK but North America, Western Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand and soon South Africa.”

Product Launched: October 2010 

HQ Location: Edinburgh, United Kingdom 
Company Founded: 2010 
Metrics
: Seed funding raised, 5 employees
Website: miicard.com

Presenting James Varga (CEO)

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