HotDocs Integrates with Data Management Solutions Provider, AdvoLogix

HotDocs Integrates with Data Management Solutions Provider, AdvoLogix

Document automation specialist HotDocs has announced a new integration. The company has partnered with cloud-based legal data management solutions provider, Advologix, to combine its interview, assembly, and template services with Advologix’s data, workflows, and “best of breed document automation.” The result, according to Advologix VP of Product Development Steve Stockstill, is an “end-to-end cloud-based document assembly experience.”

HotDocs COO Steve Spratt said the partnership would lead to “greater efficiency and accuracy to the law firms and legal teams using the combined solution.” He pointed to the ease of integration, courtesy of HotDocs’ APIs, which will enable legal professionals to build documents automatically as part of their business workflow.

Pictured: HotDocs Chief Technology Officer Mark Settle demonstrating new enhancements to the HotDocs platform at FinovateSpring 2017.

HotDocs’ technology enables the automatic generation of documents ranging from standard correspondence to complex contracts such as trusts and wills. Deployed in verticals ranging from banking and insurance to legal and the public sector, HotDocs’ software reduces costs, improves accuracy and efficiency, encourages standardization, and is available on site, on the desktop, or as a cloud-based service. The technology can be used as a standalone solution or integrated into a company’s workflow, document management or case management systems.

During HotDocs’ demo this spring, Mark Settle and Julie Rotz presented the example of a document processor at a large global bank who produces financial agreements for bank customers. On a good day, Settle said, this processor could generate three or four of such agreements. “These agreements require a long and tedious process that ends only when everyone agrees that most of the errors are probably gone,” Settle explained, “and that the risk of a customer receiving a document with errors in it is low.” In contrast, HotDocs enables document processors to select from a variety of document templates and then rely on a dynamic questionaire (“interview”) to add the necessary elements. Using the processor’s answers and the business rules embedded in the template, HotDocs is able to generate an accurate, perfectly-formatted, Microsoft Word document “in just a fraction of the time” it takes to complete similar documents manually. Templates can be modified by the document processor to add business rules and logic. Settle showed this by adding a conditional region to the template that will include certain language in the output document if the individual reading the document responds in a certain way. Completed templates can be shared with colleagues via the HotDocs Hub.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Edinburgh, U.K., HotDocs demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2017. The company, which also maintains a U.S. office in Lindon, Utah, has more than a million end users across more than 11,000 client companies in more than 60 countries. In a very busy June, HotDocs teamed up with technology consulting and ECM solution provider, General Networks Corporation, enjoyed the “biggest and best global user conference” in its history, and appointed Mark Settle, who led the company’s FinovateSpring 2017 presentation earlier this year, to Chief Technology Officer. This spring, HotDocs was honored at the Digital Technology Awards, picking up Company of the Year and International Technology Star awards. Russell Shepherd is founder and CEO.

Blockchain Launches Ethereum Wallet

Blockchain Launches Ethereum Wallet

Digital currency wallet Blockchain has added ether to the list of currencies it supports. The London-based company, whose motto is Be Your Own Bank, announced this week that users will be able to create Ethereum wallets– meaning they can store, send, and receive ether.

The user interface of the wallet will remain the same, and the ether wallet mirrors the bitcoin interface. As a part of the new launch, Blockchain has partnered with ShapeShift to power a bitcoin-to-ethereum and ethereum-to-bitcoin exchange to help users diversify their digital currency holdings.

Founded in 2011, Blockchain has 15+ million wallets and has worked with its exchange partners to process 100+ million transactions in 140+ countries in 20+ currencies. The company considers its wallet more secure than competitors Coinbase and Kraken. That’s because, unlike the latter platforms which act as digital currency exchanges, Blockchain offers a wallet to simply store the funds and has no visibility into users’ wallets.

Blockchain presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014. The company has offices in London, New York, and Brazil and has $70 million, thanks in part to a $40 million Series B round raised in June. Peter Smith is CEO and co-founder.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • HotDocs Integrates with Data Management Solutions Provider, Advologix.

Around the web

  • iSignthis to gain from proposed bill to strengthen Australia’s AML laws.
  • Alkami Adds Adrianne Court as New Chief Human Resources Officer.
  • TransferWise brings its Borderless Accounts to Canada.
  • Quid unveils new platform redesign.
  • Cloud Lending Solutions launches upgrades to existing lending solutions; launches CL Portal.

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.

LendingRobot and NSR Invest to Form Biggest Robo Advisor in Marketplace Lending

LendingRobot and NSR Invest to Form Biggest Robo Advisor in Marketplace Lending

P2P lending robo advisor LendingRobot will join NSR Invest, creating what the company called in a statement “the largest independent robo advisor in the alternative lending space.” LendingRobot explained in its blog that the “websites, operating, and trading systems” of each platform will continue to function as usual for the time being as the companies prepare to combine the two businesses. Formally, the acquisition involves Lend Core, the parent company of NSR Invest, acquiring Algorithmic Inc. and its assets, which include LendingRobot.

The new entity is expected to bring a variety of new innovations to the P2P alternative lending space, and LendingRobot pointed to its Lending Robot Series Fund, as an example of the types of products customers will see more of in the future. As reported in LendAcademy, the combined company will have more than 8,000 clients and $150 million in assets under management. NSR Invest co-founder and CEO Bo Brustkern will serve as CEO, with LendingRobot CEO and co-founder Emmanuel Marot remaining as a special advisor.

“We have long respected the work of the LendingRobot team and recognize that our companies are pursuing a common goal,” Brustkern explained. He added that the combination of the two companies will deliver “enhanced capabilities to our combined client bases today, and big plans for the future.” Marot highlighted the fact that the two companies had “taken different tracts to provide similar services” and that the time had come to marry “complimentary strengths.”

LendingRobot provides investors with the opportunity to invest in P2P loans as an asset class. The company’s platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to spot loans with risk and return profiles that suit individual investor preferences. LendingRobot automates loan selection to ensure that investor portfolios remain diversified and can be configured to continually-invest sidelined cash. Alternative lending platforms accessible through LendingRobot include fellow Finovate alums, Lending Club and Prosper.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, LendingRobot demonstrated its LendingRobot Dashboard at FinovateSpring 2016. Prior to its acquisition by NSR Invest, the company had raised $3 million in funding from investors including Runa Capital and Club Italia Investimenti.

12 Alums Earn Their Place on Inc. 5000 List

12 Alums Earn Their Place on Inc. 5000 List

Inc. released its lists of the fastest-growing 5,000 private companies in the U.S. and Europe this week. Eight Finovate alums made the U.S. list and four earned spots on the Europe list. To qualify*, companies were required to be privately-owned and independent.

Inc. 5,000 U.S.

Overall in the U.S., financial services companies saw a 151% growth rate, while IT services experienced 112% growth, security 171% growth, and software grew 134%. Out of the 5,000 companies listed in 28 industries, here are the eight Finovate alums that earned their place on the list:

Alkami Technology

  • Rank: 176
  • 2016 revenue: $11.9 million
  • 3-year growth: 24x
  • Founded: 2009
  • Employees: 192
  • Ranked number 11 in top software companies, number 8 in top Dallas companies, and number 13 in top Texas companies.

Alkami debuted under the name iThryv at FinovateSpring 2009 in San Francisco.

nCino

  • Rank: 361
  • 2016 revenue: $26.1 million
  • 3-year growth: 12.2x
  • Founded: 2012
  • Employees: 273
  • Ranked number 24 in top software companies and number 10 in top North Carolina companies.

nCino debuted its bank operating system at FinovateEurope 2017 in London.

Tango Card

  • Rank: 373
  • 2016 revenue: $10.6 million
  • 3-year growth: 11.6x
  • Founded: 2009
  • Employees: 57
  • Ranked number six in top Seattle companies and number six in top Washington companies.

Tango Card debuted its Rewards as a Service API at FinovateFall 2016 in New York.

Kabbage

  • Rank: 449
  • 2016 revenue: $172 million
  • 3-year growth: 9.8x
  • Founded: 2009
  • Employees: 325
  • Ranked number 24 in top financial services companies, number 14 in top Atlanta companies, and number 16 in top Georgia companies.

At FinovateSpring 2015, Kabbage debuted the Kabbage Card. Kathryn Petralia, the company’s President, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, will be featured on our Digital Lending Summit panel on September 13. Register today to save your spot.

Lighter Capital

  • Rank: 634
  • 2016 revenue: $6.4 million
  • 3-year growth: 7.1x
  • Founded: 2010
  • Employees: 36
  • Ranked number 10 in top Seattle companies and number 11 in top Washington companies.

Lighter Capital debuted its Next-Generation Loan Analysis & Monitoring at FinovateFall 2013 in New York.

defi SOLUTIONS

  • Rank: 771
  • 2016 revenue: $11.4 million
  • 3-year growth: 5.9x
  • Founded: 2012
  • Employees: 59

defi SOLUTIONS showcased its loan origination solution at FinovateSpring 2014.

Cardlytics

  • Rank: 1069
  • 2016 revenue: $112.8 million
  • 3-year growth: 4x
  • Founded: 2008
  • Employees: 325

At FinovateFall 2013, Cardlytics showcased its geolocation application.

Payoneer

  • Rank: 1912
  • 2016 revenue: $100 million to $500 million
  • 3-year growth: 2x
  • Founded: 2005
  • Employees: 100 to 249
  • Is a five-time Inc. 5,000 honoree
  • Awarded as a Best Place to Work

Payoneer showcased its Commercial Account at FinovateAsia 2013.

Inc. 5,000 Europe

This is Inc’s third annual ranking of private companies in Europe, based on three-year revenue growth. In its analysis, Inc. ranked Paris, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, and London as the top five regions with the highest number of fastest growing companies in Europe. Four Finovate alums landed on Inc.’s Europe list this year:

True Potential

  • Rank: 900
  • 2015 revenue: $52.6 million (€44.9 million)
  • 3-year growth: 6.9x
  • Founded 2010
  • Employees: 29

True Potential demonstrated impulseSave at FinovateFall 2014

Zopa

  • Rank: 909
  • 2015 revenue: $32.9 million (€28.1 million)
  • 3-year growth: 6.9x
  • Founded: 2004
  • Employees: 111

Zopa showcased its P2P lending platform at FinovateSpring 2008.

Fidor Bank AG

  • Rank: 4413
  • 2015 revenue: $35.5 million (€30.3 million)
  • 3-year growth: 2x
  • Employees: 148

At FinovateEurope 2011, Fidor Bank demonstrated its Fidor Pay account.

Truphone

  • Rank: 4183
  • 2015 revenue: $42.9 million (€36.6 million)
  • 3-year growth: 2.9x
  • Founded: 2001
  • Employees: 522

Truphone showed off Truphone Mobile Recording at FinovateEurope 2014.


*Other qualifying criteria include

  • Have started earning revenue by March 31st, 2013
  • Had revenue no less than $100,000 in 2013
  • Had revenue no less than $2,000,000 in 2016
  • Revenue in 2016 exceeds revenue in 2013

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Adobe

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Adobe

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateFall on September 11 through 14 in New York. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

With the Adobe Experience CloudAdobe Solutions leverages artificial intelligence to instantaneously pinpoint specific user data and dynamically assemble personalized imagery to that individual.

Features

Dynamic personalization in real-time and at scale with:

  • Automated personalization
  • Screens
  • Facial Recognition

Why it’s a must-see
Late last year, we also launched Adobe Sensei, our artificial intelligence capability that spans across our content, document and digital marketing offering.


Presenter

Charles Sherman, Adobe Experience Cloud Evangelist
Sherman is Adobe’s Sr. Evangelist for the Adobe Experience Cloud. As a Marketing Cloud Evangelist, he works to drive product and industry knowledge deep into organizations.

 

Eric Matisoff, Analytics and Data Science Evangelist
Matisoff is the Analytics and Data Science Evangelist at Adobe with 10+ years of digital experience working with data and visualizations.

 

 

 


Check out more previews of upcoming FinovateFall presentations. Visit our registration page to save your spot. 

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: ebankIT

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: ebankIT

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateFall on September 11 through 14 in New York. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

ebankIT by Voice allows you to engage in a natural and intuitive way, providing an optimized and secure interface for all your banking solutions, using nothing but the sound of your voice.

Features

  • Accelerate omnichannel digital transformation, reducing costs
  • Integrate with next generation fintech and 3rd parties
  • Increase digital sales, future-proofing banks

Why it’s a must-see
Whatever the future is, ebankIT will be there to help you embrace change, supporting clients to accelerate their digital banking transformation.


Presenter

Diana Winstanley, Business Developer
Winstanley coordinated several projects on business analysis and international business development, with experience showcasing the latest technological innovations to financial institutions throughout the globe.
LinkedIn

 

Pete Atkinson, VP UK and Ireland
Currently Vice President UK and Ireland for omnichannel banking software provider ebankIT, Atkinson has spent much of his career operating at the convergent point of technology and consumers.
LinkedIn

 


Check out more previews of upcoming FinovateFall presentations. Visit our registration page to save your spot. 

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Zafin

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Zafin

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateFall on September 11 through 14 in New York. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Zafin’s enterprise banking platform spans across global and regional banks’ retail and commercial groups, managing dynamic multi-product offerings, real-time pricing and billing, loyalty, and analytics.

Features

  • Dynamic multi-product offerings in retail and corporate banking environments
  • Real-time pricing, billing and cash management
  • Fully-segmented analytics and loyalty platform

Why it’s a must-see
Zafin’s enterprise banking software is platform-agnostic, spanning various retail and corporate banks.


Presenter

Adam Nanjee, SVP, Digital Banking
Nanjee is Zafin’s SVP of Digital Banking. Prior, he built Canada’s largest fintech innovation hub, ran digital at Mastercard Canada’s digital payments group, and ran eComm for BlackBerry.
LinkedIn

 


Check out more previews of upcoming FinovateFall presentations. Visit our registration page to save your spot. 

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Layer

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Layer

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateFall on September 11 through 14 in New York. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Layer is a customer conversation platform enabling financial services companies and their clients to have immediate, interactive, and personalized experiences from any digital interface.

Features

Leverage messaging to:

  • Accelerate loan and application processes
  • Aggregate all channels of communication into one method to be compliant
  • Provide immediate and interactive customer service

Why it’s a must-see
Layer creates a branded, client communication experience to drive more sales, provide better support, and increase lifetime value.


Presenter

John Montgomery, Chief Operating Officer
Montgomery is a software executive with wide-ranging experience covering all functions required to take software from an idea through implementation. His focus is managing programs, operations, R&D, and customer experience.
LinkedIn

 

Bill Hu, Vice President of Sales
Hu is an experienced Vice President of Sales with a demonstrated history of working in the internet industry. He is a strong sales professional skilled in negotiation, sales, go-to-market strategy, and customer relationships.
LinkedIn

 


Check out more previews of upcoming FinovateFall presentations. Visit our registration page to save your spot. 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • 12 Alums Earn Their Place on Inc. 5000 List
  • LendingRobot and NSR Invest to Form Biggest Robo Advisor in Marketplace Lending

Around the web

  • Arxan Technologies takes home the bronze in 9th Annual 2017 Golden Bridge Awards for Innovation in Technology.
  • The American Genius profiles Checkbook.io.
  • TSYS enters agreement to become official payment processor of the National Golf Course Owners Association.
  • Tyfone joins JLR incubator to boost its involvement in the auto industry
  • Actiance announces general availability of Vantage 2017.

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.

Urban FT Bids to Acquire Digiliti Money [UPDATE: Bid Rejected]

Urban FT Bids to Acquire Digiliti Money [UPDATE: Bid Rejected]

Update: August 29, 2017

According to a press release issued this morning, Urban FT reports that its bid to acquire Digiliti Money has fallen through after Digitili rejected the offer. This occurred after Digitili proposed alternate terms to the contract, which Urban FT and its lawyers considered “unreasonable and unacceptable under the circumstances.” The rejected bid valued Digitili Money at $10.5 million on a net equity basis.

Kasey Kaplan, Urban FT president said, “We will leave our offer on the table for acceptance by Digiliti until close of business on August 31.” He added, “Placing Digiliti into bankruptcy, if that’s what the Board is considering,” continued Kaplan, “would be a great loss to all of those stakeholders and would truly disrupt so many organizations that rely on Digiliti’s services every day.”


Digital banking platform Urban FT is eyeing its second acquisition this summer. The New York-based company has made an all-cash offer of an undisclosed amount to buy Digiliti Money, which rebranded from Cachet Financial Solutions earlier this year.

It is no secret in the fintech community that Digiliti Money has undergone financial difficulty as of late. The company, which is publicly traded on the NASDAQ with a market cap of $2.2 million, saw its CEO resign earlier this month. Digiliti appointed interim CEO Bryan Meier, who said that the company is “reducing [its] cash burn to improve [its] bottom line performance, which [it is] demonstrating with the implementation of [its] recent cost-cutting initiatives intended to reduce [its] annual operating expenses by nearly $3 million.” In a statement on August 14, Digiliti made it clear that it is “actively reviewing strategic options to restructure the company, including the potential sale of the company or potentially filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.”

Despite Digiliti’s struggles, Urban FT believes the acquisition will be beneficial on both sides. Urban FT maintains it can help Digiliti reduce operating costs attributed to data expenditures and offer more value to the company’s client base with its robust mobile features. To Urban FT’s benefit, Digiliti has an appealing roster of client and strategic relationships. “We are looking to grow organically by expanding our base of users on our existing platform, which we think is exceptional, but we also want to grow acquisitively,” says Urban FT CEO Richard Steggall.

The move to buy Digiliti Money comes after Urban FT acquired mobile banking technology provider iParse in July and Wipit in 2015.  Urban FT COO Glen Fossella said the company is able to move quickly toward the acquisition “because of the support of the Urban FT board of directors and investors, and because [it has] a clearly defined acquisition strategy that focuses on businesses with strong client relationships, recurring revenues and technologies that deliver an additional competitive advantage to our core products and services.” He adds, “we hope Digiliti Money will match our speed and commitment to completing this transaction.”

At FinovateFall 2016, Urban FT debuted the Workshop, a real-time, mobile app management platform that enables banks to quickly configure, brand, and launch mobile banking apps without coding. The company was founded in 2013 and has 40 employees.

Digiliti Money demoed its Select Mobile Money prepaid suite at FinovateFall 2014 in New York. The company was founded in 2010 and went public July 18, 2014. It is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

KeyBank to Implement Jemstep Advisor Pro

KeyBank to Implement Jemstep Advisor Pro

When Jemstep was acquired by Invesco a year and a half ago, Invesco CEO Martin Flanagan highlighted the importance of combining technology and human insight to produce better investment outcomes for customers. Today’s news that Jemstep has partnered with KeyBank’s Key Investment Services (KIS), provides another opportunity for Invesco’s roboadvisor to prove Flanagan right.

Marc Vosen, Key Investment Services president, called Jemstep “a clear choice” for the firm, underscoring the company’s “proven, cost-effective platform” and integrations with a number of KeyBank partners. “And as a subsidiary of Invesco,” Vosen added, “I know they will be there tomorrow.” As part of the deal, Key Investment Services will deploy Jemstep Advisor Pro, a white-label, robo advisor that provides tiered investment services and advisor access levels to enable financial professionals to work with a variety of different customer segments. The platform guides investors toward appropriate investments by analyzing responses to a customizable risk tolerance survey, and provides both integrated trading and portfolio rebalancing.

Today’s partnership comes a month after Jemstep announced a deal with independent financial advisory firm network, Advisor Group. Phoenix, Arizona-based Advisor Group serves more than 5,000 advisors and oversees $160 billion in client assets. In February, Jemstep partnered with SSG in a deal that would give more than 1,500 RIA client firms access to its Advisor Pro platform. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Los Altos, California, Jemstep demonstrated its Portfolio Manager at FinovateSpring 2013. The company had raised $15 million in funding previous to its acquisition in January 2016.