Starting in 2017 former Microsoft executive Jeremy Korst will be the man driving the message at tax compliance innovator and FinDEVr alum, Avalara. The Seattle-based company announced this week that Korst will join Avalara as its new chief marketing officer and executive vice president. Coming onboard at what Korst called “an exciting inflection point” for the company, he praised Avalara’s “ideal combination (of) a terrific executive team; a cohesive, unique culture that embraces the ‘power of Orange;’ a proven platform; and a massive global market opportunity.”
Korst (pictured) arrives at Avalara after several years at Microsoft where he led planning and execution of the global launch of Windows 10. Previous to Microsoft, Korst served as vice president and general manager at T-Mobile, and senior product marketing manager at AT&T Wireless/Cingular. A member of the board of a number of companies including Shoelace Wireless and 9104 Studios, Korst is a mentor for Seattle-area technology accelerator, 9Mile Labs. He has a BA in Economics, Politics, and Government from the University of Puget Sound, and a MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
At Avalara, Korst will be responsible for brand, demand generation, as well as channel, international, product, and customer marketing. Avalara general manager and CRO Pascal Van Dooren said Korst’s experience in marketing “some of the most storied names in tech … make(s) him an ideal fit for Avalara.”
Avalara presented “The Wacky World of Sales Tax” at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015, explaining how its API makes it easy for developers to integrate transactional tax compliance into their applications. Last fall, Avalara announced an investment of $96 million that took its total capital to more than $300 million. In August, Avalara added a set of enhancements to its CertCapture management solution for compliance documents. And in June, in addition to unveiling a new integration with Stripe, the company was recognized at the American Business Awards.
Happy holidays everyone! The holiday spirit is everywhere, except it seems, at the big U.S. banks. I get that budgets are busted, employees on vacation, and you don’t want to offend anyone by mentioning (or NOT mentioning) Christmas. Still, how hard would it be to throw a couple non-denominational snowflakes on top of your logo and wish everyone a happy holiday? Or better yet, how about a little bonus, like the holiday skip-payment offer similar to that featured on 
can’t wait to join the team and to work with Manolo to extend the success story of BBVA Compass.” Genç will replace Manolo Sanchez, who became CEO of BBVA Compass in 2008 and will transition into a new role of non-executive chairman.
SigFig has partnered with multiple banks, including Wells Fargo, Pershing, and Citizens Bank
With Motif, uses invest in grouped stocks and ETFs that revolve around a common theme
TickerTags helps users discover trends even before they become news
leverage the model portfolios offered by the financial adviser. “Many advisers use very basic model portfolios,” says Tom McCosker, Polly Portfolio’s COO and CFO. “We built BCI to plug into model portfolios. Then customize around (their) model, using basic risk exposure, and then customize for taxes, headway assets, views on the economy, and so on.” The integration is API-driven, so there is no need for full stack integration.
CEO Mike Gardner and Account Exec Andrew Grocholski demoed Agreement Express at FinovateFall 2016
After his presentation at FinovateFall, we conducted an interview with Mike Gardner, Agreement Express CEO, to gather more information about the company and its future plans.
Agreement Express document management screen
Agreement Express adviser workspace
