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Eight Finovate Alums Join Plug and Play Accelerator’s 2017 Fintech Class

Eight Finovate Alums Join Plug and Play Accelerator’s 2017 Fintech Class
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Capitali.se, Eltropy, HEDG, Hedgeable, Neener Analytics, Qumram, TrueLink Financial, Voleo

Accelerator and global innovation platform Plug and Play revealed its incoming Fall 2017 class this week. And within Plug and Play’s Fintech cohort of 24 startups, eight companies are Finovate alums, including three Best of Show winners.

  • Capitali.se
    • Founded in 2014
    • Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel
    • Shahar Rabin is CEO and co-founder
    • FinovateSpring 2017 demo – Best of Show
  • Eltropy
    • Founded in 2013
    • Headquartered in Milpitas, California
    • Ashish Garg is CEO and founder
    • FinovateSpring 2017 demo
  • HEDG
    • Founded in 2016
    • Headquartered in San Francisco, California
    • Bob Rutherford is CEO and founder
    • FinovateSpring 2017 demo
  • Hedgeable
    • Founded in 2016
    • Headquartered in New York, New York
    • Matthew Kane is Chief Ninja and co-founder
    • FinovateSpring 2017 demo – Best of Show
  • Neener Analytics
    • Founded in 2014
    • Headquartered in San Jose, California
    • Jeff LoCastro is CEO and founder
    • FinovateSpring 2017 demo – Best of Show
  • Qumram
    • Founded in 2011
    • Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland
    • Patrick Barnert is CEO
    • FinovateFall 2016 demo
  • True Link Financial
    • Founded in 2013
    • Headquartered in San Francisco, California
    • Kai Stinchcombe is CEO
    • FinovateSpring 2014 demo
  • Voleo
    • Founded in 2015
    • Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Thomas Beattie is CEO
    • FinovateSpring 2017 demo

Fintech is one of six programs run by Plug and Play (the others are Brand & Retail, Energy & Sustainability, Food & Beverage, New Materials & Packaging, and Supply Chain & Logistics). A total of 101 startups across all six programs were selected from an applicant pool of 2,800. The fall program lasts 12 weeks, ending at the Plug and Play Fall Summit in late October, and will provide startups with access to “world-class mentors, tier one VCs, and C-level executives to propel their businesses to success,” said Principal of Plug and Play Ventures, George Damouny. Opportunities for investment are also a feature of the program. “As an investment group,” Damouny added, “we will have a lot of fantastic investment opportunities, and I’m super excited to be working closely with these startups.”

Joining our eight alums in the fall 2017 Fintech cohort are:

  • Blockdaemon
  • Bouxtie
  • CreditStacks
  • HEXANIKA
  • Income&
  • Keyo
  • Koyfin
  • Synswap
  • LifeSite
  • MIRACL
  • Squirro
  • Novo
  • Qanta
  • Responsive AI
  • Scanovate
  • Tomorrow Ideas, Inc.

“Together, with our team members and community, Plug and Play’s goal is to showcase the startups to at least 30 corporate partners and 30 investors per vertical in the next 100 days,” Plug and Play CEO and founder Saeed Amidi said. More than half the companies in the Fall 2017 class are in the seed stage (57%), with 25% early stage, and 18% growth stage. Additionally, more than a fourth of the Fall 2017 startups are from outside of the United States, including companies from Hong Kong, Ghana, and Switzerland.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play has made more than 500 investments in more than 400 companies since inception. The accelerator provides mentorship, co-working space, and opportunities for investment for both seed and more developed companies. Plug and Play’s sizable list of partners includes financial institutions and financial services firms such as USAA, Credit Suisse, Cathay Financial and US Bank. In addition to FinDEVr alums Google Cloud Platform (FD16) and Plaid (FD14), Plug and Play’s data partners include IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Medici, Dun & Bradstreet, Morningstar, and AWS Activate. Graduates of the Plug and Play accelerator include Finovate alums Dwolla (FS15), Lending Club (FS09), PayPal (FE12), and Trulioo (FF16).

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True Link Financial Lands $3.6 Million Investment

True Link Financial Lands $3.6 Million Investment
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, TrueLink Financial

truelink_homepage_november2016

With an investment of $3.6 million, True Link Financial has more than doubled its total capital, which now stands at more than $7 million in combined equity and debt financing. The company’s latest investment comes courtesy of a quartet of investors: Kapor Capital, Initialized Capital, Symmetrical Ventures, and the Ziegler Link-Age Longevity Fund.

While much of the fintech world remains mesmerized by the millennial market, True Link Financial CEO and co-founder Kai Stinchcombe believes that baby boomers—and increasingly genX-ers—are where it’s at. “We think seniors are the most exciting market in financial services today,” Stinchcombe said. “Half of the wealth in the U.S. is owned by people 59 years and over, and as baby boomers retire, the tidal wave is only growing.”

truelink_stage_fs2014

Fom left: Kai Stinchcombe, CEO, and Claire McDonnell, COO, demonstrating the True Link Card at FinovateSpring 2014.

True Link Financial said that the funding will help the company’s sales and marketing in support of its key products; namely, the True Link Card and a suite of solutions to help administrators manage trusts and benefit eligibility. The additional capital will also help the company as it launches its new online advisory service, True Link Financial Advisors, which emerged from private beta this week after spending the past year serving “several hundred” of the company’s existing customers.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, True Link Financial demonstrated its True Link Card at FinovateSpring 2014. The company provides a variety of financial planning and management services, specializing in retirees, including both free online portfolio planning and construction as well as fee-based, ongoing advisory services. True Link provides a hybrid investment planning solution, combining online planning technology and customized investment plans with human advisors to give clients the best of both worlds in terms of convenience and support.

“We want our customers to feel confident that investment decisions are always made in their best interest,” the True Link CEO said. Saying that “trust” is often the missing ingredient in the relationships between financial services companies and their customers, Stinchcombe added that True Link advisers do not work on commission and do not sell proprietary products. “Our broad-based approach is delivered for one simple, transparent fee,” he said.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Backbase, CoverHound, Envestnet, Misys, OurCrowd, Thinknum, TrueLink Financial, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • Envestnet | Yodlee to Support Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Business.
  • True Link Financial Lands $3.6 Million Investment.

Around the web

  • Backbase to power commercial banking platform for Metro Bank.
  • Crowdfund Insider features OurCrowd’s Jon Medved.
  • CNBC interviews Thinknum co-founder Justin Zhen.
  • Coverhound announces new partnership with pay-per-mile auto insurance innovator, Metromile.

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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$680 Million Raised by 29 Alums in Q1 2015

$680 Million Raised by 29 Alums in Q1 2015
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Advanced Merchant Payments, AdviceGames, Aire, App Annie, Ayasdi, Betterment, Bill.com, BlueVine, Bolstr, Coinbase, CoverHound, Finsphere, Funding, Fundings, Global Debt Registry, Kofax, LendingRobot, Lendio, Linkable Networks, Micronotes, Motif Investing, peerTransfer, Pindrop Security, Q2, Ripple, SimplyTapp, Spreedly, Taulia, TransferWise, TrueLink Financial, Xero

cartoonmoneystackThe biggest surprise in our look at first-quarter funding is that the $677 million amassed by 29 Finovate alums was more than 20% of the $3.2 billion invested in the entire worldwide fintech sector.

The $677 million raised was $85 million (+14%) above the same quarter a year ago, and more than triple the first quarter of 2013.

Q1 2015 was also $133 million above the $544 million mark set in the fourth quarter of 2014.

It will be worth watching to see if this record-setting first quarter for Finovate alum fundraising will be a sign of more great things to come for capital-raising in 2015.

Top 10 Overall Investments

  1. Xero: $111 million in February
  2. Coinbase: $75 million in January
  3. Betterment: $60 million in February
  4. TransferWise: $58 million in January
  5. App Annie: $55 million in January
  6. Ayasdi: $55 million in March
  7. Motif Investing: $40 million in January
  8. Ripple Labs: $30 million in January
  9. Bill.com: $50 million in February
  10. Pindrop Security: $35 in February

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q1 2015: More than $676 million raised by 29 alums
  • Q4 2014: More than $544 million raised by 25 alums
  • Q1 2014: More than $600 million raised by 8 alums
  • Q1 2013: More than $155 million raised by 14 alums

January: More than $275 million raised by 14 alums

February: More than $264 million raised by 8 alums

March: More than $136 million raised by 7 alums

If you are an alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2015, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.

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Alumni News– January 21, 2015

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Akimbo Financial, AlphaPoint, Arroweye Solutions, Avoka, Azimo, BrightScope, Coinbase, CustomerXPs, Encap, EZBOB, iBillionaire, InComm, investUP, Kreditech, Malauzai Software, Mitek, Nostrum Group, On Deck Capital, PayPal, Roostify, StreetShares, TIO Networks, Tradeshift, TrueLink Financial, Wall Street Survivor, Yodlee
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgYour Personal Financial Mentor profiles EZBOB.
  • BrightScope releases AdviceMatch, a free online service to help consumer choose financial advisors.
  • OnDeck Marketplace emerges from pilot program. Platform helps institutional investors buy small business loans.
  • Venture Burn takes a look at Azimo and the West African remittance market.
  • Kreditech named Germany’s leading digital innovator of the year by Focus Magazine.
  • Arroweye Solutions CEO Render Dahiya urges issuers on EMV adoption.
  • Check out FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 3.
  • Coinbase Raises $75 Million from BBVA, USAA, NYSE, & Others.
  • Millennial-focused BankMobile app is powered by Malauzai Software and uses Mitek to power mobile customer on-boarding.
  • Roostify describes its experience with Yodlee’s FinDat Disruptor program.
  • PayPal to use InComm to support PayPal’s digital gifts services in Canada.
  • Yale Undergraduate selects Wall Street Survivor to help students understand investing and personal finance. 
  • Technical.ly/ Baltimore looks at how TIO Networks powers Baltimore’s online bill pay system.
  • Tradeshift wins Circular Economy Digital Disruptor Award held at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
  • CustomerXPs and EY, a tax advisory firm, partner to help companies deal with fraud.
  • iBillionaire updates mobile app & releases new High Dividend Index.
  • Payment Data Systems to acquire Akimbo for $3 million.
  • Be sure to check out FinovateEurope Sneak Peek #2 featuring AlphaPoint, Avoka, Encap Security, investUP, Nostrum Group, and StreetShares.
  • True Link Raises $3 Million in Round Led by Cambia Health Solutions.
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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Alumni News– August 13, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Coinbase, Diebiold, FutureAdvisor, Holvi, Leaf, Lending Club, LendUp, Pandai, peerTransfer, planwise, ReadyForZero, Silanis Technology, SmartAsset, TrueLink Financial, TrustEgg, WePay, Xero, ZenPayroll
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgNetbanker features 2012- 2013 fintech graduates from Y Combinator:  TrueLink Financial, Coinbase, and LendUp.
  • Netbanker features 2009- 2012 fintech graduates from Y Combinator: ZenPayroll, SmartAsset, TrustEgg, FutureAdvisor, ReadyForZero, and WePay.
  • American Banker considers how Diebold is leading the way on the branch of the future.
  • peerTransfer surpasses 500 clients, while processing over $1 billion in international payments.
  • Heartland Payment Systems buys out remaining shareholders of tablet software and hardware startup, Leaf.
  • ACI Worldwide announces completion of ReD acquisition.
  • Lending Club mentioned in HBR Blog’s look at how new lending technology can help small businesses.
  • Silanis Technology partners with loan management software specialist Calyx Software. See Silanis at FinovateFall 2014 in September.
  • planwise teams up with Informa Research Services to launch plug-and-play search tool of real estate agents and brokerages.
  • NextAdvisor column in HuffPo highlights LendUp as alternative loan option for the underbanked.
  • Pandai announces joint cooperation with China and Hollard to leverage their experience in the loan insurance market.
  • Xero and Square partner to sync Square transactions and give a business a view of their finances. See Xero present at FinDEVr. 
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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FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avoka, Coinbase, CUneXus Solutions, FinovateSpring 2014, FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek, OnBudget, Spreedly, Sureify, TrueLink Financial, WePay

Thumbnail image for FinovateSpring2014ButtonLogo.jpg

Welcome to the finale of our FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek series. If you’re just joining us, then you might want to check out the previous five installments of our Sneak Peek (see below). There’s no better way to get to know the entrepreneurs and innovators who will be demoing on the Finovate stage on April 29 and 30 in San Jose.

You can find out more about our upcoming event – including our new location and locale – on our FinovateSpring 2014 page here.

Today we wrap up the series with eight more companies, starting with transaction management specialist Avoka and ending with WePay, an innovator in risk analysis for merchants, crowdfunders, and software makers. In between, we’ll talk security and digital currencies, alternative lending and credit decisioning, credit card vaults and Insurance Buying 3.0.

Enjoy!
Avoka_lo_res_logo
Avoka TransactWEB – an Omni-Channel 2.0 customer transaction experience form the leaders in SmartForm & Transaction Management.
Features:
  • Omni-Channel 2.0 – Seamless crossover between channels in a single transaction
  • Integration with ID verification and signature services for maximum convenience
  • All delivered without programming
Why it’s great:
Avoka TransactWEB delivers an Omni-Channel 2.0 experience for account opening, loan origination, etc. without programming.
Presenters:
Phil Copeland, CEO and Co-Founder
Phil is responsible for the company’s business strategy and worldwide operations.
Jeff Kalicki, Account Manager
Jeff is comfortable presenting technology to all levels of business, as well as leading architecture discussions.
Coinbase_lo_res_logo

Coinbase is a bitcoin wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact with the new digital currency bitcoin.
Features:
  • The ability to debit customers for a more convenient checkout experience
  • The ability to set individualized merchant permission controls via API keys
  • The ability to use recurring billing
Why it’s great:
Coinbase offers innovative tools that allow merchants to accept bitcoin payments easily and securely.
Presenters:
Roger Gu, Business Development Manager
Roger leads payment partnerships at Coinbase. He previously worked in Strategy and Development at Visa and in Investment Banking at Marcum Cronus. Roger holds an A.B. in Economics from Princeton.
Nahid Samsami, Business Development Manager
Nahid previously worked as a senior product manager at Playdom, acquired by Disney Interactive. She began her career at Bain and Company and holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University.
CUneXus_Solutions_lo_res_logo

CUneXus’ unique lending platform integrates at all digital and physical touch points, delivering an omnichannel borrowing experience, proven to significantly increase loan volume and reduce acquisition cost.
Features:
  • Customers can easily access loans anytime, anywhere – with no loan application
  • Lenders enjoy increased product penetration, loan volume, and ROI
  • Simple integration with online and mobile banking
Why it’s great:
CUneXus helps lenders drive substantial loan volume, by providing customers a refreshingly simple on-demand borrowing experience across traditional, online, and mobile banking channels.
Presenters:
Dave Buerger, Co-Founder and President
Dave is a finance and marketing visionary who has been recognized by CUNA and CUES for award-winning strategies that have yielded record loan volumes and response rates.
Darin Chong, Co-Founder
Darin is an expert strategist and has been instrumental in the development of the company’s Comprehensive Pre-Screened Lending (CPL) strategy.
OnBudget_lo_res_logo

OnBudget develops PFM tools, Mobile Apps, and Bank Companion Cards that give banked consumers simple budgeting tools and banks a profitable way to monetize them.
Features:
  • Uniquely profitable prepaid product simplifies banked consumers’ budgeting needs
  • Auto learns users’ spending habits, suggests budgets
  • Analyzes spending trends, offers insights/savings opps to help users stay on track
Why it’s great:
OnBudget’s intuitive and interactive solution delights banked consumers by simplifying their budgets. It’s a bank companion card that provides real consumer value at no cost to the consumer.
Presenter:
Jim Collas, President and CEO
Jim is a personal computing pioneer with nearly 30 years of senior exec
utive experience in computers, prepaid cards, and consumer markets. He is a successful entrepreneur and visionary leader.
Spreedly_lo_res_logo
Spreedly is the independent credit card vault that works with any PCI end point API. We provide all the benefits of tokenization without gateway lock-in.
Features:
  • Quickly extend your business to non-gateway end point APS’s (hotel, ticketing, transportation, restaurants)
  • Automatically update lost/expired cards
  • One integration, 60+ gateways, 70+ countries
Why it’s great:
Spreedly gives you all the flexibility of having your own credit card vault without the headache of PCI compliance or building your own integrations.
Presenter:
Justin Benson, CEO
Justin specializes in scaling startups from concept to IPO/acquisition. He’s experienced in driving direct revenue and leveraging partnerships to achieve double-digit SaaS revenue growth.
Sureify_lo_res_logo
Sureify educates consumers on their life insurance options, helps them build a plan that’s right for them, and take the next steps to get covered.
Features:
  • Learn about life insurance from simple text, visuals, & videos
  • Unbiased, third-party source for life insurance education
  • Define needs and build the right plan for you quickly
Why it’s great:
Sureify is the only unbiased, third-party source for life insurance education online.
Presenters:
Dustin Yoder, VP of Business Development
Dustin leads strategy, product and business development. Loves talking with our customers, prospecting all possible channels, and relationship building in every part of our business.
Chris Cichon, Marketing
Chris drives marketing and customer experiences. Loves digital marketing and growth hacking; dabbles in front-end web development.
True_Link_Financial_lo_res_logo
True Link protects vulnerable seniors from predatory marketing and fraud.
Features:
  • Seniors are victims of $100bn/year in scams
  • Seniors are the largest, fastest growing market in the U.S.
  • True Link is the killer app for the 43 million people caring for their aging parents.
Why it’s great:
Everyone deserves a safe way to spend their money without having to worry about scams, fraud or spending mishaps.
Presenter:
Kai Stinchcombe, Founder and CEO
Kai is a data scientist and entrepreneur who created the True Link Prepaid Visa Card after discovering that his grandmother was the victim of several credit card frauds.
WePay_lo_res_logo
WePay enables marketplaces, crowdfunding sites, and business software makers to offer payment services to their customers without worry about risk or loss.
Features:
  • WePay’s Veda risk engine leverages big data to make better decisions
  • WePay’s Innovative Risk API collects risk data from platform partners
  • Veda analyzes social footprint to verify users
Why it’s great:
Through its proprietary Veda social risk engine, WePay gives platforms a flexible payment API that provides a great user experience while still taking on all their fraud risk and compliance burdens.
Presenter:
John Canfield, VP Risk Management
John leads all our risk strategy, processes and tactics at WePay. He holds a Masters and Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and an MBA from Stanford.

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