Here at Finovate Headquarters, we’ve got three reasons for having a little extra skip in our steps today:
- First day of spring
- First day of March Madness Basketball Tournament
- First IPO of a Finovate alum
That alum is Q2, going public as Q2 Holdings this morning through an offering of 7.7 million shares of common stock at a price of $13 per share. The IPO is expected to raise more than $93 million, and Q2 will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol, QTWO.
As Q2 CEO Matt Flake said in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, “we’ve created a platform that allows community banks and regional financial institutions that don’t have the technological wherewithal to do it themselves (to compete).”
“Our companies are doing very well right now,” he said. “They just need better technology.”
Asked about the interface and user experience, Flake said:
“It’s a beautiful interface that allows you to get a common look and feel no matter what the device is. So if you’re on a mobile phone, a tablet or a desktop you’re going to have a consistent experience – just like with Netflix or Facebook.”
The Q2 IPO was the second significant fintech initial public offering of the week, following Paylocity’s successful launch on Wednesday. Offered at $13, the QTWO opened higher at $16.25 and traded as $17.38 before finishing its first day of trading just north of $15. The company now has a market capitalization of $533 million.
Q2 demoed as part of the FinovateSpring 2011 show, presenting its risk and fraud analytics technology. The company is based in Austin, Texas. Watch the company in action here.