Showing posts with label fintech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fintech. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Musings of a Finovate Virgin


They say you always remember your first time. 


After years of being built up by a great amount of hyperbole, including being dubbed The Disneyland of Fintech™ by my friend Brad Leimer, I finally decided to experience Finovate for myself a couple weeks ago in San Francisco. Similar to many 'first times' in my life, my experience expended a lot of energy, ended too quickly, but definitely did not disappoint.



To those not familiar with Finovate, the event is a fast-paced showcase of financial technology vendors, who have only seven minutes to provide a live demo of their solution (Powerpoint not allowed). It’s produced by Online Financial Innovations, the people behind the excellent NetBanker blog.

Taking place several times a year across the globe, FinovateSpring included 72 demos in front of a record crowd of over 1300 bankers, investors, media and bloggers like me. (Video archives of this year's presentations are available here)

As opposed to focusing on only a few themes, Finovate has something for everyone. This Spring's event covered some familiar themes that would be expected (Mobile, Payments, etc.) as well as some newer themes that sparked conversation, debate and maybe even a bit of fear among traditional bankers (P2P Payments, P2P Lending, Virtual Currency, etc.). 

My Takeaways


Overall Impression: Bordering on sensory overload, Finovate should be on every financial marketers bucket list. While many of us spend countless hours dealing with some rather mundane challenges at times (compliance and other internal battles), it is refreshing to know that innovation is alive and well in financial services. It was difficult to keep up with the presentations at times since there is no apparent logic to the order of presenters, but I quickly realized the value of the live blogs and recaps from Finovate, Bank Innovation, PaymentsViews, the William Mills Agency, and others.


What Was Hot: In an industry quickly moving to the mobile platform, but impacted by security and privacy breaches, it was not surprising to see an abundance of mobile authentication and security solutions. Almost 20% of the 72 presentations at FinovateSpring were focused on security and/or authentication of mobile or merchant transactions. These solutions included:

      • EyeVerify: Uses camera on smartphone to match 'eye prints'
      • Usher from Microstrategy: Uses QR code for single use identity
      • AuthenticID: Uses private data sources (not public records) to verify user
      • OneID: Secure digital identity without usernames or passwords (two factor authentication)
      • Internet Biometric Security Systems (IBSS): Four-factor authentication tool including voice and face
      • TrustedKnight: Software that protects all browser entered data from malware
      • Sygnifyd: Automates validation of card-not-present transaction with guarantee 
      • Encap: Two or three factor authentication including mobile device, PIN and keypad biometrics
      • Kofax: Image-based authentication using traditional IDs at time of account opening
      • Curaxian: Helps merchants quickly spot fraudulent transactions
      • Arxan: Protects mobile apps in a way that was described in a way too technical way for Finovate audience
      • ValidSoft: Uses voice biometrics and other tools to authenticate wallet transaction

What Also Was Hot: While not all are ready for prime time, there were several P2P and crowdfunding solutions presented. Realty Mogul aims to create a marketplace for investors to pool funds for investments in commercial real estate. P2B Investor, which definitely had the best tag line at the show ("I want to fund your brains out"), arranges for online investors to extend small businesses a line of credit on the basis of their receivables.

In addition, there were some interesting solutions for the wealth management sector, with a focus on better reporting and improving the client/advisor relationships. Examples of these solutions included: 



What Was Not: Unlike previous Finovate conferences, this Spring's event had a relatively minor number of mobile wallet and rewards platform presentations. There was also much less mention of 'big data' than I expected (thankfully) and virtually no mention of near field communication (NFC).

The Venue: While having visited San Francisco many times, I had never visited the Concourse Exhibition Center. Perfect sized for this event, the elongated shape with multiple levels allowed for 'booth' displays, presentations and food service to flow easily as needed. Unlike many events I attend, the team from Finovate went out of their way to provide ample electricity, uninterrupted WiFi and a number of big screens so that all in attendance didn't miss a thing.

The Format: Bordering on sensory overload, attendees can't let their guard down as the presentations are face-paced and rapid fire coming from two stages to avoid any down time until scheduled breaks. Imagine trying to tell what makes your company special in seven minutes using a demo format as opposed to Powerpoint slides. Jumping from a mobile solution to digital authentication to a crowdfunding platform can be tough to follow if you're not paying attention. As a result, it appeared that everyone was in their seat before each session started and that nobody left until the session was completed.

The Presentation Style: I realized very quickly that if the presenting company didn't discuss the 'why' of their solution before the 'how', they could quickly lose the audience (even in a seven minute demo). In addition, while a bit of humor is rewarded by higher scores, not providing a business case for the solution hurt when the attendees cast their votes. Finally, while the audience definitely was tech-savvy, that didn't mean that the presentation should be tech-heavy. When in doubt, show the user interface as opposed to the back office operations.

Audience Engagement: Maybe I am biased since I am a rather heavy user of Twitter, but I have always wondered why participants in banking conferences don't use this tool to interact, post opinions, etc. This is definitely not the case at Finovate. The audience was not shy to interact with each other (and the presenter) by raising questions, providing support, evaluating the solution, and at times critiquing the presentation. The tweets were not always positive in nature, but it added to the engagement level of the 1300 in attendance.







Finovate Audience Hijacking: In the middle of day two, the Google's annual developer's conference 'hijacked' the Twitter conversation at Finovate, by announcing a new payment option using Gmail. For the next two hours, as details emerged, the Finovate audience provided perspectives on the new solution.



The Power of Networking: While the format of the event certainly is set up for the networking between vendors and banks/investors, the most robust discussions at the event seemed to take place between attendees at breaks, meals, scheduled cocktail hours and after hour events. For many, it seemed to be a twice-a-year meet-up among fintech followers who love to share their thoughts of the show and their takes on innovations that are taking place outside the Finovate walls.

Thanks to several of the friendships I have created over the years who attended FinovateSpring and made my maiden voyage a success.

My Criteria for 'Best of Show': While I have no idea about the vote count, I got 4 out of the 5 'best of show' winners correct based on the following personal criteria:
      • Quality of presentation: Illustrated why their solution had value in a clear style
      • Market need: Did the solution meet a scalable market demand
      • Market ready: Could the solution be rolled out today
      • Evolution vs. Revolution: Is the solution really different
      • 7 minute tweet factor: Volume of positive tweets during the presentation
      • Floor 'buzz': Was there a positive impression beyond the 7 minute presentation
      • Booth traffic: Did attendees want to see more
The Winners: While it was obvious that all 72 presenters put everything they had into their demos at FinovateSpring 2013, the winners really did stand out from the rest in various ways as listed above. It was pretty amazing to see virtually all of the 1300 in attendance who didn't have early planes to catch waiting to see if their favorite would win. When announced, each winner got significantly more than just a round of applause, with many getting very loud (and well deserved) ovations.

The winners in alphabetical order (with their winning 7 minute video presentations) were:
      • FamZoo: Moving beyond a virtual family bank account with educational tools to include a family set of prepaid cards with limits and tools for refunding. The team from FamZoo had one of the longest lines at their booth and had a great deal of positive buzz during and after their presentation.
      • LendUp: Combining gamification with a better alternative to payday loans that will help the underbanked build credit. This was a very unique solution to a problem many FIs are trying to address.
      • MoneyDesktop: A three time Finovate winner, MoneyDesktop wowed the audience by going beyond their highly popular PFM solution to introduce a marketing solution that would leverage the same PFM insight for a powerful targeting and communication tool for financial marketers. Probably because of my marketing background, this was my favorite solution at the show.
      • PayNearMe: With by far the most unique presentation style (think human powerpoint), this solution takes P2P to a new level by allowing for cash payments at convenient retail locations.
      • TipRanks: As described above, this is an independent evaluator of 'buy' recommendations that allows users to determine how accurate tips have been in the past to predict future performance.


While not everything I do once is worth repeating, Finovate is definitely habit forming and worth many more visits. It is one of the best run events in the financial services space and, for the most part, the presenters did an amazing job. 

Living up to the moniker, 'The Disneyland of Fintech', Finovate captures the imagination and overwhelms you with sights and sounds not felt elsewhere. Everyone around you looks like they are having a great time, and you leave the event totally exhausted (in a good way).

Probably the most exciting part of this amazing show is that 80% of the participants change with each event, allowing for a totally unique experience each time you participate. And even if you are not a creator or avid follower of financial service innovations, it is great to network with those who are.

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Friday, October 18, 2013

Ten Tips To Doing Finovate Like A Pro

I just returned from my second Finovate event in New York City and I realized that, despite being warned, I was totally unprepared for what was going to transpire when I went to my first event last Spring in San Francisco. As a result, I didn't experience the full benefit of the event.


For Finovate Fall, however, I was much more prepared for the onslaught of great ideas, interactions and multi-sensory experiences that are legend at Finovate.


While the next U.S. event is more than 6 months away (there are upcoming events in Asia and London), I thought I would share my survival tips for anyone lucky enough to attend Finovate.

  1. Arrive Early: Unlike other conferences where the attendees are divided into several rooms for breakout sessions, the entirety of Finovate takes place in one big hall. Even if the crowd is divided into different viewing venues (which occurred at FinovateFall), it pays to be early, since the best viewing locations (and close accessibility to outlets) go fast. While Finovate goes out of its way to ensure the free Wifi and electricity access is widely available, it's impossible to support 600, 1,100 or 1,400 people equally.
  2. Get Connected: If you have an iOS or Android device, download the free Finovate app to better understand the event, learn about the companies doing demos, rate the presentations and to capture your notes during the program. I have yet to see a mobile event app that is so well developed. Also, sign-up for FinovateConnect so that you can set up meetings or simply communicate with other attendees.
  3. Develop a Game Plan: To optimize your experience, download the program guide and keep abreast of updates and demo descriptions on the Finovate.com site beginning weeks before the event. Determine which innovations appeal to you and decide who you want to meet with before arriving. As with anything in life, if you have a plan, everything goes smoother.
  4. Come Well Rested: The demos always start on time and they come at you at a pace that's hard to get used to. With dual podiums, a new demo comes at you non-stop every seven minutes until a break (usually after 7-8 presentations). With global presentations, some accents may be difficult to understand and some presenters try to give a 30 minute demo in 7 minutes . . . so it helps to stay alert.
  5. Network: While Finovate is known as an innovation demo event, it may even be a better financial service innovation networking event. Not only do you have several 30-45 minute breaks between demo sets to mingle with other bankers, providers and media, there is a ramped up version of networking done after the show each day. My suggestion is to arrive the night before the event begins and stay the evening after the event because some of the best interaction occurs during the evening.
  6. Bring Your Devices: Bring your computer, tablet and phone to the event. Finovate provides adequate power sources throughout the hall as well as tables for the majority of the attendees. I found using my computer was best to follow the live blogging that is done as the show proceeds as well as the tweeting (see below). For me, multitasking was a way to keep up with the fast paced demos or catch something I may have missed.
  7. Get Engaged: Thanks to a wide array of tweeters at the Finovate events, #finovate quickly becomes a trending term worldwide during the show. Don't sit on the sidelines. Share your own live updates on Twitter using the #finovate hashtag. While there is some humor shared on Twitter, many people will share opinions on the innovation as well as links to other resources. You can also follow @Finovate before, after and during the event for updates year round.
  8. Dress Appropriately: It is impossible to have the right temperature for everyone's taste. It is good to realize that, despite the weather outside, Finovate organizers have a habit of keeping the temperatures meat locker cool during the event. Therefore, it makes sense to bring a sweater or jacket.
  9. Vote: It may seem trivial as an attendee, but voting for the top three innovations each day is the foundation for the very highly coveted 'Best of Show' awards. Finovate provides a nice incentive ($5 Starbucks gift card) for ballots each day, encouraging all attendees to vote. While some great innovations have less polished presentations and some great presentations are made for less noteworthy innovations, the votes are important.
  10. Stay Connected: Just because the event ends, it is important to continue to visit the Finovate.com site after the event. Links to all of the live blogging and media coverage of the event is provided as well as videos of all of the demos (a week or so after the event). In addition, the Finovate site provides updates on the status of all of the innovations over time.
There is one more tip for any credit union, banker, supplier to the financial services industry, trade media reporter or investor interested in fintech - attend a Finovate event live. It will never be boring, it will always be educational and it provides a unique venue for keeping up with the disruption (drinking game word) in the financial services industry. If you can't attend, it would be time well spent to set aside two days when the event is occurring and follow the event via Twitter, the live blogs, etc.

Are there any tips I may have missed? If so, share them below and I will include them in an updated guide to Finovate.
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Six Years of Financial Services Innovation

Anticipation is building as FinovateFall 2013 is returning to Manhattan on September 10 and 11 for the seventh consecutive year. With more than 70 cutting edge firms doing 7 minute demos in front of a sellout crowd of more than 1,000 bankers, investors, analysts and the press, it is the premier showcase and networking event for what is new in the world of fintech.


While the overarching innovation theme remains the same, it is interesting to see the ebbs and flows of presenting categories and companies through the years. It is more interesting to realize how fast things have changed in the financial services industry.



Finovate 2007: When Mobile Was Young


The brainchild of the Online Banking Report and NetBanker blog publisher, Jim Bruene, the very first Finovate conference was held in New York City on October 2 of 2007, when 20 of the most innovative companies in the financial, banking and lending space gathered in front of a handful more than 200 banking executives, analysts, investors and the press to offer a glimpse of the future using the now familiar 7 minute demo format (no PowerPoint slides allowed!). The one-day event was quickly sold out, with overflow space provided for late registrants to view presentations via a video feed (see all 20 videos from the first Finovate conference here).

While only six years ago, a lot has changed in the financial marketplace. In 2007, mobile banking was in its infancy, with just a few hundred thousand users across three different platforms ('mobile website' was the most popular). Interestingly, the discussion at the time was whether mobile banking would be a standalone profit center or just another cost center for banks (still up for debate by many). And despite a lot of hype at the time, only one bank (Citibank) and one vendor (mFoundry) had launched a fully downloadable, custom mobile banking app.

The themes for the 2007 show and number of companies presenting were PFM (5), mobile banking (5), payments/billing(4), P2P Lending (2), online tools (2), mortgage lending (1) and security (1).


The presenter list included (in alphabetical order); Andera, Billeo, CheckFree (acquired by Fiserv), Clairmail, Firethorn (now Qualcomm Retail Solutions), Geezeo, Digital Insight (an Intuit company), Identity Theft 911, iPay Technologies, Jwaala, Lending Club, Metavante (acquired by FIS), mFoundry, Mint, Monitise, MortgageBot (now part of Davis + Henderson), MShift, Online Resources (acquired by ACI Worldwide), Prosper Marketplace and Yodlee.

The Best of Show winners of the first Finovate were a two-week old online personal finance start-up named Mint, a mortgage marketplace from MortgageBot named Marvel and the peer-to-peer lender Prosper. The biggest winner, however, may have been the financial community, since the success of Finovate 2007 was the foundation for a growing series of global Finovate events that now include an expanded 2-day FinovateFall event in Manhattan, a second two-day U.S. event, FinovateSpring in California, a one-day FinovateAsia (30+ firms) and the two-day FinovateEurope (60+ firms).

With technology always at the forefront, Finovate 2007 was the first financial services conference to proactively court the blogging community, with bloggers from four countries covering the 2007 event (live blogging and a ton of tweeting continues during all events). In addition, all of the presentations are streamed for later viewing for attendees and non-attendees on the Finovate web site.

FinovateStartup 2008 - The First West Coast Show


Only three months after the the success of the first Finovate show in NYC, Jim Bruene announced a slightly modified version of Finovate2007 called FinovateStartup to be held in San Francisco in late April of 2008. With a focus on showcasing the hottest financial technology start-ups, the format of 7-minute fast-paced demos remained the same as did the opportunity for the attendees and innovators to network.

With an original goal of securing 20 cutting edge fintech firms for the second Finovate conference, Jim and his team quickly surpassed their goal with a final lineup of 40 startups despite a tightening credit market and bigger financial industry storm clouds on the horizon. Included in this lineup were several firms using this event to introduce new products. (recap of presentations available thanks to Scott Loftesness of Glenbrook Partners with video archives of the presentations provided by Finovate)

Compared to the first event held 6 months prior, the second event's diversity and expansion of themes was apparent, with new savings/checking products, financial comparison tools and investing/asset management being new themes. In addition, while PFM tools still were prominent at the event, security services and investment/asset management firms had greater representation. As can be seen from the word cloud below, the industry still lacked significant mobile/payments discussions.

Riding The Storm Out: Finovate 2009 - 2011


There is not a banker alive who doesn't remember the financial crisis that started in 2007, 'peaked' in 2008, and is with us to a degree still today. Some of the many impacts of this period were that budgets were highly scrutinized and cut, investment in the future was scaled back and innovation at many financial organizations took a back seat . . . except at Finovate. 

While it would have been easy for Jim Bruene and his team to fold up the tent in late 2008 and restart the Finovate concept a few years down the road when times were better, Finovate continued to provide the premier forum for innovation. Despite the economic conditions (or because of it), companies wanting to showcase their new products increased, registrations multiplied and the trade and business press took notice. Maybe it was the ripple effect of the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007 and the rapid increase in acceptance of mobile apps, but interest in financial innovation increased during this difficult period.

During the shows from 2009-2011, innovation trends continued to be in flux (at least if measured by the products being showcased). Some interesting trends included:
      • Twelve companies at the 2009 FinovateStartup did demos on PFM solutions (representing close to 25 percent of presenters).
      • Small business solutions began to appear in early 2009 and have continued to be a steady category today.
      • Search and comparison tools were strong during the period.
      • Mobile solutions became the break-out category in late 2009 and early 2010. That trend continued in 2011, with the emergence of mobile photo bill pay and other tools.
      • Safety and security tools remained in the spotlight, reflecting the fiscal conservatism that prevailed and the need for safe havens for funds.
      • Alt-payments and alt-lending became a more popular category during this period.
      • The emergence of real-time information distribution.
      • Rewards platforms and savings tools emerged (and won Best of Show honors) beginning in 2011
As the presenting themes continued to grow and change, the interest in financial innovation continued as well. Finovate grew exponentially to meet this need. 
      • FinovateFall 2010 was the first two-day event, reflecting the extraordinary desire to both demo and participate in this unique forum. Despite (or possibly because of) this expanded forum, sold out events became the norm.
      • The number of demos at the FinovateSpring and FinovateFall events reached more than 60 per show.
      • Audiences multiplied from the first Finovate shows, surpassing 800 at FinovateSpring 2011 and reaching 1,000 in NYC for the FinovateFall 2011 show.
      • FinovateEurope was introduced, reflecting the worldwide scope of fintech innovation. While being held in London, presenters came from Europe, North America and Asia. The first show had 3 dozen presenters over 400 participants.
      • Coverage in both the financial and mainstream business press exploded during this period. In addition, Twitter became an excellent micro blog of highlights as they occurred.
      • All demos continued to be catalogued for future viewing on the Finovate site.

FinovateSpring and FinovateFall 2012


The Finovate events for 2012 were filled with familiar categories, new subcategories of previous themes, and categories that didn't even exist when Finovate began in 2007. FinovateSpring 2012 highlighted firms presenting payments and rewards platforms, new mobile solutions and the beginning of social media integration. In addition, solutions emerged in response to new government compliance needs as well as in response to the reduction of fee income.


It is amazing how much change can occur with innovation themes in six short months. Possibly because of rapid changes in the acceptance of mobile devices and related apps, the increased concern around authentication and security, the beginning of marketing's emergence from the financial crisis of 4-5 years prior, and the slow acceptance of certain innovations by the public and financial institutions, the word cloud of FinovateFall 2012 themes looks nothing like the themes of the Spring.

Not only have the themes continued to change, the subcategorization also illustrates the micro segmentation of new solutions.



My First Finovate: FinovateSpring 2013


FinovateSpring 2013 was the first Finovate that I attended in person (previously, I live vicariously through others by following the live blogging and twitter mentions). As has become the norm, the event was again sold out, and you could feel the energy upon entering the venue (see my recap 'Musings of a Finovate Virgin). It also had the feeling of a class reunion since, while presenters may come and go, those who attend the event try to make it every year.

As was true with the themes in 2012, the changes in key categories seemed to evolve based on consumer demand (security services, small business), new tools and visualizations (wealth management, investing and mobile applications), new segments (underbanked) and even some advanced applications (P2P lending and B2B payments). 

Most interestingly was the emergence of so many crowdfunding solutions compared to previous shows and the disappearance of PFM in the traditional sense. As could be expected, the categories of mobile, payments and security/authentication solutions remained strong.



FinovateFall 2013: Fintech Innovation is Alive and Well


With FinovateFall 2013 a week away, there is no doubt that innovation in financial services continues unabated. Finovate will have another sell out crowd in Manhattan on September 10-11, and there will be another exciting roster of 60+ companies ready to demo their solutions.

While some may have a strong business case and a pent up demand for their solution, others may be trying to 'make a market' for their innovation. Some are hoping that their demo will spur new funding for their innovation, while others are extending a product category by an established vendor.

As in the past, there will be more than 1,000 registrants who will cast their ballots for their favorite presentation, naming them 'Best of Show'. Some of the votes will be cast based on presentation style. Others will be cast based on the 'cool factor' (which doesn't always reflect a desire or need to buy). Still others will cast their ballot based on which solutions they believe have a valid chance in the marketplace.

The networking will be one of the primary side benefits with end of day cocktails and even the introduction of the Bank Innovators Council on the Monday evening before the FinovateFall 2013 kickoff.

No matter the outcome of the voting, the diversity of innovation is broad and the excitement in the industry is strong. Innovation is a differentiator in an industry that often feels 'me too'. It is a way to potentially grow market share, retain current customers, cut costs and/or increase revenue. 

Innovation is risky but necessary. It is exciting yet frustrating. It is not for the faint of heart, yet it builds corporate character. Fintech innovation is, by definition, the future. And based on the themes for FinovateFall 2013, innovation is as different from six months ago as it will be six months from now . . . and yet many of the themes sound familiar.

While mobile, security, small business, lending and payments remain strong themes, the underbanked category all but disappears. In addition, we see the somewhat surprising reemergence of PFM and loyalty/rewards (maybe there really is something new in these spaces) at the same time that mobile wallets and customer experience get zero love.


As Bradley Leimer stated upon returning from his first Finovate . . . It is the 'The Disneyland of Fintech'™. For those attending or joining the event through social media, Finovate is definitely an 'E-Ticket' ride to the future.


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