Launched in a midtown (NYC) basement venue in 2007, Finovate* now organizes 4+ shows annually where fintech startups (as well as a few bigger companies) show their technology in no-Powerpoint 7-min live(ish) demos. In total, 2,613 demos in almost 14 years, all available in the Finovate archives. That archive is a bit daunting so we’ve cobbled together the best of the last 2 years, which takes about 6-hours at normal speed (we prefer 1.5x). The 2019 and 2020 winners are here, 2021 is below.
Here are the 6 demos that won the audience vote for Best of Show at the two virtual events this year:
Notes: *Full disclosure, I founded Finovate but am no longer directly involved; but remain its biggest fan!
FinovateSpring, May 2021 (Digital)
Dreams: Financial well-being platform
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 2014
Funding: €30M
Founders:
– Henrik Rosvall, CEO,
– Johan Hemminger, CCO of B2C
– Didde Brockmann, CTO
Employees: 80
Traction:
– 450,000 B2C customers in Sweden/Norway
– 3 international bank clients
Company links: Website | Linkedin
Glia: Digital customer service platform
HQ: New York, NY
Founded: June 2012
Founders:
– Daniel Michaeli, CEO
– Justin DiPietro, COO
– Carlos Paniagua, CTO
Funding: $107M
Employees: 100+
Company links: Website |Linkedin | Twitter
Signal Intent: Financial calculators
HQ: New York, NY
Founded: November 2017
Product Demoed: The next generation of financial calculators
Funding: Bootstrapped
Founders:
– Matthew Covi, CEO
– Chase Neinken, CRO
– Ryan Salerno, CTO
Employees: 4
Traction:
– $500k ARR
– Customers include: Nationwide, CUNA Mutual, NewRez, Dime Bank, First Republic Bank
Company links: Website | Linkedin| Twitter
FinovateEurope, March 2021 (Digital)
Dbilia: NFT marketplace
HQ: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Founded: January 2021
Business Model: Direct to consumer
Funding: Unknown
Founder: Everett Kohl
Company links: Website | Linkedin| Twitter
Proptee: Zero-commission property stock exchange
HQ: London, UK
Founded: August 2020
Funding: Unknown (currently seeking capital)
Traction:
– 2,500 pre-product subscribers and have sourced 6 properties for our launch
Founders:
– Benedek Toth, CEO
– Alexandru Rosianu, CTO
Company links: Website | Linkedin | Twitter| Crunchbase
Quantum Metric: Product design platform
HQ: Colorado Springs, CO, US
Founded: 2015
Funding: $251M
Traction:
– 270 employees
– raised $200M Series B in January 2021
Founder: Mario Ciabarra, CEO
Company links: Website | Linkedin | Twitter | Crunchbase
