By John San Filippo
November 12 marked the first day of VentureTech 2024, the credit union industry’s premier showcase for young fintechs. The day focused on the annual Launch Party, a contest that gave 10 fintechs an opportunity to pitch their products to the audience. The Launch Party was specifically created for early-stage startups, which were dubbed “baby fintechs” by the event coordinators. The rules were simple:
The pitches were done in two groups of five, with a substantial break in between.
A representative from each company was given 10 minutes to present their pitch.
At the end of each five-pitch session, there was time for audience Q&A.
When both sessions had concluded, conference attendees voted for their favorites using the conference app, a QR code or SMS text.
The winner was presented with a $2,500 cash prize.
The 10 baby fintechs, listed here in the order in which they presented, were:
Float – a service that uses alternative data such as on-time rent payments to boost a member’s credit score, thereby increasing their chances to qualify for a loan.
Gestalt – a platform for unifying, organizing and managing credit union data.
Parlay – a system that streamlines small business lending.
Duome – a program that helps members qualify for a bigger mortgage loan by allowing the company to become a partner with the member in the loan.
GreenLyne – a system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help credit unions meet the lending needs of the under-served.
Re:start – a neobank/niche banking platform whose biggest draw is its support for eight different languages.
·Ribbon – an inheritance and deposit retention platform for credit unions.
Wurthy – a platform that allows small businesses to write their own installment contracts.
Fundshine – a sophisticated, AI-based financial wellness platform.
IDgo – a member authentication platform.
At VentureTech 2023, the Launch Party winner was Peacefully, an end-of-life financial planning and organization platform. Prior to this year’s voting, Peacefully CEO Jennifer Good provided an update on her company’s success. She said that at last year’s event, she didn’t know any credit union people. By contrast, her company now has several credit union customers and interest in her product is strong.
The winner of the Launch Party voting, by a wide margin, was Ribbon. Finopotamus readers first learned about Ribbon earlier this year when the company was profiled in Today’s Featured Article on August 19, 2024.