Inaugural WealthTech Combine Showcases Six Promising Start-ups
Innovative Sports Tech Company to Establish U . S . Headquarters in Arlington
The Founders Arena , born from a partnership between the City of Arlington , Arlington Economic Development Corporation and First Rate , Inc ., is an innovative WealthTech Accelerator designed to meet the needs of startup tech entrepreneurs .
The 10-week intensive gives participants access to networking , funding , training and mentorship . Participating startups have created innovative products that banks and wealth management companies across the world can use to better serve their clients . The Founders Arena , headquartered at the new First Rate , Inc . campus in North Arlington , aims to foster innovation and entrepreneurship while actively engaging the local community through workshops , seminars , hackathons and networking events .
The inaugural WealthTech Combine took place on Oct . 10-11 , 2023 . Members of the first Founders Arena cohort spent two days networking with industry experts , honing their business pitches and attending sessions on topics from artificial intelligence to the current state of wealth management and everything inbetween .
The first cohort consists of six companies : TaxStatus , Sora Finance , Charityvest , Manifest , InvestSuite and Lumiant .
Charles Almond , Founder and CEO of TaxStatus , said that the best part about the Accelerator is being introduced to smart , driven people .
“ Everyone that shows in and around this program has a lot to offer — experience , ideas , exposure to new opportunities and smart people who can help you execute them ,” said Almond .
Heather Holmes , Chief Evangelist at Lumiant explained that the Founders Arena is a unique model that is different from many other Accelerator programs in the ecosystem .
“ It ’ s shared opportunity , shared risk ,” Holmes said . “ If we grow our business through introductions made through this program , that has a direct tie to equity in our companies that Arlington or the program will get . Everyone is aligned in wanting to see the companies who participate grow . I think that ’ s a much nicer approach than anything else out there .”
To learn more about the Founders Arena , visit www . thefoundersarena . com
Sportec Solutions , a Munich-based sports technology company , will establish its U . S . headquarters in north Arlington in early 2024 . Sportec Solutions develops next-gen solutions in the fields of match data and sports technology . They maintain a long-term agreement with Major League Soccer as the official provider for live data and video services .
“ We are so excited to support innovative sports technology moving into Arlington . We ’ re eager to see how Sportec Solutions will utilize its technology to explore relationships with other local football clubs and beyond ,” said Lyndsay Mitchell , interim executive director of the Arlington Economic Development Corporation .
The new headquarters will include state-of-the-art technology with a full range of services addressing match data , including video refereeing , onair graphics and live commentary , to name a few . The Arlington Economic Development Corporation recently approved a $ 1 million performance grant to Sportec Solutions for its new headquarters at Arlington Interlink on East Lamar Boulevard , which will create 17 new jobs with an average annual salary of $ 55,000 .