INTERNATIONAL DAY
Why NYC is at the Center of the FinTech Boom
Insights from Maria Gotsch, President and CEO, Partnership Fund for NYC
I
n June, the Partnership Fund for New
York City, along with Accenture, hosted its fifth annual New York Fintech
Innovation Lab Demo Day. It was an opportunity for seven innovative financial
services technology startups who had just
finished our 12-week mentoring program
to showcase their products and services
to dozens of top executives from banks,
venture capital firms, and technology
companies.
The companies’ products ranged from
the highly technical – a product leveraging
sophisticated algorithms to help banks automate the expensive engineering required
“New York is the
premier place for
fintech to grow”
to work with large datasets – to more consumer-facing – a technology service focused on protecting older adults from financial abuse and identity theft. Fintech is
a highly inclusive term and the companies
taking part in the program represented the
wide range of companies in the sector.
In the past five years, the FinTech
Innovation Lab’s 24 alumni companies have
raised a total of $176 million in financing
after the program, and one alumni company was acquired last year for $175 million.
The strength of the FinTech Innovation Lab
comes from its ties to important players in
the financial services and technology sectors, something that is unique to New York.
9/17 @ 3:00 pm
Talk Traction
Courtroom,
Brooklyn Borough Hall
With the majority of the financial services industry embracing the potential
of new technology, the fintech industry
is growing rapidly. Banks and insurance
companies are beginning to understand
how fintech can increase their bottom line
and keep their companies competitive.
Financial services companies are not just
buying fintech products; they are investing
in fintech companies and starting labs and
incubators to maintain a pulse on the best
new products to innovate the industry.
According to a report by the Partnership
Fund and Accenture, there was more money invested into fintech companies in 2014
– close to $10 billion – than in the previous
four years combined. In New York, fintech
deal values grew by 32 percent in 2014, to
a new high of $768 million.
New York City is the premier place for
fintech to grow because it gives companies exceptionally close access to potential customers and a deep talent pool that
intricately understands the financial services industry. Few other global cities can
provide the depth and variety of expertise,
skills and capital that New York has waiting
for innovative entrepreneurs.
Fintech companies are innovating the
way that financial services companies do
business. The challenges financial services
firms face are constantly evolving, and fintech’s potential to help companies overcome them is never-ending. Challenges
such as how to deal with cybersecurity
breaches or how to integrate cloud computing technology are right around the corner,
as well as decisions about how and whether
to invest in crypto currency startups. These
challenges create opportunities, and with
each passing year, it becomes increasingly
clear that New York City – with its proximity to bank decision-makers – is the best
place to be in order to capitalize on them.
Maria Gotsch is the President and
CEO of the Partnership Fund for New
York City.
@Partnership4NYC
9/17: FinTech Roundtables
The Partnership Fund for New York City
hosts two fintech roundtables
on International Day in the courtroom
at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
10:00: Trends and Opportunities
in NYC and worldwide
11:15: Navigating the NYC
Startup and Business Ecosystem
Building a successful company is hard.
Really hard. Traction is the best way to
improve your chances of startup success.
Traction is a sign that something is working.
Traction is powerful.
In other words, traction trumps everything.
Justin Mares, co-author of the
best-selling book, Traction, speaks on
how to get traction - and fast.
@jwmares @tractionbook
I-5