Finovate 2015, one of the world’s largest FinTech gatherings, was held mid September in New York City, the same city where the conference was first held in 2007. For 2 days, 1500 innovators gathered at this demo-focused conference series focused on showcasing the best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Like in past years, Finovate attracted a high-impact audience of senior financial and banking executives. In addition to New York, the event takes place in different locations around the world throughout the year including San Francisco, London and Singapore. The 24 events over the years have attracted more than 16,000 attendees.
History: In 1995 banker Jim Bruene worked with Microsoft, U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, Chase, First Chicago, and Michigan National to launch the Home Banking Network along with its’ subscription newsletter, Online Banking Report, which was an important voice in the nascent sector. When the current Finovate CEO Eric Mattson joined in 2006, he turned the boutique publishing company into a diverse specialty information provider, and the Finovate event series launched the following year.
Of the twenty companies that attended the inaugural event, notables included Mint (acquired by Intuit in 2009 for $170 million), Lending Club (IPO in 2014, valued at more than $7 billion), and Prosper (still private, but valued at more than $1 billion). The format of the event is part press conference, part sales demo, part biz dev meeting and part analyst briefing — providing a powerful platform for FinTech companies to achieve the next level of success with new customers, strategic partnerships, expert feedback, press coverage, and VC funding. We may have found the next Lending Tree at the recent event - stay posted.
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