2021: Year In Review
What Is Around the Corner?
Have a way to channel the future? Perhaps it's a secret method to view the future technology in financial services?
Over the past year, we have been in a period of serious FOMO and JOMO - wanting to run fast to the ever-changing DeFi/Crypto world or opting out of it!
As investors, we know that fundamentals matter, and that is the lens we use to determine what to monitor and what to skip. A few of our business fundamentals are listed below.
- Flywheels Matter - How the business makes money and reinforces its advantage is critical. Without it, there is just hope, and while we love hope, it is not a defensible business plan.
- Prices Matter - A significant reason DeFi and crypto are so popular is that the services charged are much higher compared to the conventional world. As an example, today, in the securities industry, custody is often one basis point, whereas, in the world of crypto, it is not uncommon to see 100 to 200 basis points for the same service. It's not a wonder that valuations are so high for crypto custodians and wallets. These large profits are generated even though the entirety of the crypto world has a total market cap about the same as Apple stock of $3 trillion.
- Property Rights - The most recent iteration of the web brought the stripping of ownership rights for digital assets. As an example, we all remember downloading music for free or streaming at a much lower cost than owning the music. This meant the only real money was in performing live concerts for creators. The good news is that digital property rights are being restored via inventions like NFTs and asset tokenization. This empowers creators of all types - it does not mean they are all valuable, of course, but they control their value and property, which is fair.
- Parallel Worlds - We see FinTech as living in the existing world of financial services, trying to make it better. In contrast, we see DeFi as creating a new world where the same activities occur - risk-sharing or offloading, saving, trading, lending, and borrowing but with less regulation and a smaller market set at higher prices. They will eventually cross at that intersection where we will seek new businesses.
It's a wonderful time to be involved in financial services, and we hope to continue finding the winners to fund and change the world.
— Mark & Dave
Vestigo Ventures is excited to host our second "FinTech Year in Review," where the registration for the event is below. The event will feature reflections from our two general partners, Dave Blundin and Mark Casady, as well as a discussion with two Vestigo portfolio company CEOs: Florent Breton of Acquire and Bill Conners of Formotiv.
We will look forward to seeing you there, and in the interim, we wish you all a happy holiday and new year!
Boston FinTech Week
Venture Investing
w/ Mark Casady, GP and Co-Founder at Vestigo Ventures
The Emergence of SilverTech
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to participate in the AgingWell Hub and Business for Impact at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business virtual forum sponsored by AARP and Santander Bank. We explored the business opportunities and personal financial risks at the intersection of the U.S. aging population, technology, and financial services.
While I asked my Vestigo partners to reserve the inside jokes as it relates to my own graceful aging, I was thrilled to engage in the discussion as the problems facing our maturing workforce has never presented a greater opportunity for innovation and investment. We now see a growing and emerging “SilverTech” reaching across FinTech.
The panel was filled with experts from industry, academia, and government:
- Staci Alexander, Vice-President, Thought Leadership, Policy, Research & International Affairs, AARP
- Lisa Bleier, Managing Director & Associate General Counsel, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
- Jilenne Gunther, National Director of BankSafe Program, AARP
- Vijeth Iyengar, Ph.D., Brain Health Lead & Technical Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging, Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Hiral Patel, Head of Sustainable & Thematic Investing, Barclays Bank
- Ian Sheridan, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Vestigo Ventures
- Bill Novelli, Founder of Business for Impact at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business
- Jeanne de Cervens, Director of Business for Impact’s AgingWell Hub
The total addressable market is massive. Population aging ranks as one of the most significant forces impacting the economy and society at large. The size of the U.S. population aged 65 and older is projected to nearly double by 2060 – growing to 95 million. The 50 plus Baby Boomers alone are estimated to own more than half of total U.S. household financial assets and are a huge source of consumer spending. While these demographic trends present growth opportunities for industries participating in the longevity economy, they also pose serious challenges to the financial security and wellbeing of people who are aging.
Vestigo was able to provide a unique perspective as an early-stage Fintech investor. We have invested in some amazing companies that help protect the financial system as well as help individuals, save, invest, and maximize their potential retirement outcomes (See VVI and VVII). We are seeing more Silver Tech and expect these ideas to increase as our universities and government agencies bring these conversations to the forefront with students. Vestigo has always believed that the intersection of government, academics, and business represents an important part of our early-stage investor ecosystem. By participating in this discussion our long-term expectation is to encourage the next entrepreneurs to create a new innovative solution that will empower our society.
- Ian Sheridan
Portfolio Updates
The Importance of Pet Benefits for Employees
In this podcast with co-founder and CEO of Wagmo, Christie Horvath, speaks about the impact of offering pet benefits for employees. Christie touches on how offering pet benefits can drive higher retention and can be a powerful tool for recruiting.
Brella Insurance
Alloy Named 24th Fastest-Growing Tech Company by Deloitte
On the tailwinds of Alloy's most recent Series C funding, Deloitte has named them 24 out of 500 of the fast-growing North American tech companies.
Posted by KJ McAlpin on Nov 19, 2021
Jobble Continues to Support Gig-Workers With Its New Debit Card
As Jobble continues its goal to become the financial epicenter for gig workers, it recently announced the launch of its debit card tailored to fit the needs of the gig economy.
Guest Contributor
Interesting Reads
Will Douglas Heaven
Chris Smith
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