Steps in the Right Direction
Mountains to Climb
Dave had an amazing trip to Davos along with Ian and Tommy Nicolas who is the CEO of Alloy. While they did not get in any mountain climbing, they did climb mountains of good will from their presentations.
Davos is a special gathering of influencers from around the globe as is well known. It may be elitist but there is an ability to openly discuss, in unobtrusive fashion, the issues that need to be discussed. While there are many that are bigger than FinTech, there was plenty of interest in what Alloy is doing and how Vestigo is helping incumbents innovate.
Part of the other mountain to climb is getting traction for our portfolio companies. We had one early sale from the portfolio and are fielding interest in others now as well. Not sure what will happen in those discussions but it is clear that interest in acquiring skills and people earlier in a startup’s life is a new development for the market and for us.
We have included a good summary of the M&A market from PwC that you might find helpful for more insights on what is happening. Clearly in a world where finding growth is key, M&A is a viable technique.
—“Davos” Dave & “M&A” Mark
Many Steps Through the Village
Vestigo had the incredible opportunity to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos again this year and to highlight one of our portfolio companies. We truly appreciate the support of our Advisor, John Werner, who invited us to speak at the exclusive Davos event the Imagination in Action summit, sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services, MIT Connection Science, Forbes & Global Citizen. The forum gathered a selection of the foremost thinkers and innovators at Davos to exchange perspectives and offer solutions on how to unleash our collective intelligence through the growing power of technology. The event was filled with iconic leaders of finance and amazing builders and innovators. This venue is grounded in the world economic reality but limitless on ideas and actions to that may very well change the world.
Tommy Nicholas, CEO of Alloy, spoke about the challenges and opportunities on automating operating systems for identity verification and the digitization innovation that is transforming the anti-fraud KYC/AML landscape. There has never been a more important time in global finance for these solutions to protect our economic systems.
“Tech enables what’s possible, which drives norms and best practices,” says Tommy Nicholas, cofounder and CEO of Alloy, which applies AI in the FinTech sector. Alloy’s solution empowers banks and FinTechs to implement future-proof customer decisioning, improve digital experiences, and creates transparent, audit-proof compliance reports.
I certainly exceeded my daily “10,000 steps” on the long walk through the picturesque mountain village of Davos to the venues. I had the opportunity to listen to amazing thought leaders and share perspectives with world finance leaders. These connections have led to broader conversations and leads for several of our portfolio companies. I was excited to share our success framework of algorithms and analytical tools that help us source investment opportunities, underwrite, explore marketplaces, and empower our portfolios.
—Ian
New Year, New Resolutions
The #1 New Year's Resolution for 2020 is "Manage Finances Better", with 51% of Statista's survey respondents noting this as their top priority. Given that Vestigo is a FinTech VC firm, we thought we'd offer some help to make sure everyone achieves their 2020 financial resolutions. This is especially meaningful to our firm when you consider two things:
- 6 out of 10 Americans don’t have $500 in Savings according to CNN Money
- 80% of New Year's Resolutions fail according to Forbes.
We work closely with two companies, Cushion and Long Game, that could easily help anyone manage their finances better, build up their savings and start a trend for long-term financial wellness.
Cushion's tag line is straightforward "Your bank & credit card fees, refunded." Cushion works on behalf of its customer to recoup negotiable fees, interests and expense from banks and credit card providers. People sign up for bank accounts and credit cards, then they're left to fend for themselves if something goes wrong. By using Cushion they're investing in protecting their hard-earned money from bank fees by using a service that scans their accounts continuously and refunds the fees they accrued, automatically. By using Cushion, people will end up with more money and peace of mind that Cushion is protecting their finances. Cushion is already helping tens of thousands of customers protect their money.
Much like Cushion, Long Game's tag line is something we can all understand "Win the Finance Game." Long Game does not waste time or money on financial literacy / education, because as we've seen, America is essentially bankrupt. How could it be in this day and age that 60% of Americans don't have $500 in savings? Instead Long Game rewards good financial actions through a gamification of savings and spending. Since launching their app, they've helped over 150,000 people open savings accounts, and now they are helping them spend their money intelligently with the release of their debit card. Plus, their games are incredibly addictive; their all based on sweepstakes regulations, so a customer's money is never at risk, there is only the possibility of winning additional coins to play more games, additional deposits or even crypto currency. Lindsay Holden, the CEO of Long Game summed up the benefit to their customer perfectly: "Let's be honest, for most people, it doesn't feel good to look at our financial situation, so we tend to stick our heads in the sand and avoid dealing with our money. At Long Game we're committed to building a financial interaction that you love, that is fun, and that drives success. People come for our games and they leave with more savings and awareness of their spending habits. We take best practices from mobile gaming and lotteries, that have proven mechanisms for driving user behavior, and apply them to driving better financial outcomes for our customers."
-Mike
Portfolio Updates
Long Game Offers a Visa Debit Card
Long Game partnered with nbkc bank to offer the Visa debit card that has no NSF or maintenance fees and is linked to an FDIC-insured account with a 0.1% APY. By using the card and RoundUp, people get more savings and an opportunity to play more than 20 games with cash prizes. Long Game definitely knows how to make saving fun!
LifeYield Surpassed $1 Trillion in AUM
Congratulations to LifeYield for surpassing the $1 trillion mark in assets under administration, with over 90,000 financial advisors actively using its LifeYield Advantage Suite! The LifeYield Advantage Suite helps to improve financial outcomes and is used by advisors through partnerships and integrations with the biggest names in the industry (Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, LPL, etc.).
LifeYield
Vestmark
Vestmark, Inc. was named one of the 100 Best Places to Work in Boston for 2020 by Built In Boston, the online community for Boston startups and technology companies. This was not the first time Vestmark was recognized as an awesome place to work at, it won the Boston Business journal award back in 2018.
ZenLedger and Celsius Network Announce Strategic Partnership
ZenLedger and Celcius Network have released a key product integration to provide the best user experience to crypto investors for their accounting and tax preparation. This new partnership will allow cryptocurrency holders to save time and crypto holdings by easily filing taxes and having access to crypto-backed loans directly from their ZenLedger account.
AIT News Desk
Should You Get Pet Insurance After Adopting a Dog or Cat?
The very important question of whether to buy pet insurance depends on many factors ranging from the type of coverage, pre-existing conditions and the amount the pet owner is willing to pay premiums. As an alternative for insurance, pet owners should consider a pet wellness plan (offered by our own Wagmo!) that covers all the essentials that pet requires.
Interesting Reads
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Lawrence Wintermeyer
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