SoFin @ SXSW 2016

SoFin @ SXSW 2016

Last year's SoFin @ SXSW event was such a huge success that we decided to do it again.

The goal is to get a highly curated group of entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and investors together to shine a light on the FinTech and financial services space.

Warning: This is not your typical SXSW party where you are more likely to find yourself chatting with some guy that can't wait to tell about his Uber for Dog Walkers app than you are to see someone who's relevant for your business. You'll have plenty of time for those parties later in the weekend.

This is the event that will make your trip to Austin worth the expense report.

Event Format

Like last year, the event will offer a ton of networking and mingling time along with startup demos/pitches. This year we are also adding a few TED Talk style mini keynotes and a handful of panels to ensure we all leave feeling a little smarter about where things are headed.

Event Theme

More for Less - Consumers and institutional clients alike expect more for less. Whether it's zero-commission trades or free credit reports or access to financial planning for 25 basis points, technology is making it possible to deliver products and services at lower cost than ever before.

During this jam-packed afternoon we'll explore the value of the unbanked and underserved financial consumer as well as dive into new technologies that are democratizing products and services that were previously only accessible by high net worth clients or institutional players.

Sponsors

If you would like to participate as a sponsor please contact Mike Langford.

Startup Demos

• Blazing - An ultra-fast data science platform that has fantastic utility for hedge funds, analysts, programmatic trading, and more.

• Nexd - Contextual search that makes it quick and easy to find what you need when you need it. The faster people find what they are looking for the faster they can act.

• Eventus Systems - Super nerdy awesomeness for reducing trading risk.

• Student Loan Genius - Turning student loan repayment into a modern workforce benefit.

• Lawgix - Litigation workforce and workflow technology for creditors.

• OnePay - Bill paying does not have to be that tough. OnePay gives you a single financial platform that pays your bills for you and saves you money in the process.
• RealStarter - Helping Busy Texas Developers and People Make $$$ in Real Estate through Crowdfunding!

Panel Discussions

Below is a list of placeholder topics for our panels this year as well as the teams leading each discussion.

Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Panel Description

Entrepreneurship drives the innovations necessary to solve large global problems but, for years, entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds have struggled to gain the support they need to grow and scale. Only 2.7% of venture-backed companies have a female CEO. Less than 1% have African-American founders. Join us as we explore the subject of inclusive entrepreneurship and why supporting entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds is the key to building a stronger future.

Ross Baird, Village Capital
Justin Davis, Kapor Center for Social Impact
Allie Burns, Revolution Capital
Jerry Nemorin, LendStreet

Moderated by Maria Lajewski, Center for Financial Services Innovation

FinTech Infrastructure and Data

Panel Description
Innovation is sexy, but often the most transformative things are happening under the covers. This panel will unpack how architecture, analytics and infrastructure are changing the face of finance.

Chris Rentner, Co-Founder & CEO

Akouba helps small business get the funding they need by modernizing the underwriting process for community banks.

Raviv Wolfe, Co-Founder & CEO

Argon Credit is a online personal loan startup. Currently growing in the U.S. with plans to expand into the U.K., Europe and Australia.

Scarlett Sieber, SVP, Global Business Development, New Digital Businesses

BBVA is a leading global bank, pioneering an Open API platform for banking.

Kris Hammond, Chief Scientist

Narrative Sciences analyzes data from disparate sources, understands what is important, then automatically generates perfectly written narratives to convey meaning from the data for any audience.

Joshua Gordon-Blake, Vice President of Global Partnerships

Pangea Payments is an emerging payments company that is developing an innovative value transfer system that leverages mobile, retail and web connectivity to address the high costs and lack of transparency in the global money remittance space.

Moderated by Jason Henrichs of FinTEx Chicago
FinTEx is a non-profit collaboration between leading players in Financial Services and Technology to expand Chicago’s role as a hub of innovation.

Speakers & Their Ideas

• Mike Langford - The Obvious Point B's for financial services.
• Howard Lindzon - FinTech trends for equity markets.
• Asad Ramzanali - Understanding the scale of unbanked sector of the U.S. economy