CUNA News
  • LOG IN
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • LOG IN
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • Topics
    • Community Service
    • Compliance
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Credit Union System
    • Directors
    • Human Resources
    • Leadership
    • Lending
    • Marketing
    • Operations
    • Policy & Issues
    • Sales & Service
    • Technology
  • Credit Union Magazine
    • Buyers' Guide
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Edition
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Awards
    • Nominate Credit Union Hero
    • Nominate Credit Union Rock Star
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Jobs
  • Contact

News

Home » Financial innovation persists through market turmoil
Technology

Financial innovation persists through market turmoil

Credit union startup takes a Best of Show Award at Finovate Spring.

June 1, 2022
Glen Sarvady
No Comments
2022_06_Fintech_121058

Its timing and San Francisco backdrop provided an added dimension to last week’s Finovate Spring conference. A procession of seven-minute demos from 52 fintech innovators remained the main attraction at the event’s annual West Coast edition.

At the same time, the market’s recent downturn—which has hit technology stocks particularly hard and cut into the soaring valuations of fintech startups, several of them funded by Silicon Valley investors in the audience—weighed heavily on many attendees’ minds.

During an “Investor All-Stars” panel, Mercedes Bent, a partner at Lightspeed Ventures, observed that while venture funding for early “seed” stage startups continues as normal, “the growth markets are virtually closed” for later stage (and typically larger-sized) Series A and B investments. 

“If you have to raise money this year, it’s going to be really hard,” she added.

There was a notable increase in demoing companies concluding their stage time by expressing interest in engaging with potential investors. This had been a common occurrence in Finovate’s earlier years. 

As capital flowed freely the past few years, however, presenters’ focus shifted toward identifying financial institution customers and fintech partnerships. These goals remain in force as well, but the pendulum has clearly swung back to some extent.

The funding overhang didn’t impact the supply of—or appetite for—compelling fintech solutions, however. One of the six audience-selected Best of Show trophies went to Spave, a “financial wholeness” app designed to promote both saving and giving while empowering financial institutions to increase card swipes. 

The company is part of Reseda Group, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union’s stable of startup investments.

Also capitalizing on their seven minutes of exposure were credit union service organizations Illuma Labs and Posh Technologies, who alongside mutual customer TruWest Credit Union shared a product collaboration delivering biometric voice authentication for call centers combining voice recognition and conversational artificial intelligence. The solution won NACUSO’s Next Big Idea competition the previous month.

It’s also interesting to consider the topics absent from the stage. There were no pitches involving Buy Now Pay Later solutions, perhaps the hottest fintech category of the past 18 months. And the word “metaverse” seemed to be off limits.

Vicki Huff Eckert, PwC Global leader of new ventures & innovation, opined that while the phrase may have reached the ebb of its hype cycle, the technology is not going away. One demoing company whose solution practically screamed “metaverse” seemed to take pains to avoid the term.

Eckert also predicted that fintech “is entering a buy-or-be-bought market,” and that “the true unicorns will be the ones doing the buying.” 

Despite a liquidity crunch likely to have near- to mid-term impacts, consensus among Finovate panelists and attendees is that good ideas and savvy innovators will continue to thrive. 

As Patricia Kemp, Oak HC/FT co-founder and managing partner, put it, “If you have cash, you’re in a position to leverage it.”

GLEN SARVADY is managing partner at 154 Advisors.

KEYWORDS fintech

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Credit Union Magazine: Winter 2022

Winter 2022

Credit Union Magazine’s Winter 2022 issue highlights data-driven marketing, the board’s role in cybersecurity, elder abuse scams, credit unions’ auto lending advantage, and more.
Digital Edition •  Subscribe

Trending

  • House passes CUNA, League-led board modernization bill

  • Reps introduce bipartisan Credit Union Board Modernization Act

  • CFPB issues CUNA-opposed proposal on credit card late fees

Tweets by CUNA_News

Polls

Vote for the 2023 CU Hero of the Year

View Results
More

Champion for the Credit Union Movement

Credit Union National Association is the most influential financial services trade association and the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America's credit unions. We work tirelessly to protect your best interests in Washington and all 50 states. We fuel your professional growth at every level and champion the credit union story at every turn.

More CUNA

  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • Careers

Resources for

  • Credit Union Advocates
  • Leagues
  • Press
  • Providers

Our Affiliates

  • American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL)
  • Credit Union Awareness
  • Credit Union House
  • CUNA Strategic Services
  • National Credit Union Foundation
GET CUNA UPDATES
© 2023 Credit Union National Association | ADA Compliance Notice & Legal
Email Us