Posts tagged "finovate"
Finovate 2008 - The finance industry isn’t so bad after all…
Yesterday I attended Finovate 2008 and it was inspiring for anyone who’s been follo
wing the financial news lately. With all the talk of meltdowns and big companies going under and being bailed out, it was a refreshing change of pace to see all these start ups with exciting ideas and energy about how to change finance industry.
SmartHippo CEO George Favvas was among the 24 presenters of a 7 min. demo. George previewed some new features which will make their way to the SmartHippo web site later this month, and also took a minute to address the financial crisis and the role companies like SmartHippo can take in changing the financial industry to avoid future meltdowns. While he was the only presenter to overtly address the crisis, it was definitely an underlying theme and pressing topic at the event.
If you missed the show, the Banktastic blog did excellent coverage of the show, from reviews of the demos to interviews with the presenters, oh don’t forget to check out the interview with George…
Oh yea, if you were following SmartHippo on twitter, you would have had access to my live coverage of the event.
UPDATE:
Here’s some more coverage of Finovate:
- The Consumerist did a fantastic summary of the presenting companies, including SmartHippo, in this post…
- If you missed the conference, organizer NetBanker also did a series of posts about each of the presenters.
Zillow Mortgage is But a (Very) Small Step Forward
Zillow today launched a mortgage product, which lets consumers anonymously request quotes from loan officers and decide who they want to go with.
You can read more coverage on TechCrunch, Mashable, Lenderama and BusinessWeek.
We’ve always believed strongly that the mortgage process needs to change in the interest of consumers. That’s why we launched SmartHippo last September at the TechCrunch40 conference. But Zillow’s new launch leaves us feeling kind of flat.
To be sure, they are an improvement over lead generation sites like LendingTree or LowerMyBills, which essentially just sell off your personal data to the highest bidder. Zillow lets the consumer drive the process, but that’s where the differences end. So, in a sense, they are kind of like a LendingTree v 1.1. You still only get to see quotes from people in their network, and you still have no assurance that these quotes will be accurate.
SmartHippo, on the other hand, is a completely new way of shopping for a mortgage. We are open and transparent. You can find rates supplied by both banks and individual consumers, and we have a community feedback mechanism that allows people to share experiences with and rate lenders and brokers whether they are member of our site or not.
What do you think? Check out SmartHippo.com and let us know, and be sure to follow our demo at FinovateStartup on April 29th for something new.
SmartHippo to Present at FinovateStartup
SmartHippo will be one of 20 companies presenting at FinovateStartup April 29th in San Francisco. We’re thrilled to be part of this great event, which showcases the leading companies innovating in the financial space.
From the blog post on Netbanker:
FinovateStartup will be held April 29 in San Francisco. It will showcase dozens of the hottest financial technology startups – all in a single day. With a fast-paced format that mixes short demos (no PowerPoint slides allowed!) and high-quality networking, FinovateStartup gives attendees a chance to see the future of finance unfold.
Other presenting companies include Andera, Boulevard R., Buxfer, Motley Fool CAPS, ClairMail, Credit Karma, First ROI, Jwaala, Lending Club, Mint, Prosper, Unified Money, and Wesabe.
For more information or to register, visit the FinovateStartup site. The event is organized by Jim Bruene, whose Netbanker blog is an excellent source of news and analysis related to the online finance industry.
