Category: Demo Day

Meet Nufi — A Demo Day[s] 10 Presenting Startup

Posted on by Jim Smith

This year, FinTech Sandbox Demo Day[s] will take place across two days, April 9 & April 11. The presentations will be virtual and the event, as always, is free. Demo Days are exciting because we get to showcase startups that are on the very cutting edge of innovation and you get to see what they’re up to before they’re discovered.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll highlight a few of this year’s presenting entrepreneurs. Today, we’re talking to Hans Villa, CEO of Nufi, which is based in the city of Monterrey in Mexico. Nufi empowers all companies in Mexico to make accurate and reliable decisions based on identity validation. Nufi is presenting on Tuesday, April 9.

Hans Villa is CEO of Nufi, which is based in the city of Monterrey in Mexico. Nufi empowers all companies in Mexico to make accurate and reliable decisions based on identity validation.

Q. Hans, tell us a bit about Nufi. What problems are you solving?

A. Nufi revolutionizes identity verification in Mexico, streamlining background checks to a single data point for quick, secure trust decisions. With unique data sources and a flexible platform, Nufi targets financial services, real estate, and hiring, enhancing digital trust and simplifying operations.

Q. What is your company’s origin story?

A. Nufi started when my co-founder Ilich Núñez and I saw a big problem: verifying someone’s identity in Latin America was slow and complicated. We decided to fix this by using technology to make it quick and safe. With just a photo of an ID, Nufi can tell businesses everything they need to know to trust someone. Ilich and I are deeply committed to building trust within the LatinX community around the world, making every transaction secure and straightforward.

Q. Can you describe what it’s been like to be part of the FinTech Sandbox community?

A. Being part of the Fintech Sandbox community has been transformative for Nufi. This engagement has provided us with invaluable resources, such as access to premium data feeds and APIs, which have been instrumental in refining our technology and scaling our services. The collaborative environment has fostered connections with industry leaders, offering mentorship opportunities and insights into fintech trends. It’s been a platform for growth, innovation, and networking, enhancing our capabilities and positioning us as a key player in the identity verification space.

Q. Why is data access important to your startup?

A. Data access is crucial for Nufi because it powers our identity verification service. The more data we can gather, the better and more accurate our background checks become. This helps us build stronger trust with our clients by offering them precise and current information. Simply put, having access to a wide range of data allows us to improve our services continuously and address our clients’ needs effectively, ensuring their transactions are safe and reliable.

Q. What milestones has Nufi achieved so far?

A. Nufi has achieved several significant milestones that showcase our journey towards enabling trust and transforming identity verification in Mexico and for the LatinX community worldwide:

1. Extensive Customer Base: We’ve built a strong foundation with over 190+ B2B customers, generating substantial revenue and demonstrating the market’s trust in our solutions.

2. Capital Raise: Successfully raised USD 450K in an angel round, highlighting investor confidence in our vision and execution capabilities.

3. Techstars and Google Accelerator Alumni: Participation in these prestigious accelerators, Techstars W21 and Google Accelerator W22, underscores our innovative approach and potential for scale.

4. Exclusive Data Sources: Nufi is the sole provider of certain crucial data sources in Mexico, offering unmatched depth and breadth of information for identity verification.

5. Comprehensive Background Checks: Developed the most exhaustive background check system in Mexico, ensuring our clients can make quick and safe trust decisions.

6. Flexible and Modular Solutions: Offering both a user-friendly platform for immediate checks and an API for seamless integration into clients’ workflows, showcasing our adaptability to diverse client needs.

7. Growth and Expansion: Focused on scaling, with goals to capture a significant share of the Serviceable Obtainable Market within the next three years, targeting approximately $22.5 million in annual revenue.

Each of these milestones represents a step forward in our commitment to providing a safer, more efficient, and trustworthy environment for transactions and interactions in the financial services sector and beyond. Ilich and I have a deep commitment to enabling trust in the LatinX community throughout the world, driving every innovation and decision at Nufi.

Q. What trends in fintech are you most excited about?

A. I’m really excited about a few fintech trends that I think are changing the game:

1. AI and Machine Learning: These are making our work faster and smarter, especially when it comes to checking someone’s identity. It helps us catch fraud better and make sure our clients can trust the people they’re dealing with.

2. Blockchain: This technology is all about making transactions super secure. It keeps records safe and unchangeable, which is great for protecting personal info and building trust online.

3. Digital Identity Verification: As more of our lives move online, it’s super important to have a safe way to prove who we are on the internet. We’re working on making this process really easy and secure for everyone, especially for the LatinX community around the world.

4. RegTech for Compliance: With all the rules and regulations out there, fintechs need to stay on top of them without slowing down. Technology that helps with this is really important for keeping things smooth and legal.

5. Financial Inclusion: Fintech is helping bring banking and financial services to people who haven’t had them before. By making it easier to verify identities, we’re helping open up these services to more people, which is something I’m really passionate about.

Each of these trends is helping us at Nufi do our job better and make the financial world a safer, more inclusive place.

Q. How does Nufi think about leveraging AI in a differentiated way?

A. At Nufi, we approach AI with a distinct perspective, focusing on enabling trust across financial interactions, especially within the LatinX community. Here’s how we differentiate our use of AI:

1. Custom AI Models for Identity Verification: Unlike generic solutions, we develop AI models specifically tailored to the unique challenges of verifying identities in Latin America. These models are trained on a wide range of data points, including those exclusive to Nufi, ensuring higher accuracy and reliability.

2. Real-time Data Analysis: We leverage AI to analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, providing immediate insights for decision-making. This capability is critical in environments where speed and accuracy are paramount, such as in fraud detection and customer verification processes.

3. AI-driven Compliance and Regulation Adherence: Given the complex regulatory landscape in Latin America, our AI systems are designed to adapt to and comply with local laws and international standards. This proactive approach to compliance is a key differentiator, ensuring our solutions meet the highest standards of legal integrity.

4. Enhanced Financial Inclusion: Our AI technologies are instrumental in extending financial services to traditionally underserved communities. By simplifying and securing the identity verification process, we make it easier for individuals and businesses to access essential financial services, fostering greater inclusivity.

5. Continuous Learning and Improvement: Our AI systems are built to learn from each interaction, constantly improving their accuracy and effectiveness. This commitment to ongoing learning ensures that our solutions evolve alongside our clients’ needs, maintaining our edge in innovation.

In essence, our differentiated approach to leveraging AI is deeply intertwined with our mission to build trust and enhance security in financial services, all while promoting greater inclusivity through technological innovation.

Q. What’s next for Nufi?

A. Looking ahead, Nufi is focused on expanding our reach and impact, particularly in serving the LatinX community across the Americas. Our roadmap includes several key initiatives:

1. Expansion into New Markets: We’re planning to extend our services beyond Mexico, targeting key markets in Latin America and the United States where the LatinX community significantly benefits from enhanced identity verification and financial inclusion services.

2. Product Innovation: Continuing to innovate our platform with the latest AI and machine learning advancements to offer more comprehensive and efficient identity verification solutions. This includes developing new features that cater to the specific needs of our expanding customer base.

3. Strategic Partnerships: Forming strategic partnerships with financial institutions, fintech startups, and community organizations to broaden our reach and impact. These collaborations will allow us to bring our services to underserved communities, furthering our mission of enabling trust and financial inclusion.

4. Regulatory Compliance: As we expand, we’ll continue to navigate the complex regulatory environment of each new market, ensuring that our services remain compliant while advocating for regulatory frameworks that support innovation and inclusivity in financial services.

5. Community Engagement: Deepening our engagement with the communities we serve through educational initiatives, financial literacy programs, and community-based projects. We believe that empowering individuals with knowledge and resources is key to fostering financial wellness and inclusion.

Our journey is driven by the belief that access to trustworthy financial services is foundational to economic empowerment. As we move forward, Nufi remains committed to being at the forefront of using technology to break down barriers to financial inclusion, making safe and equitable financial services accessible to all, especially the LatinX community.

To hear more about Nufi and 11 other exciting fintech startups, be sure to register for FinTech Sandbox Demo Day[s] 10!

Meet Manifest — A Demo Day[s] 10 Presenting Startup

Posted on by Jim Smith

This year, FinTech Sandbox Demo Day[s] will take place across two days, April 9 & April 11. The presentations will be virtual and the event, as always, is free. Demo Days are exciting because we get to showcase startups that are on the very cutting edge of innovation and you get to see what they’re up to before they’re discovered.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll highlight a few of this year’s presenting entrepreneurs. Today, we’re talking to Meenakshi Lakshmanan, Co-Founder and CTO of Chicago-based Manifest, which is building the first-ever digital transfer solution for retirement accounts. Manifest is presenting on April 11.

Meenakshi Lakshmanan is Co-Founder and CTO of Chicago-based Manifest, which is building the first-ever digital transfer solution for retirement accounts.

Q.   Meenakshi, tell us a bit about Manifest. What problems are you solving?

A.   Manifest is building the first-ever digital transfer solution for retirement accounts. We are working to make safe, easy, and quick 401k transfers possible for everyone.

Q.   What is your company’s origin story?

 A.   In 2017, while pursuing my MBA at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, I had the opportunity to meet Anuraag Tripathi, who was working on a 401(k) provider for small businesses. Recognizing the potential in his startup, we decided to join forces and collaborate on his venture.

During our journey of serving 300,000 Americans, we encountered a significant challenge in the retirement savings landscape. It took up to 60 days to consolidate 401(k) accounts, which posed a real obstacle for individuals. To understand the extent of this issue, we conducted a survey of 2,500 employees as they left their jobs. The results were eye-opening: on average, most individuals had three old retirement accounts, and balances under $15,000 were frequently cashed out for non-emergency reasons.

Motivated by these findings and the desire to make a positive impact, we founded Manifest. In 2018, Manifest was selected as one of the 11 start-up finalists to present at the prestigious New Venture Challenge at Booth’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. The company’s concept resonated with the judges, leading to Manifest securing the grand prize, which amounted to over $315,000 in seed funding.

Q.   Can you describe what it’s been like to be part of the FinTech Sandbox community?

A.   Being part of the Fintech Sandbox community has provided an incredibly supportive ecosystem tailored to the unique circumstances and developmental stages of a young startup, ensuring we never feel alone in our journey. The access to exceptional data partners, who are not only willing but also responsive to our requests, has been instrumental in accelerating our product development and market readiness. Moreover, the community has opened doors to a high-quality network of friendly and helpful individuals.

Q.   Why is data access important to your startup?

A.   Data access is crucial to our startup because the process of retirement account transfers is fundamentally a data-intensive operation. Having access to timely and accurate data is essential because it enables us to streamline the transfer process, making it seamless for our customers. This accuracy and timeliness in data access not only improve the efficiency of transfers but also enhance the overall customer experience by minimizing errors and delays, ultimately fostering trust and satisfaction with our service.

Q.   What milestones has Manifest achieved so far?

A.   Over the past two years, we’ve made significant progress in streamlining the transfer process and maximizing retirement outcomes, achieving a 70% automation rate. This efficiency is reflected in our NPS score of 94, showcasing user satisfaction. We have access to over 250,000 participants through various employers, we are committed to helping them achieve their retirement goals. Additionally, we have engaged with four out of the top 15 retirement providers, paving the way for extensive market reach.

Q.   What trends in fintech are you most excited about?

A.   Fintech companies are leading the financial industry towards customer-centricity, leveraging technology for more than just cost reduction. Startups are prioritizing user needs and developing products that offer financial ease, automation, and transparency. As a result, these innovative approaches are gaining traction in traditionally overlooked or unprofitable areas, presenting opportunities for startups like Manifest to address challenges like retirement transfers with efficient technology, replacing manual and inefficient solutions.

Q.   How does Manifest think about leveraging AI in a differentiated way?

A.   Our company leverages AI in a differentiated way by focusing on the creation of a retirement concierge service that goes beyond mere transactional support. By incorporating AI, we aim to demystify the complex world of retirement benefits and navigate through the dense jargon that often overwhelms individuals. Our AI-driven approach is designed to provide personalized, easy-to-understand answers to questions about retirement benefits, making the process of planning for retirement more accessible and less intimidating.

Q.   What’s next for Manifest?

A.   From a product perspective, our company is dedicated to continuous innovation, introducing new features to enhance the ways we assist users in maximizing their retirement outcomes. We are also prioritizing the development of high-quality, reliable data pipelines between providers to further streamline the transfer process, ensuring a seamless experience for our customers. On the business front, we are rapidly expanding our reach by forging partnerships with employers and retirement providers to distribute our product effectively.

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To hear more about Manifest and 11 other exciting fintech startups, be sure to register for FinTech Sandbox Demo Day[s] 10!

Meet Quorus — A Demo Day[s] 10 Presenting Startup

Posted on by Jim Smith

This year, FinTech Sandbox Demo Day[s] will take place across two days, April 9 & April 11. The presentations will be virtual and the event, as always, is free. Demo Days are exciting because we get to showcase startups that are on the very cutting edge of innovation and you get to see what they’re up to before they’re discovered.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll highlight a few of this year’s presenting entrepreneurs. Today, we’re talking to John Hill, Co-Founder and CEO of Connecticut- based Quorus, which is partnering with asset and wealth managers to offer customizable, tax-managed investment portfolios based on the manager’s proprietary investment strategies. Quorus is presenting on April 11.

John Hill, Quorus CEO, to present at Fintech Sandbox Demo Day[s] 10.

 

Q.   John, tell us a bit about Quorus. What problems are you solving?

A.   Quorus partners with asset managers to offer their investment strategies in personalized, tax-efficient accounts.

Q.   What is your company’s origin story?

A.   Scott Shumway and I founded Quorus to help asset managers make the transition to custom portfolio based offers. I lived the transition firsthand building Vanguard’s direct indexing pilot. Looking out at the market, I felt like direct indexing and passive was getting all the did not feel like there was a good partner for firms that did not run all passive strategies. We built Quorus to help them.

Q.   Can you describe what it’s been like to be part of the FinTech Sandbox community?

A.   Being a member has been an incredible asset for our development. Investment data is incredibly expensive and fragmented. The Data Access Residency program allowed us to work with a range of data partners, explore our needs, and ultimately find a data partner in FactSet that would help us accelerate our product. Aside from data access, the broader network of founders and partners that we have been able to engage with has been tremendous.

Q.   Why is data access important to your startup?

A.   Data is the life blood of our offering. Everything we do requires accurate market data, from partnering with asset managers to build a bespoke tax methodology, running backtests, maintaining custom risk models, running our UI and portfolio management process. Data is everywhere. Without investment data, we do not have a company.

Q.   What milestones has Quorus achieved so far?

A.   We have hit a few. We launched the first version of our product last year and closed our first round of institutional funding. Since then, we have grown the team, signed asset manager partners and advisor firms, grown our firm assets under management, and continued to evolve the product. We have a tremendous ways to go, but we are proud of the progress we have made and excited at the partnerships we continue to add and expand.

Q.   What trends in fintech are you most excited about?

A.   We continue to be excited by the growing interest in customized investing. By giving asset managers the means to offer their strategies in this product structure, we can expand access to high quality investment strategies, give investors more choice in how they invest their money, and ultimately provide advisors a better way to serve their clients. Outside of this, we are excited by the continued growth of the independent wealth management channel and of course, remain very interesting in seeing how generative AI continues to mature.

Q.   How does Quorus think about leveraging AI in a differentiated way?

A.   We believe that we are a long way off from having AI run client portfolios, which is our core value proposition. That said, we are exploring interesting use cases that can improve our internal operational efficiency and help portfolio managers in their process.

Q.   What’s next for Quorus?

A.   We continue to work closely with firms that are in various stages of due diligence and offer design. We look forward to bringing these relationships to market this year. In addition to deepening our existing relationships, we continue to add new partner firms. We value working with firms who are eager to roll up their sleeves, and co-design a product that fits the unique nature of their business.

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To hear more about Quorus and 11 other exciting fintech startups, be sure to register for FinTech Sandbox Demo Day[s] 10!