The award-winning Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator, currently in its 5th year, continues to connect disruptive data-driven startups with the mentorship and strategic guidance necessary to grow a successful business, while also providing free access to the leading Envestnet | Yodlee Financial Data Platform. Since 2014, the success of the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator can be seen in venture capital investments, with the 32 companies across four previous cohorts raising $82 million in funding since graduating. The companies participating in the 5th cohort of the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator are in varying stages of development. Some already have a first round of investment and early customers. Others are still developing their products and starting their search for financing. No matter what stage, these companies have two things in common:
- A killer concept for a disruptive product or service that has met the test for gaining entry into the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator; and
- A need for technology and business mentorship from industry experts and introduction to the start-up capital ecosystem.
Multiple bootcamps and a Demo Day serve as the immersive, interactive backbone of this program. The program follows an orchestrated arc starting with an introduction to Silicon Valley, exploring fundamental business and technical practices, financial modeling and working in the financial service sector, developing a funding pitch, and product demonstration. All this culminates on Demo Day, when companies present their products and their pitches to potential investors, partners and influencers. We will be following the journey of cohort 5 consisting of Betterfin, Class Action, Hurry Home, MyPerfectFinancialAdvisor, Pensio, Productfy, Rocket Dollar, Transaction Connect and Zinsur and their experiences along the way. Cohort # 5, with companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, Chicago, New York and Paris, just recently gathered in Silicon Valley for their first bootcamp. It started with three days of team building, speaker presentations, and workshops – followed by two days of technical and business presentations at the Envestnet | Yodlee headquarters where they interacted with engineers and other executives. Below are some of the topics and experts that presented:
- Optimizing the Incubator: Evin Ollinger, CEO, Golden (an Incubator portfolio company)
- Business Model Canvas: Rory Farquharson and Katherine Dunn, Elixirr
- Preparing for Fundraising: Eric Rosenthal, Rapyd
- Pitching a VC: Ben Narasin, Venture Partner, NEA
- Public Speaking: Julia Beauchamp, Speak to Inspire
- Term Sheets/Financing: Matt Bartus & Josh Seidenfeld, Cooley
- Trends in Fintech VC: Rohit Bodas, Partner, Propel Venture Partners
- Founder Story: Schwark Satyavolu, Partner, Trinity Ventures
- Recruiting and HR: Alessandra Pegnim, Director of Recruitment & Laura Rice, HR, Connery Consulting
The bootcamp was more than just learning though. The companies all had dinner (and drinks) together, building the camaraderie that is essential for a good incubation program. They took a cooking class, making sure that everyone got a little bit out of their comfort zone. And there was a launch party at the spectacular Battery penthouse, where the entrepreneurs were able to mingle with VCs, bank innovation executives and Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator portfolio companies from prior cohorts. Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator bootcamps are an intense experience that will push developers’ abilities to create new products that will expand the limits of the industry. Previous alumni of the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator have already seen considerable success in the industry, including:
- 2017 graduates Finchand Domuso raised seed rounds within months of graduating from the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator.
- SnapCheckwas nominated by KPMG Digital Village as one of the top 20 most exciting and innovative startups from all over the world to address problems faced by the financial industry.
- From the 2018 class, Goldenwon AARP and Finovate 2018 awards, Peanut Butter won Plug & Play’s best fintech startup award and Stessa was acquired by JLL.
