I’m one of the 167,608 subscribers to the CB Insights Newsletter – a must read for folks interested in all things fintech. CB Insights provide industry led research, data and analytics covering a vast spectrum of topics from incumbent corporation investment strategies through to start up company trends, noteworthy economic, markets and investment analysis for venture capitalists. In short, these guys will tell you which companies will be in the S&P tomorrow. It is their funky graphs and payments related analysis that got me interested in their research. I’ve already covered some of their insights into corporate innovation, innovation myths and fintech, but in this post i thought i would cover the – what i found interesting – tweets from their recent Future of Fintech conference.
The Future of Fintech
The Future of Fintech was a 3 day conference in New York from 8-10th June. From what i could see, this conference was a little different. The CB Insights event featured venture capitalists (VC), quite a few start ups and the investment wings of many incumbent institutions. Also, i dont think i saw any of the traditional “fintech mafia” at the event, so i was curious to see what was being talked about – through the twitter #FutureFintech, this is what i found:
10 Fintech Themes from the Conference via Twitter
This post ended up being a lot longer than i hoped – but i think the tweets are pretty interesting and tell an interesting story….
1. Insurance will be disrupted
@daschreiber makes an eloquent and compelling case that insurance is the industry most ripe for dramatic disruption. #FutureFintech
— Tim Graczewski (@tgraczewski) June 8, 2016
Someone is going to make a ton of freaking money in insurance for #autonomouscars. Legacy providers are not ready #FutureFintech @BoozAllen — Adam Porter-Price (@AdamPorterPrice) June 8, 2016
#FutureFintech lemonade CEO….”all insurance has a core conflict of interest at its heart” “the goal of insurers is to deny claims”… — Drew Aldrich (@DrewKAldrich) June 8, 2016
“Insurance…could be the ultimate social good.” – Dan Schreiber @daschreiber @Lemonade_Inc #FutureFintech — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 8, 2016
#FutureFintech Insurance is a white middle age guys business, time to make it hip, incentives need to change — Carlito Ochoa (@Carlitobythebay) June 8, 2016
“People have to trust their insurer the way they trust Google…we’re not there yet” –@daschreiber #FutureFintech #InsureTech — Corey B. Davis (@CoreyBDavis) June 8, 2016
“People looking to disrupt insurance miss how complex the ecosystem really is.” Kevin Kerridge #FutureFintech — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 8, 2016
2. Its Not Just About Millennials
#UX is key, millennials want low friction, fast on boarding #FutureFinTech https://t.co/ZqOXO7zFVP
— SOCURE (@socureme) June 10, 2016
“Millenials are 1 piece but I think this mobile first, digital transformation is just what ppl want now” @ScarlettSieber #FutureFintech
— Alyssa Anchelowitz (@aanchelowitz) June 9, 2016
“It’s not just about millennials; it’s a digital migration.” – @scarlettsieber #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
3. Innovation, Innovation, Innovation
.@JamesWHobson says getting a loan as a small business should be as easy as buying a toaster on Amazon #FutureFintech
— Julie VerHage (@julieverhage) June 10, 2016
@ScarlettSieber “So we disrupt ourselves, if we don’t do it someone else will.” Keep blazing the trail Scarlett!#FutureFintech
— Arvie de Vera (@arviedevera) June 9, 2016
“It’s hard to be customer-centric at a huge company and solve real pain points.” – @matt_oppy #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
“Knowing your consumer & how to interface with them is the most important” wise words by Sean Rowles .@PayPal .@CBinsights #FutureFintech
— Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 9, 2016
“Banks aren’t our competition, it’s the Googles and Facebooks” says @scarlettsieber @bbva #FutureFintech
— Martha Notaras (@MarthaNotaras) June 9, 2016
And so it begins…#FutureFintech “Banks have made money through trading…they haven’t paid attention to retail innovation” – … — Corey B. Davis (@CoreyBDavis) June 9, 2016
Don’t bet against technologies that make people’s lives easier–those tend to scale and gain momentum #FutureFintech pic.twitter.com/s4QI5sQmqH — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 10, 2016
4. Start Ups – The Power of the 1%
On false positives & growth: “It’s easy to grow when you’re giving money away.” -Brad Bernstein #FutureFintech pic.twitter.com/FnrgdhwZoK — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 10, 2016
.@ravi_vis says 1 of the biggest challenge to #startups is that banks can outspend to acquire customers #FutureFintech — Scarlett Sieber (@ScarlettSieber) June 10, 2016
As fintech struggle with Regulator,banks,valuation & IPO, there are no unicorns in 2016- How will fintech reinvent itself? #FutureFintech — Deepak Sharma (@deepakmsharma1) June 10, 2016
“Convoluted IT” & corporate inertia keep big FIs in branch & card present mode, #FutureFinTech start-ups think mobile-first, millennial, etc — Michael H (@mphnyc) June 10, 2016
We have a “no jerk” policy, we invest in people we want to be friends with .@JayReinemann .@PropelVC .@CBinsights #FutureFinTech love that! — Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 10, 2016
“Startups can succeed by focusing on the bank’s pain points, understanding current method & framing new solution” #FutureFintech @jshergill — FinTech Lab (@FinTechLab) June 9, 2016
Life/work lessons from @mchooyah:
1. Prepare to fight
2. Perform under fire
3. Trust your people
4. Never quit#FutureFintech— Caroline J. Park (@carolinejpark) June 9, 2016
5. Payments
Big Corporations still writing checks #StoneAge #Payments #FutureFintech
— Mike B (@mbreez1990) June 10, 2016
New areas of interest for these VCs? Life insurance, B2B payments, AI, messaging, future tech .@CBinsights #FutureFintech #vc #startups
— Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 10, 2016
#FutureFintech is it in the #payments or outside of payment in the #public sector for #bitcoin and #blockchain
— Drachmae Project (@E_Drachma) June 10, 2016
“Payments by itself doesn’t mean anything, there needs to be a new reason to use it” #FutureFintech @SapphireVC pic.twitter.com/NHAXZzJb1H
— Scarlett Sieber (@ScarlettSieber) June 9, 2016
On payments: “It’s very difficult to do front-facing stuff. I think on the back end, a lot of money can be made.” – @dtcippy #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
6. Fintech – Be Afraid, be very afraid…
“The financial industry is just a game of trust and confidence” #FutureFintech @CBinsights
— Ashley Chen (@achennnnn) June 10, 2016
Banks were distracted post 2008, left the door open for #FinTech startups to grow Karl Abbott .@scotiabank .@CBinsights #FutureFintech
— Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 9, 2016
Don’t bet against technologies that make people’s lives easier–those tend to scale and gain momentum #FutureFintech pic.twitter.com/s4QI5sQmqH — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 10, 2016
“It’s very easy for fintech lenders to start a business, but very hard for them to scale” #FutureFintech @CBinsights — Ashley Chen (@achennnnn) June 10, 2016
If you’re creating a service that is helpful and valuable to your client, that’s sustainable .@OnDeckCapital .@CBinsights #FutureFintech — Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 10, 2016
#FinTech partnerships with banks #FutureFintech .@CBinsights pic.twitter.com/TQXHt0V0F9 — Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 9, 2016
The Fintech data is everywhere here #FutureFintech pic.twitter.com/WmtuXRnHyl — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
#FutureFintech @jpmorgan pic.twitter.com/qGWtpXAQFH — Eric Isham (@216Eric) June 8, 2016
@asanwal on #FutureFintech FOMO (fear of missing out) and FOGS (fear of getting screwed). Are you on offense or defense? @CBinsights — Sanjiv Karani (@SanjivKarani) June 8, 2016
7. Banks – Whats going on?
Pretty sure tech giants have been mentioned a lot more than the big banks at this @CBinsights fintech conference #FutureFintech
— Julie VerHage (@julieverhage) June 10, 2016
“It’s a competitive necessity for financial services companies to think of themselves as technology companies,” @JTLonsdale #FutureFintech
— Stephen Arthur (@sarthur) June 9, 2016
“The big banks have a huge incentive to keep ACH going – lots of cash on their balance sheet” notes @LaurenKolodny #FutureFinTech
— Michael H (@mphnyc) June 10, 2016
The growth of #FinTech start-ups is highly attributed to better user experience, Banks take notice, acquire what they like #FutureFinTech
— Michael H (@mphnyc) June 10, 2016
“Banks are almost becoming regulated utilities like telcos” @LaurenKolodny of @AspectVC #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 10, 2016
@Partnership4NYC Maria Gotsch: “Banks are technology companies that move money.” #FutureFintech
— Theo (@psb_dc) June 9, 2016
“Not invented here (NIH) is one challenge of working with big banks” @ravi_vis of @NEAVC #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 10, 2016
“I’m betting on tech cos and financial services becoming foes” Nagraj Kashyap of Microsoft Ventures #FutureFintech — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
One of our favorite graphics too @ravi_vis! #FutureFintech pic.twitter.com/OvmsBmtV8P — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 10, 2016
8. Blockchain – You gotta love it!
Some choice quotes from @fredwilson‘s fireside chat with @nathanielpopper at #FutureFintech https://t.co/JHWfWQBwn1 pic.twitter.com/0SG7LewSIP — Nick Pappageorge (@NpappaG) June 10, 2016
#Blockchain for banks (and other use cases) starting to get pushback as overhyped from #FutureFintech panelists — Colin Wilhelm (@colinwilhelm) June 10, 2016
Excitement around #Fintech applications for #blockchain is rising!#FutureFintechhttps://t.co/ZZ4X4qmxIk pic.twitter.com/UWV8mZHsCk — William (@wbenattar) June 10, 2016
On banks avoiding bitcoin and public blockchains, @avc says “it’s naive, it’s wishful thinking” #FutureFintech pic.twitter.com/wTamg6e8Ty — Nick Pappageorge (@NpappaG) June 8, 2016
Building Private #blockchain would be like using an intranet instead of public internet @fredwilson #FutureFintech — Martha Notaras (@MarthaNotaras) June 8, 2016
#bitcoin #FutureFintech @nathanielpopper pic.twitter.com/Jc9MSjJdzo — CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 8, 2016
9. The Unbanked Opportunity
It’s expensive to be poor, banking for the underbanked is the same .@mattcharris .@BainCapVC .@CBinsights #FutureFintech
— Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 9, 2016
“It is expensive to be poor.” @arjanschutte #FutureFintech
— Theo (@psb_dc) June 9, 2016
Discussing that billion dollar opportunity in the unbanked. @CBinsights #FutureFintech Conference. pic.twitter.com/xlFCk7xfJv
— Infocomm Investments (@iipl) June 9, 2016
“The term un-banked or underbanked was definitely invented by a banker” Matt Harris of @BainCapVC #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
“The word ‘underbanked’ assumes being ‘banked’ is a good thing.” Touché @arjanschutte #FutureFintech
— Leslie Campisi (@lesliecampisi) June 9, 2016
10. Data
Not all data is important. Some of the most surprising data sets are the most useful .@Maveron .@rebeccak46 .@CBinsights #FutureFintech
— Tara Lepelletier (@TaraLepelletier) June 9, 2016
“Sometimes surprising data is useful…in Africa, who and when you text can help determine creditworthiness.” – Rebecca Kaden #FutureFintech
— CB Insights (@CBinsights) June 9, 2016
.@asanwal “just because you have data doesn’t mean it’s useful” #FutureFintech
— Adam Porter-Price (@AdamPorterPrice) June 9, 2016
Traditional data science is broken for #IIoT and #FinTech @CBinsights #FutureFinTech pic.twitter.com/OGlgvMCEM1
— Reza (@rrahimi) June 8, 2016