Originally published by Benzinga
Following a legacy of fostering resourcefulness and innovation within the FinTech industry, Envestnet | Yodlee recently announced the expansion of its Launchpad ecosystem. The program is an open forum for established leaders and enterprising newcomers alike to better understand what opportunities, pitfalls and discoveries that exist within the contemporary world of FinTech and financial services.
According to Envestnet | Yodlee Vice President Christine Loredo, Launchpad is conceived as a resource to allow company leaders to learn about and take advantage of the emerging technologies redefining the business landscape through virtual and in-person events, online analysis and education.
“Launchpad is an ecosystem that enables education, collaboration, connection and, ultimately, growth for companies of all sizes with a need for FinTech,” said Loredo. “It helps developers and business partners launch and grow their business by providing the tools and services they need to support their innovation.”
Benzinga spoke with Loredo about the genesis of the Launchpad ecosystem and what she hopes the program will accomplish while also touching on the pressing need for more collaboration within the FinTech community as the professional world grapples with rapid technological and social change.
From Incubator To Ecosystem
The Launchpad initiative is not a completely new undertaking for the veteran FinTech firm. Envestnet | Yodlee has a long track record in guiding the conversation surrounding the role of technology in business and finance. The company spent much of the past decade coaching young FinTech companies around the globe through the tumultuous startup period with their Envestnet Yodlee Incubator.
Loredo explained how this experience was essential in developing the guiding principles of the Launchpad by reaching more firms throughout the economy and addressing the developing challenges of contemporary business.
“After running an award-winning global incubator for 5 years, graduating 40 companies, we felt we could do more with the ecosystem to help companies of all stages. Furthermore, many new accelerators have launched over the last several years and we felt they should focus on incubation and funding.”
The Launchpad ecosystem will offer a more holistic environment for education and collaboration, drawing from experts and pioneers in a variety of related professional fields to work through innovative ideas on how to operate efficiently in the 21st century.
Loredo expressed how the Launchpad ecosystem was constructed to “develop a robust ecosystem that entails collaboration, learning, networking [...] to establish connections and growth for the entire ecosystem. We also will continue to award innovation achievements for those who have gone above and beyond to reach the common goal of bettering people’s financial lives.”
Guided By Expertise
To accomplish this goal, Envestnet | Yodlee has partnered with executives and experts from throughout the FinTech industry to provide insight and mentorship on evolving questions in the space.
This ecosystem is aimed at connecting these experts with other executives throughout FinTech to generate productive conversations and novel solutions to real-world challenges facing the financial world.
By incorporating a diverse set of voices from a variety of fields, Loredo sees the Launchpad as a resource to bring the wider professional landscape into some critical discussions around the future of work and the evolving need for and use of technology.
Facing Contemporary Challenges Through Collaboration
One of the most salient topics the ecosystem is poised to address is, of course, the effects of the ongoing global pandemic on how consumers interact with businesses of all types and sizes.
Already, Loredo has seen business owners engaging within the ecosystem around ways technology can help them better identify and reach consumers.
“The pandemic is spurring a lot of growth in many areas of digital finance, for example, hyper-personalization and payments,” said Loredo. “Consumers were already getting accustomed to how they interact with Amazon, Netflix and other platforms that provide tailored, personalized experiences. We know that consumers are starting to desire similar interactions on other digital experiences, including financial matters. The pandemic is speeding up this trend. Developers are jumping into our dev portal and in need of key APIs to develop these solutions.”
Loredo explained how, in the coming weeks, the Launchpad ecosystem will host developer-centric sessions aimed at educating businesses on best practices for using Envestnet | Yodlee APIs while also helping them find essential talent in the development and IT space.
Those looking to learn more about the Launchpad ecosystem as well as view upcoming events and how to get involved can visit www.yodlee.com/fintech/launchpad.
