Are you excited about the 1st FinTech Incubator in Silicon Valley? In our previous blog post, we shared the inspiration behind our NEXT program and how entrepreneurs can benefit from $20k in funding, API access, expert guidance and networking opportunities through the Yodlee Interactive (YI) Incubator. In this post, we’d like to introduce Jeff Cain, our new Director of the Yodlee Interactive Incubator. Furthermore, we are thrilled to announce the distinctive list of companies, mentors and experts in our program. Jeff has significant experience in helping startups grow. He has served as a business development executive at technology and media companies and as a consultant on strategic planning, partnerships and M&A. Jeff is a two-time entrepreneur himself and previously worked as an investment banker. He is excited to help the developers who are building amazing applications on our Yodlee platform. Below are insights from our interview with Jeff. 1. What is your vision for YI Incubator? I see the YI Incubator as a way to fuel innovation in FinTech. Yodlee Interactive already has an ecosystem of financial institutions, large FinTech companies and emerging growth companies. The incubator will allow us to add startups to that mix, bringing the most cutting edge developers into the ecosystem. On a tactical level, the resources and mentorship of the incubator will help FinTech entrepreneurs realize their dreams. 2. Can you describe the next phase of YI Incubator? There will be four to five boot camps over the course of the incubator program. These boot camps are designed to provide mentoring, access to expertise from subject matter experts (ranging from marketing and user acquisition to legal and capital raising), and connections to our ecosystem of partners and customers. Several boot camps will have tech days to provide companies in the incubator with assistance in optimizing API integration. 3. What companies have been selected for YI incubator this fall? After going through a rigorous selection process, we’re thrilled to invite the following eight companies to join our incubator.
- Accredify verifies accredited investors and allows for a secure environment to invest in startups and private equity.
- Bowery Financial is providing a more personalized and transparent banking experience for urban professionals.
- Evolved Accounting provides a cloud-based bookkeeping and outsourcing platform to streamline transaction processing.
- DRAFT is the first crowd-sourced online investment tool, providing insights on investment returns and fees.
- Open Capital Exchange helps small businesses get better access to credit by tapping their networks.
- Roostify digitizes the home loan experience, making the process easier for borrowers and lenders alike.
- Telito is developing a discovery product that remains in stealth.
- VOATZ is a next-generation mobile voting platform.
4. Which mentors and experts will offer guidance to startups? We’re proud to announce the following list of highly accomplished experts across the tech sector covering product development, business planning, marketing strategy, API integration and more. Incubator Mentors and Experts
- Adam Marchick, Kahuna
- Billy Robins, PayNearMe
- Brady Forrest, Highway.io
- Brendan O’Connor, Vungle
- Bryan Stolle, MDV
- Marc Weill, Two Sigma Ventures
- Phillip Korn, Square1 Bank
- Ron Stewart, Transunion
- Sonny Singh, BitPay
- Vijay Chattha, VSCpr
- Vincent Turner, Planwise
Yodlee Experts
- Anita Hayrapetian, Yodlee Interactive
- Cheung Tam, Yodlee Interactive
- Christine Loredo, Yodlee Interactive
- Eric Connors, Yodlee
5. How can investors get involved with YI incubator? During upcoming boot camps, investors will be invited as subject matter experts to discuss the capital raising process with the companies. They will also be invited to attend selected networking events at boot camps and a Demo Day at the culmination of our program. Are you interested in getting involved with our program as a mentor, investor, partner or incubator participant? Feel free to contact Jeff Cain at JCain@yodlee.com with any questions. We are continually looking to foster relationships with accelerators and incubators around the world to offer tools and an ecosystem that fuels success among our FinDat community.
