Conference Archives - Lend Academy

Health Update for LendIt Fintech USA 2020

How we are making sure our May conference will be safe for all attendees

March 3, 2020 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

The world is awash in coronavirus news. Google News is showing 894 million news articles for the term “coronavirus”, a word most of us had never heard of until this year. Even “COVID-19” has 255 million news articles. It is, without doubt, the most well covered new virus in history.

Here at LendIt we are starting to get questions from attendees, speakers and sponsors about our marquis event, LendIt Fintech USA 2020, happening in New York City on May 13-14, just over 10 weeks today. So, we wanted to provide an update for you.

The Show Will Go On

The LendIt Fintech team is committed to producing a great show as we have done every year since 2013. We know that for many companies in our industry, LendIt is their Superbowl, the place where they make the most connections, generate the most impactful leads, and learn the most important new trends in fintech. In short, the industry depends on us, and we will not let the industry down.

We have added a section to our FAQ page that spells out the precautions we are taking. And we have emailed all registered attendees, sponsors and speakers. Rest assured there will be hand sanitizer everywhere, common areas will be vigorously cleaned and we will have additional medical staff on site.

We are in regular touch with the Javits Center and the City of New York, who are constantly monitoring the situation. They are working hard to make sure all of the upcoming conferences, of which there are many, will be safe and productive for all attendees. If circumstances change we will certainly update everyone.

My Personal View

I have been saying privately for weeks that the death rate for COVID-19 has been dramatically overstated. Here is a recent article from the Cato Institute that affirms my opinion.

While I don’t want to minimize the dangers of the virus, the vast majority of people who contract COVID-19 experience mild symptoms. We may never know the actual mortality rate for this flu, nor does our crystal ball reveal the path of expansion and contraction it will take, but we can be confident that life will return to normal at some point.

Now, it could well be a new normal with increased awareness of cleanliness and health safety. But we don’t want to live or work without face to face contact with people. I obviously have a vested interest in people maintaining their normal life but it is also something I believe should happen. I am writing this article on a plane to New York City and I am more acutely aware of doing the simple things to protect myself than ever before. And that is probably a good thing.

As I said, the show will go on. My colleagues at LendIt are committed to providing a safe, hygienic environment in which you may develop your company in this dynamic and ever-changing industry.

Early Bird Pricing for LendIt Fintech USA 2020 Ends Tomorrow

Register by end of day Friday to save $1,000 on your ticket to LendIt Fintech USA 2020 in New York

January 9, 2020 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

LendIt Fintech is excited to be back in New York City for our marquis event, LendIt Fintech USA 2020, after spending the last two years in San Francisco. We will be back at the Javits Center again on May 13-14 where you can attend the world’s largest event dedicated to lending and digital banking.

Our keynote roster is shaping up to be the best we have ever had. Earlier this week we announced the Chief Strategy Officer for Goldman Sachs, Stephanie Cohen, who will be speaking about Goldman’s approach to innovation and how they are working with the fintech ecosystem today. We also have confirmed Jelena McWilliams, the head of FDIC, Craig Boundy, the CEO of Experian North America, Angela Strange, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and Rishi Khosla, the CEO and Co-Founder of OakNorth, the leading UK challenger bank. We also have a couple more big names that we will be announcing very shortly.

Save $1,000 to LendIt Fintech USA 2020 by Registering Now

Early bird pricing of $1,995 ends at midnight on January 10th (that’s tomorrow as I am writing this), that is $1,000 off the full price of a ticket. Also, as always Lend Academy readers can receive an additional 15% discount (off the already discounted price) by using the code LENDACADEMYVIP at checkout. You know you want to go so why don’t you go ahead and register now.

Below is a video with some highlights from our event last year in San Francisco. We look forward to seeing you at LendIt Fintech USA 2020 in New York in May.

All LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 Sessions Now Available Online

LendIt Rewind now has audio of all Europe 2019 sessions on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher

December 10, 2019 By Todd Anderson Leave a Comment

Rishi Khosla, CEO of OakNorth, in the opening keynote session

If you attended LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 in London this past September you probably missed out on many sessions you really wanted to attend. I know that was the case for me. Not to worry you can now listen to or watch any of the sessions from this groundbreaking event.

While we have had videos of all the keynote sessions available online for a couple of months now, we recently completed uploading all the track sessions as well. These are audio files that you can listen to on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher (just search for LendIt Rewind or the title of your favorite session).

In addition, recorded sessions can be found on the LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 website. You can also view photos from the event. All available slide presentations can also be found on the LendIt Blog.

If you are interested in joining us as a speaker for LendIt Fintech Europe 2020 please sign up to speak today.

FINNOSUMMIT Miami by LendIt Fintech – Highlights From Our First Latin American Event

LendIt Fintech just wrapped up our first ever Latin American event in Miami in partnership with Finnovista

December 5, 2019 By Peter Renton 1 Comment

There are many reasons why Latin America is the hottest region on the planet right now for fintech innovation. Venture capital dollars are pouring into the region like never before, 50% of the 630 million in the region are unbanked or underbanked, there is a strong entrepreneurial culture, the banking oligopolies in the region don’t serve their customers well and the penetration of smartphones means the population is ready to embrace digital finance. These are just some of the things I learned this week at FINNOSUMMIT Miami by LendIt Fintech.

LendIt Fintech partnered with Finnovista, who have been doing Latin American fintech events for several years, to bring the first ever LendIt event dedicated to this region. We just wrapped up two successful days with over 700 fintech enthusiasts at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami. The place was buzzing on both days and dozens of people came up to me and told me how glad they were that LendIt finally decided to have an event for this region. It was also an opportunity for me to meet many of the leading players in person and immerse myself in the challenges and opportunities of the region. Below are some of the highlights from the keynote stage.

We kicked off the event with Sergio Furio, the CEO and founder of Creditas, the leading Brazilian consumer lender that earlier this year received $231 million in equity funding from Softbank. Sergio said they decided to focus on secured lending because it is hard to automate and he saw an opportunity to create a differentiated company. He provided a unique perspective on why banks should work with fintechs – they are basically getting free innovation. Creditas has major ambitions as they expand into Mexico and introduce new lending products. They are even looking beyond finance to offer ancillary products. He ended with this: “The bank of the future is not going to be the bank of the past with a digital interface, it will look very different.” [Read more…]

LendIt Fintech USA 2020 Call for Speakers

Submit your speaker idea for LendIt Fintech USA 2020 by December 31st

November 26, 2019 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

We are now less than six months away from LendIt Fintech USA 2020 to be held at the Javits Center in New York City on May 13-14 next year. We are just starting to fill out our speaker roster so if you would like to be considered as a speaker now is the time to act. I recorded the short video below with my fellow co-founder, Bo Brustkern, CEO of LendIt Fintech, to give you an idea of what we are looking for when it comes to a speaking role.

To be part of LendIt Fintech’s exclusive speaker faculty please send us your most provocative and innovative ideas. This should (obviously) not be a sales pitch for your company, it should be an original idea that will help drive the industry forward. As I said in the video to have the best chance of being included as a speaker next year you should submit your idea by December 31st. I look forward to reading your submissions.

LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 Conference Highlights

Wrap up of sixth annual LendIt Fintech Europe event that took place in London last week

October 1, 2019 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

We have just wrapped up what I think has been the most successful European conference LendIt has ever had. We hosted LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 at the Business Design Centre again and the place was buzzing with people both days. We attracted a great mix of people, many of whom took advantage of the Brella app, where over 2,000 one on one meetings occurred.

For the second year in a row there were major developments in Brexit during the week of the conference. But I wouldn’t say Brexit dominated the conversations at all, people have become jaded with the entire thing and just want it over with. So, the talk was all centered around fintech, the maturation of the industry and what we can do to drive it forward.

I spent most of my time in the content, mainly the keynote room which converted into the Lending Innovations track in the afternoon. We recorded videos for every session in the keynote room and they are all available to watch now on the LendIt site. Here are some of my highlights from the event. [Read more…]

Introducing LendIt’s New Latin American Event in Miami

FINNOSUMMIT Miami by LendIt Fintech will take place in Miami on December 3-4, launch pricing ends tomorrow

August 15, 2019 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

One of the hottest areas on the globe right now for fintech is Latin America. There is plenty of VC money flowing into this region and fintech is getting the lion’s share. And the debt investors are also beginning to focus on Latin America. Brazil’s leading digital bank, Nubank, became the most valuable private fintech company on the planet (outside of China) when it secured its latest funding round. And there are many other fantastic success stories throughout the region.

Many of you have reached out to us at LendIt Fintech asking us to bring our unique event experience to the Latin American market. For these reasons, last week we launched of our first ever Latin American event. We are partnering with Finnovista, the leading fintech event company for Latin America, to bring you FINNOSUMMIT Miami by LendIt Fintech. This English language event will take place in Miami on December 3-4 at the JW Marriott Marquis.

We have already secured keynote speakers from some of the leading companies in the region such as Creditas, Clip, Softbank, Guiabolso and we are just getting started. We will be covering the digital banking ecosystem, lending innovation, payments and the cutting edge of fintech. If you are interested in speaking please fill out a speaker application.

Launch Pricing to FINNOSUMMIT Miami by LendIt Fintech Ends Friday

The special launch price of $795 for this new event is in effect until August 16 (that is tomorrow as I publish this). As always, as a Lend Academy reader you can receive an additional 15% discount by using the code LENDACADEMYVIP at checkout. The discount code is always good for 15% off but you will receive the best pricing if you purchase before midnight on August 16. You can register now on the LendIt website.

All LendIt Fintech USA 2019 Sessions Now Available Online

April 25, 2019 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

If you attended LendIt Fintech USA 2019 in San Francisco earlier this month there was likely many sessions you missed out on. I know that was the case for me. Not to worry you can now listen to or watch any and all of the sessions from this groundbreaking event.

While we have had videos of all the keynote sessions available online for a couple of weeks now, today we completed uploading all the track sessions as well. These are audio files that you can listen to via our website or they are also on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher (just search for LendIt Rewind or the title of your favorite session).

I have already started going through the audio files and last night I listened to The New Payday Lending Alternative: Employer Based Lending, a fascinating session featuring four companies that are trying to change the financial health of workers across America. There are dozens of other great session to listen to and I hope you add some LendIt content in your audio playlist.

LendIt Fintech USA 2019 Event Highlights

April 18, 2019 By Peter Renton 3 Comments

Roger Hochschild, CEO of Discover and Douglas Merrill, CEO of Zest Finance chat with Selina Wang of Bloomberg in LendIt Fintech USA 2019 opening keynote session

Last week the fintech world gathered in San Francisco for the 7th annual LendIt Fintech USA conference. As I do every year at this time I will share many of the highlights from the keynote presentations and other parts of the event.

We kicked off the event with a fascinating discussion that encapsulated so much of what is important in finance right now. We had the CEO of Discover, Roger Hochschild and the CEO of ZestFinance, Douglas Merrill on stage talking about bank-fintech partnerships and how machine learning is helping both banks and fintech companies expand their credit box to the previously underserved. Hochschild said that partnerships are so important for banks because they can get access to talent that they might otherwise not. My favorite quote from the session was from Merrill, “There is a moral beauty in finding people who have been mistreated by the [financial] system and fixing that”.

The CEO and Co-founder of Affirm, Max Levchin, had some harsh words to say about credit cards in his session. He basically compared them to pay day loans in that in both instances borrowers are allowed to refinance their own debt in perpetuity. Their business model is based to some extent on deceiving the customer. Far better to have an installment loan where you know exactly how much you are paying with a fixed payment every month. He also talked about Affirm’s groundbreaking partnership with Walmart and how both companies, while very different when it comes to scale, have a very similar customer-centric approach. He appreciated Walmart no longer offers a deferred interest payment option, something that Levchin dislikes intensely. He said that 2019 will be the year of big partnerships for Affirm both within finance and outside.

Sallie Krawcheck is the CEO of Ellevest and previously ran the wealth management operations for some of the largest Wall Street firms. She talked about an amazingly underserved investor segment: women. Investment management is such a male dominated industry with 90% of mutual fund managers and 95% of hedge fund managers being male. She made the interesting point that we have been socialized to think that something “for women” means it is inferior and likely just a marketing ploy. Women have not made the progress either in finance or other industries that we all expected a couple of decades ago. The gender pay gap is decades away from closing and one of the ways to help close this gap is to help women invest in a smarter way.

Sallie Krawcheck of Ellevest talks with Kat Utecht of Core Innovation Capital at LendIt Fintech USA 2019 — Sallie Krawcheck of Ellevest talks about empowering women investors with Kat Utecht of Core Innovation Capital

[Read more…]

Wrap-Up of LendIt Fintech Europe 2018

Key themes and discussion topics that emerged from LendIt Fintech Europe 2018, our two day event held in London last week

November 28, 2018 By Peter Renton Leave a Comment

Last week the European fintech industry gathered in London for the fifth annual LendIt Fintech Europe event. While there were many key themes that emerged from our 2018 event, given the state of politics in the UK right now, one big theme hovered over them all: Brexit. As we got underway last Monday at the Business Design Centre it was not clear that the UK Prime Minister would make it through the day with her job intact.

Of course, the industry moves on regardless of the political events of the day so all the attendees got down to business just like they have done at previous events. Key themes that emerged over the two days were the continued inroads incumbent banks were making in fintech, the maturation of bank/fintech partnerships, the importance of open banking initiatives that are in development, and why strong and sensible regulation is critical for the development of fintech. Videos of all the keynote sessions are now posted online but below is a summary of some of the key points made in each session.

Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London, opens LendIt Fintech Europe 2018

Kicking things off this year was Rajesh Agrawal, the Deputy Mayor for Business at the City of London. He talked passionately about the opportunity that London provides for business and the fact that there is an entire ecosystem setup here to support fintech entrepreneurs. With London you have a city that combines the best of New York, Silicon Valley and Washington DC all in one place. He made the interesting point that the future is all about connecting global cities and that cities are more important than ever before. Great cities like London can help enable these connections. He closed with the simple message that London is open for business and regardless of what happens with Brexit it will remain open.