Back in January I received an email from Dara Albright, the founder of NowStreet Media, and a well-known conference organizer. She thought it was time for a conference focused on p2p lending. This was quite serendipitous because one of my goals in 2013 was to put on some kind of conference. So we joined forces.
Today, we are both delighted to announce that the LendIt Conference is now open for registrations. It will be on June 20th at the Convene Innovation Center in New York City. Before I go any further I imagine you have a couple of questions. Like what is this conference about exactly and who is it for?
There is a full preliminary agenda on the website. While p2p lending will be a large part of the conference our focus is going to be broader than that. Of course I still believe that p2p lending is a fantastic investment opportunity but I am not blind to other types of alternative online investments. One that I am becoming increasingly enamored with is small business lending, something that has been around for centuries, but that has only recently migrated online. Student loans are also an interesting investment with a total market size far exceeding credit card debt.
So, the focus will be on investing, more specifically online lending be it to consumers, small business or students. For the first time we are bringing together the leaders in online lending for a one day conference.
Learn How Online Lending Will Replace the Banking System
While we are still working on the final speaker lineup I can tell you this. The morning keynote will be given by Renaud Laplanche, CEO of Lending Club, where he will reveal how he believes online lending will eventually replace the banking system. Other confirmed speakers are Ron Suber, Head of Institutional Sales at Prosper, Candace Klein, CEO of SoMoLend, Matt Symons, CEO of SocietyOne in Australia, Samir Desai, CEO of Funding Circle in the UK, David Klein, CEO of CommonBond and many more.
I am not going to lie to you. If you are just looking for the latest ideas on filtering loans at Lending Club or Prosper then this conference is probably not for you. But if you want to meet the leaders of this industry and learn the trends that are shaping its future then there is no better place to be on June 20th than in New York City.
Special Discount for Lend Academy Readers
The retail price to attend this one day conference is $495. However, if you act fast and are one of the first 50 people to register than the price is only $295. But if you are a Lend Academy reader you get a special discount. Just enter the code LENDACADEMYDISC into the promotion code field on the EventBrite registration page and you will receive a 25% discount.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has helped us on our journey so far. You have helped name the conference, choose the logo and now you can participate. I hope to see you at LendIt on June 20th.
Here is our official press release that just went out this morning.
Peter Renton is the chairman and co-founder of LendIt Fintech, the world’s first and largest digital media and events company focused on fintech. Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010 and he is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest-running fintech interview series. Peter has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The New York Times, CNBC, CNN, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business News, the Financial Times, and dozens of other publications.