Six entrepreneurs recently gave the venture community a first look at a range of cutting-edge financial technology innovations they developed over the past three months, with the guidance and support of some of the world’s leading banks and venture capitalists.

The six were selected in March from a field of more than 90 start-up companies that applied to participate in the annual FinTech Innovation Lab. The Lab was created by the New York City Investment Fund—the economic development arm of the Partnership for New York City—and Accenture to ensure that New York maintains its leadership in global finance—an industry which is increasingly driven by technological innovation.

The six participants in this year’s lab and the products they developed are:

•    Aqumin. Using interactive 3D technology, Aqumin’s AlphaVision facilitates visual analysis and interpretation of vast, disparate sources of public and proprietary market data. This enables financial market professionals to identify patterns and extract information quickly. For more information: www.aqumin.com

•    CB Insights. The start-up’s Mosaic product assesses the health of private small businesses by finding signals of strength or weakness in publicly available information sources. Mosaic, through the use of these information inputs, empowers wealth management, investment banking, vendor procurement, and lending groups to improve their marketing and due diligence efforts. For more information: www.cbinsights.com/mosaic

•    Hanweck Associates. The firm offers high-performance, real-time analytics and risk products for top-tier hedge funds, banks, broker/dealers, and other financial institutions. The company uses commercial graphical processing units to accelerate computations in its products such as Volera, a low-latency, real-time options analytics engine. For more information: www.hanweckassoc.com

•    Lenddo.com. This service is the first to use and analyze online social networks to assess creditworthiness. The Lenddo community uses these networks to help middle class people in emerging markets obtain loans and improve their financial reputation. For more information: www.lenddo.com

•    Syphr. Firm provides personalized credit management and financial optimization applications that help financial institutions and online finance websites attract business. The company’s patent-pending technology identifies more qualified and better-informed customers. For more information: www.syphronline.com

•    Zipmark. Mobile and online payments product works just like a check, minus the paper and trip to the bank. With a mobile barcode, Zipmark accepts secure payments from any bank, thrift, or credit union, providing customers with a lower-cost alternative to pay their rent and other bills. For more information: www.zipmark.com

Since May, the entrepreneurs have developed, tested, and fine-tuned their innovations. Throughout the product development process, ten global financial institutions—Bank of America, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and UBS—provided mentors, feedback, and market access to the six companies. Among those lending their advice and support were JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts CEO Henry Kravis.

“These companies are among the innovators who are creating the next generation in financial technology,” said Maria Gotsch, president and CEO of the New York City Investment Fund. “By giving them access to important potential customers, we are helping entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth and achieve an edge on competitors around the world.”

Coaching and business advice was also provided by executives at six venture capital firms: Contour Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, RRE Ventures, Village Ventures, and Warburg Pincus. The firms also gave each start-up $25,000 in funding for expenses. In addition, Accenture provided program leadership, work space, as well as mentoring by its financial services industry and technology experts.

“Innovation is more critical to the U.S. financial services industry than ever,” said Chris Wearing, managing director in Accenture’s U.S. Capital Markets practice. “Finding growth and new efficiencies in this radically changed marketplace depends heavily on new technologies and better processes. These entrepreneurs show how new ideas and technologies can help institutions adapt and profit.”


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