May 24, 2023
Fintech Nexus USA: Lime and LendingRobot experience
Last week, Lime and LendingRobot went to the event #fintechnexus. Fintech Nexus USA is where 4,000+ banks, fintech and investors come together to imagine the future of financial services. This is an annual event, which ran from May 10-11 this year. We were talking about it with Coeli Ayres, Managing Director at Lime Fintech and Liz Caffray, from LendingRobot, who were there.
Interviewer: Hi Coeli, Hi Liz. What was your overall impression of the event?
Liz: This was my first time attending a professional conference, so it was a really cool experience. I am glad I got the opportunity to attend because I feel like I was able to learn a lot from both the companies there and also from the experience itself of networking and talking about LendingRobot to other people in the space.
Coeli: It brought together the best of small and large scale firms in one place. The dichotomy between large, staple finance brands like MasterCard and smaller start up tables created a really interesting atmosphere where people could come together and discuss topics irrespective of their employer’s clout. I found it refreshing to be able to talk to people both 20 years and 20 days into their projects in the same room.
The team at Fintech Nexus did a great job creating space for a breadth of innovators to come together as a team, and I found it refreshing to see the array of products/services being offered.
Interviewer: Did you discover any new fintech trends or strategies that you think will be impactful in the future?
Liz: We saw a lot of identity protection and fraud prevention companies while we were there
Coeli: Yes, there seemed to be a large focus on how tech can create a more friction-free environment for account sign ups, AMLKYC, and identity verification. Overall, I find it fascinating how most firms large and small are unable to create quick onboarding processes for new users. As a former marketer, I am always thinking about how the first impression is what people associate with a brand. By creating new ways for companies to engage, onboard, and verify new users I see a big push towards more companies innovating the more ‘mundane’ parts of running a business.
Interviewer:Very interesting! Were there any keynote speakers or sessions that stood out to you?
Coeli: I was invited to a lunch Deloitte hosted for Women in Fintech. That session was interesting because there were so many tech incubator leads in the industry bringing their perspectives on where the future of VC is when it comes to female founders. I was able to sit next to people that I had only met via email and hear how they were viewing the industry trends and where they saw women leading that effort. All in all, it was really neat to see that women were taking a more active role and voice in where financial powerhouses focused their efforts headed into the second half of 2023.
Liz: This was my first time attending a professional conference, so it was a really cool experience. I am glad I got the opportunity to attend because I feel like I was able to learn a lot from both the companies there and also from the experience itself of networking and talking about LendingRobot to other people in the space.
Coeli: It brought together the best of small and large scale firms in one place. The dichotomy between large, staple finance brands like MasterCard and smaller start up tables created a really interesting atmosphere where people could come together and discuss topics irrespective of their employer’s clout. I found it refreshing to be able to talk to people both 20 years and 20 days into their projects in the same room.
The team at Fintech Nexus did a great job creating space for a breadth of innovators to come together as a team, and I found it refreshing to see the array of products/services being offered.
Interviewer: Did you discover any new fintech trends or strategies that you think will be impactful in the future?
Liz: We saw a lot of identity protection and fraud prevention companies while we were there
Coeli: Yes, there seemed to be a large focus on how tech can create a more friction-free environment for account sign ups, AMLKYC, and identity verification. Overall, I find it fascinating how most firms large and small are unable to create quick onboarding processes for new users. As a former marketer, I am always thinking about how the first impression is what people associate with a brand. By creating new ways for companies to engage, onboard, and verify new users I see a big push towards more companies innovating the more ‘mundane’ parts of running a business.
Interviewer:Very interesting! Were there any keynote speakers or sessions that stood out to you?
Coeli: I was invited to a lunch Deloitte hosted for Women in Fintech. That session was interesting because there were so many tech incubator leads in the industry bringing their perspectives on where the future of VC is when it comes to female founders. I was able to sit next to people that I had only met via email and hear how they were viewing the industry trends and where they saw women leading that effort. All in all, it was really neat to see that women were taking a more active role and voice in where financial powerhouses focused their efforts headed into the second half of 2023.
Interviewer:How was the networking experience at the event by the way?
Coeli: In a word? Productive. There were multiple networking opportunities before the event even started hosted by Allen & Overy, as an example, and we were able to connect with other like minded firms and brainstorm ways to work together. I found the attitude of this event to be a lot more business results driven than others I’ve attended; i.e. the people I met had a clear vision of where they wanted to head and how you could help them get there. The momentum was infectious and inspiring.
Liz: Yes, networking was great, I'd say. We were able to talk to a lot of companies about what our current needs are and we found products we will potentially use, which will help us out a lot. Every time I thought we covered all our bases, there was a booth we hadn't seen yet and wanted to go talk to. So, there was no shortage of networking opportunities and we definitely took advantage of them.
Interviewer:In your opinion, what role will fintech play in shaping the future of financial services?
Coeli: I’d respond by saying ‘what WON’T fintech be doing to shape the future?’. I don’t see a single part of the industry that won’t in some way–or wholly–be run by a fintech company. The beauty of fintech is that it’s able to flex and scale to whatever new needs the market presents. You can be as simplistic or as complex as you want to be. There’s not a shortage of new minds/thinkers in the space that are waiting to change how the world functions. I find it energizing to think about where we can be by this time next year.
Interviewer: And the last question, what's the most interesting thing you both took from this event?
Liz: One of the most interesting parts of the event was really just being able to meet new people and hear about what their company's doing in the space.
Coeli: The focus on encryption and fraud protection was an anchoring theme. As with any innovation, there comes new opportunities to monetize the safety/monitoring of said innovation. I found it interesting that there had already been so many new companies springing up in the last six months that didn’t exist before some of the more recent, high-profile scandals in the finance world–a digital ambulance chaser, if you will.
Interviewer: Thank you for your answers! It was very nice to talk with you
Coeli: In a word? Productive. There were multiple networking opportunities before the event even started hosted by Allen & Overy, as an example, and we were able to connect with other like minded firms and brainstorm ways to work together. I found the attitude of this event to be a lot more business results driven than others I’ve attended; i.e. the people I met had a clear vision of where they wanted to head and how you could help them get there. The momentum was infectious and inspiring.
Liz: Yes, networking was great, I'd say. We were able to talk to a lot of companies about what our current needs are and we found products we will potentially use, which will help us out a lot. Every time I thought we covered all our bases, there was a booth we hadn't seen yet and wanted to go talk to. So, there was no shortage of networking opportunities and we definitely took advantage of them.
Interviewer:In your opinion, what role will fintech play in shaping the future of financial services?
Coeli: I’d respond by saying ‘what WON’T fintech be doing to shape the future?’. I don’t see a single part of the industry that won’t in some way–or wholly–be run by a fintech company. The beauty of fintech is that it’s able to flex and scale to whatever new needs the market presents. You can be as simplistic or as complex as you want to be. There’s not a shortage of new minds/thinkers in the space that are waiting to change how the world functions. I find it energizing to think about where we can be by this time next year.
Interviewer: And the last question, what's the most interesting thing you both took from this event?
Liz: One of the most interesting parts of the event was really just being able to meet new people and hear about what their company's doing in the space.
Coeli: The focus on encryption and fraud protection was an anchoring theme. As with any innovation, there comes new opportunities to monetize the safety/monitoring of said innovation. I found it interesting that there had already been so many new companies springing up in the last six months that didn’t exist before some of the more recent, high-profile scandals in the finance world–a digital ambulance chaser, if you will.
Interviewer: Thank you for your answers! It was very nice to talk with you