Innovation
Class of 2019: Barclays launches fifth New York fintech accelerator
As a newly revamped Rise New York welcomes its 2019 Barclays Accelerator class, we learn more about the nine startups addressing some of the world’s biggest fintech challenges.
An app building the future of financial advice; a current account delivering investment returns; an AI-driven sustainable investment advisor.
These are just three of the products being developed by the nine startups joining this year’s New York Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars – an intensive 13-week programme designed to fast-track the next generation of fintechs.
In addition to receiving mentoring, advice and networking support, participants will be eligible for the recently launched Rise Growth Investments, investment capital solely focused on startups accepted into the Barclays Accelerator, which allows the bank to invest up to £10m in follow-on funding per Accelerator class.
Mariquit Corcoran, Managing Director, Group Innovation at Barclays said: “This year’s New York class spans across a diverse and exciting set of sectors addressing challenges including accounting, lending, travel, payments, data and analytics, personal finance and wealth management.
“We are extremely excited to work with these exceptional companies to help them transform the future of financial services in our cutting-edge Rise New York workspace.”
The new class kicked off in September and will collaborate with teams of Barclays executives, the Techstars network and industry leaders throughout the next two months to fine-tune their propositions before ‘Demo Day’ in December.
The team at Accelerator graduate Lance, a Los Angeles-based “freelancer’s financial navigation guide”
The companies will be based out of Barclays’ Rise New York innovation hub for the duration of the programme, which is in the final stages of a major expansion into a 66,000 sq ft site capable of hosting more than 100 businesses.
Vin Montes and Frantz Romain from Swipedom
Established in 2014, the Barclays Accelerator is based out of New York, London and Tel Aviv. With more than 160 alumni companies and 16 programmes completed to date, the accelerator has a portfolio valuation of over $1bn.
Reflecting on his company’s relationship with Barclays, Techstars Managing Director Jon Zanoff said: “The programme allows us to pursue a shared goal of supporting entrepreneurs inventing the next generation of financial services. Together, we’ve built a model that reimagines corporate innovation and has resulted in tremendous value for Barclays and our portfolio companies.”
Applications for the next Barclays Accelerator programme in London, starting in January 2020, close on 13 October 2019.
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The New York nine
Founded in Canada and aiming to increase access to unbiased financial planning and advice, Hubly uses data analytics to help manage and track financial planning.
Lance, a Los Angeles-based “freelancer’s financial navigation guide,” provides dashboards and expert advice to help freelancers manage and save money
Using machine learning, Lifesaver aims to increase inclusion into the spectrum of financial services by matching people to the best banks and products and helping them manage money using a five-star rated app.
A New York analytics startup, founded in 2018, uses AI to study the data from job postings, CVs and profiles to deliver workforce insights to investors and strategists.
Swipedom provides instalment credit cards for startups, with no personal guarantee, credit score or revenue required.
Joining the New York Accelerator from Manchester, UK, Taptrip is a self-service one-stop business travel and expenses platform aimed at SMEs.
A “next generation” credit card from a San Francisco startup that uses alternative data sets to provide a card and build credit history for millennials and members of Gen Z with no previous credit score.
Brand new startup who combine brokerage and banking services in an online account that looks to deliver investment returns on instant access current account balances.
Accelerator graduates Kristy Kim and Dmitry Kashlev, TomoCredit
Launched in New York in March 2019, Vestive is a digital investment advisor tailored to sustainable and impact investing – designing customised investment portfolios that deliver cash and sustainability returns.