WIRED Money 2015 BBVA Ventures Startup Stage: the pitch sessions

The BBVA Ventures Startup Stage at WIRED Money 2015 offered a showcase for a range of fast-growing businesses in the banking and finance space.

We put the spotlight on the 18 FinTech game-changers who took to the stage.

At this year's showcase, the overall winner was Oradian, a global technology provider developing solutions that enable financial inclusion.

Gustavo Vinacua, of BBVA Innovation Center and Open Innovation, opened the session by discussing BBVA's role in nurturing the "young ecosystems" of entrepreneurs and innovators in the finance space with its Open Talent competition. "It's an exciting time to be working in the FinTech field, with everything from cryptocurrency to data security. The finance sector is quite fragmented today, but many startups are attempting to bridge this gap," he said.

Oradian

• Oradian is a global technology provider developing solutions that enable financial inclusion
• The cloud-based platform empowers financial institutions serving the billions of clients at the base of the economic pyramid to improve their performance, access their data in real-time, reduce their costs and scale their services quickly and efficiently.

Oradian has built Instafin, a fully cloud-based banking system that allows countries such as Nigeria to build and develop their banks and financial institutions. The service has already been a huge success in West Africa, where it was originally piloted. One bank, after 15 years, realised it had been charging the wrong interest rates on some accounts after using the tool. Instafin offers a fully digitised ledger, accessible at any time and from anywhere in the world, which can be updated in real time. The company wants to help the 3 billion people at the bottom of the economy to get access to the financial services they need.

Julian Oehrlein, COO, explained: "We've set out to build the technical infrastructure on which financial services will thrive in emerging markets."

SyndicateRoom

• SyndicateRoom is an equity crowdfunding platform that has democratised investment in startups
• The idea is to give individuals the same access to opportunities as professional angel investors.

SyndicateRoom was founded to help investor angels become truly successful: turning the crowdfunding platform into a dialogue rather than a one-way conversation. The company allows individual backers to co-invest with professionals, following a three-point compass of sustainability, innovation and success, measured not on money going in, but money going out. Healthcare and engineering are just two of the areas SyndicateRoom has helped to support and transform, enabling the company to compete with existing disruptors such as AngelList. Gonçalo de Vasconcelos, cofounder and CEO, explained: "The idea of crowdfunding is beautiful, but we’re looking to disrupt it for the world of tomorrow."

RedOwl

• RedOwl provides a software platform, Reveal, that allows organisations to detect and monitor malicious threats and risks from within
• The platform gathers all forms of human-generated data for analysis and investigation of high-risk activity.

RedOwl aims to tackle the challenges and risks of big data in the 21st century. The company wants to harness the almost limitless amount of data to better understand the risks and rewards in the finance sector and security space. The company created Reveal to analyse this "data exhaust" and monitor the different patterns of behaviour in large organisations. Insider trading, IP theft, identity fraud: Reveal can detect all these activities using its streamlined UI.

Michael Madon, Business Development VP, explained: "You need rules and boundaries. There's an incredible desire for disruption, but in finance you need a coherent system to work within. If you understand the behaviour of your customers and employees, you have the key."

edgefolio

• edgefolio is a marketplace where investors can search, analyse and compare funds fitting their objectives
• It aims to conduct due diligence processes with fund managers in a secure environment.

Whether you realise it or not, you probably have money contained in hedge funds -- through your pension, insurance contributions and more. edgefolio, founded in Oslo in 2013, aims to bring efficiency and integration into what is currently a fragmented industry, creating a go-to source for hedge fund investors to find the data and opportunities they're looking for. With a big emphasis on user interface and design, the company wants to own the entire chain of the investment life cycle.

Bastien Bourdon, cofounder and Engineering VP, said: "Hedge funds are usually represented as the bad guys. We want to get rid of this misconception by creating a streamlined experience for investors that allows easy access to the data that matters."

Crowdsurfer

• Crowdsurfer is creating a global market intelligence service for crowd finance
• The Cambridge-based company aims to build the definitive analytics dashboard to navigate crowdfunding and peer-to-peer finance.

Crowdsurfer is one of 1,400 crowdfunding platforms globally –- not even including those based in China. The company allows you to do everything from take a share in an oil field; invest in a young entrepreneur; or even help to support a property portfolio. By using a range of data, Crowdsurfer has its finger on the pulse of emerging technologies in the UK/US market, and aims to help projects get the support and funding they need without barriers.

Emily Mackay, CEO: "We're taking the very nascent crowd finance industry and giving it some infrastructure. We're aiming to help people understand their expansion opportunities: everyone from investors to corporate 'innovation hunters'."

Property Partner

• Property Partner is building a stock exchange for residential property
• Investors use Property Partner to buy as much or as little as they like of a property, monitor rental income and capital growth, and make an easy exit.

Property Partner is the stock exchange for residential property. The property market is huge in the UK, but is currently accessible to the few rather than the many -- and this is what the company is looking to change. With Property Partner, property owners have a platform to showcase their homes and attract investors. With a deeply experienced team and backing from a number of high-profile investors, the company aims to bring quality to a highly crowded and competitive market.

Daniel Gandesha, CEO and founder, explained onstage: "We want to democratise access to residential property."

Elliptic

• Elliptic provides enterprise bitcoin analytics and security services
• It was the first Bitcoin firm to secure insurance for bitcoin assets and to receive accreditation by KPMG.

Elliptic makes the blockchain safe for enterprise. It’s a team of 8 people based in Central London, and is seeking to revolutionise how enterprises store and transfer Bitcoin value. The startup provides the tools that companies need to safely and securely use the cryptocurrency, including a secure wallet. Five percent of bitcoins have already been lost or stolen; Elliptic is the first company in the world to offer insurance. They enable companies to safeguard their reputations and reduce the risk of trading in digital currency.

James Smith, CEO and cofounder: "Bitcoin has an image problem: it's associated with scammers, cyber criminals and hackers. We’re looking to offer clearer visibility and help people to identify high-risk transactions."

The Floow

• Independent UK-based telematics company The Floow supports leading insurers across the globe
• Founded in 2012, it produces comprehensive analytics and digital end-user services; delivering the world’s most advanced, low-cost telematics -- making mobility safer and cheaper.

Sheffield-based The Floow wants to revolutionise telematics, by working with insurers to make the roads safer. They send detailed, cloud-based data to insurers and offer granular, highly specific feedback to drivers, giving a comprehensive picture of drivers' behaviour on the road. The company measures “meaningful scores”, such as speed and distraction. The Floow aims to overcome people's natural aversion to being watched -- especially by their insurers -- by helping to make insurance cheaper. They're environmentally aware too, and can monitor fuel consumption.

Andy Goldby, CPO, explained: "We want to make people safer drivers by giving them regular feedback. We've found we can help people to reduce their risk on the roads by up to 25%."

CoinJar

• CoinJar is a digital, multi-currency wallet that allows users to safely acquire, store and spend Bitcoin
• CoinJar takes the efficiencies of Bitcoin and ports them to a platform that aims to be as safe, simple and secure as traditional banking.

CoinJar is Australia's largest Bitcoin platform, which allows the buying and selling of the currency instantly -- and it won’t cost you a penny. It’s a completely open platform that's attempting to overcome three of the market's biggest obstacles: the ecosystem's volatility and fluctuating prices. CoinJar makes it quick and easy to transfer money between accounts and make bitcoin payments. You can also access your bitcoins from any device, and link your wallet with your debit card.

Lúí Smyth, CoinJar's UK lead, said: "We want to be the digital, versatile wallet at the centre of Bitcoin’s future growth. After a busy year, we've revamped our web platform, iOS/Android apps and have moved our headquarters to the UK."

Revolut

• Revolut is an international money account with a physical card, no fees and instant cross-border payments
• It aims to be the must-have product for travellers and expats, and is currently an invitation-only service.

With Revolut, you get s multi-currency card that allows you to transfer money to your friends and buy goods and services abroad, without being landed with unexpected fees. The company is currently used in 62 countries, and allows you to exchange, send and spend your money wherever you are in the world. Revolut is also compatible with Bitcoin, making it a thoroughly digital platform. After already being adopted by businesses such as Barclays and Money Supermarket, Revolut is set to be available to the UK public from next week.

Nikolai Storonsky, founder and CEO: "I was once charged $2000 dollars in banking fees when abroad. Revolut aims to make extortionate currency exchange fees a thing of the past."

invstr

• invstr democratizes access to financial news and market data with an easy-to-use app
• It provides in-depth financial news, crowdsourced market sentiment and on-demand, real-time data on stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities from major exchanges around the world.

83% of people don't trust financial experts to manage their money. invstr is looking to change that, by democratising financial information and empowering customers to make the right decisions for them. Their tools? Everything from apps to gameification. The company offers real-time financial data on demand, and has partnered with 170 leading publishers and news wires to provide the latest in financial news and updates. The invstr feed works just like Facebook, making finance social. The platform is available on Amazon, Android and iOS, and had already had 180,000 downloads.

Kerim Derhalli, CEO, said: "Imagine if Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Bloomberg had a lovechild. That's what invstr is."

PayItSimple

• PayItSimple allows people to buy things with interest-free instalments on credit cards they already have
• Using cloud-based, patented technology, it optimises people's unused credit line, creating an instalment plan at the time of purchase.

PayItSimple offers a smarter way of paying, without turning to bank loans or new credit cards. The solution? A cloud-based technology that allows people to buy items on existing lines of credit -- interest-free. Where Visa and Mastercard failed, PayItSimple wants to succeed, by enabling simple integration with online and high-street businesses and with backing by card issuers. The company is already live in the US, and has plans to expand in Europe.

Alon Feit, CEO and cofounder, said onstage: "I'm a father of four kids, so I know just how expensive everyday life can be! PayItSimple aims to make covering these costs simpler."

Coinfloor

• Founded in 2013, Coinfloor is the leading bitcoin exchange in the UK
• It is launching a new product for the decentralisation of bitcoin adoption.

Coinfloor is the UK’s biggest Bitcoin marketplace. The team includes an ex-Bitcoin broker, helping to ground the company’s three key values: trust, security and reliability. Coinfloor has been growing over 40% per month in 2015, and is solely focused on serving Bitcoin investors. The more people who buy and sell the digital currency, the better value the company can offer. In order for Bitcoin to reach the masses in the UK, Coinfloor believes it’s built the winning model.

Mark Lamb, CEO: "We hold Bitcoin keys in an underground vault, so none of our bitcoins ever touch the internet -- offering complete security to our customers."

CompareAsiaGroup

• CompareAsiaGroup is Asia’s leading financial comparison platform
• It helps people across Asia save money and make better choices about personal finance with comprehensive, free and independent online comparison tools for more than 1,500 financial products.

The two fastest growing internet-using populations are Indonesia and the Philippines. CompareAsiaGroup wants to help people across Southeast Asia get the financial advice and products they need, offering easy access and better market transparency. Only 60% of the population in this region has direct access to financial services, and the company wants to boost that with its easy comparison tool. The company is also building learning centres to help improve financial education, available both online and over the phone.

Gerald Eder, MD, said: "We want to merge the power and interactivity of the internet with some of the fastest-growing, but under-banked, Asian markets."

ThetaRay

• ThetaRay is a leading provider of a big data analytics platform and solutions for advanced cyber security, operational efficiency and risk detection, protecting financial services sectors and critical infrastructure against unknown threats
• ThetaRay’s core technology is based on state of the art algorithms, which power its proprietary Hyper-Dimensional, Multi-Domain Big Data Analytics platform.

How do you detect something is wrong using data when you don’t know what it is you’re looking for? Enter ThetaRay, a company that’s looking to discover unknown anomalies and discrepancies within the data of financial institutions. The copy creates a holistic picture of businesses’ big data -- so when something doesn’t fit, it can be immediately flagged. But what makes ThetaRay unique? It offers unmatched detection rates, industry-low false positive results and super-fast deployment times.

Aron Rissman, Specialist Projects Analyst, said: "It's a chaotic space. We’re no longer finding a needle in a haystack; we’re finding a needle in a needle stack."

Syndico

• Syndico provides consumers with cheaper and better peer-to-peer alternatives to insurance
• The first service launched was Cycle Syndicate, a peer-to-peer alternative to bicycle insurance which is up to 80 per cent cheaper while being fairer and more transparent.

No one likes to pay high insurance premiums. Syndico is trying to take the pain out of insurance by lowering the cost and breaking the circle of distrust that currently hampers the industry. At the heart of the company is fairness, transparency and affordability. Cycle Syndicate is as cheaper alternative to standard bicycle insurance -- “social assurance” -- and even offers cycle clubs to foster a sense of community among cyclists.

Dylan Bourguignon, cofounder: "Insurance companies only have 47% trust amongst consumers. So what’s gone wrong? Syndico is looking to help people regain trust and redress the imbalance."

Windward

• Windward is a maritime data and analytics company gathering unprecedented levels of information on shipping via the world’s first maritime data platform, the Windward Mind
• It makes maritime data accessible and actionable across verticals, from flagging criminal threats at sea to identifying new market trading opportunities.

There are more than 200,000 ships travelling the world’s ocean every day, carrying 90 percent of the world’s trade. Windward wants to track the movements of these vessels by tracking global shipping data and bringing cohesion and visibility to a fragmented industry. Windward organises this maritime data to create a kind of “vessel DNA”: a unique picture of all the ships travelling the world’s oceans. Smuggling, illegal fishing, immigration: these are just some of the issues that Windward’s collected data has helped to shine a light on.

Ami Daniel, co-founder and CEO, said: "Economists have been playing a guessing game. Windward offers some accurate answers -- with more on the horizon."

Triton Research

• Triton Research is an independent financial data and intelligence firm
• It derives financial data on private technology companies at scale.

Triton Research is taking old-school Wall Street research and turning it into software. After a career in investment banking, Tildsley was drawn to unravelling the “chaos” of financial data -- and joined Triton. The organisation wants to help investors understand the private companies inventing the future. They take the existing data, categorise it and turn it into relevant, simple, spam-free metrics.

Kaylan Tildsley, Partner, said: "Our goal is to help turn complex financial ideas into simple, real-world solutions."

This article was originally published by WIRED UK