There was a packed house for the 2nd Annual Finsiders CLT Awards Event – a night full of recognition, networking and community building. More than 70 attendees, from banks, start-ups, tech firms, media and the community, attended the event, despite the date change due to a snowstorm on the original date. The evening’s sponsors included the Carolina FinTech Hub, EY, which hosted the event in its offices above the Charlotte skyline, and the Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which provided the “Corvette Stingray for a Day” giveaway. The evening brought together the Carolinas’ FinTech community to award the people and companies that are transforming the FinTech startup scene in Charlotte.
Four different awards were given out:
Dan Roselli Community Organizer Award: Chris Hart
This award, aptly named for the man that has been a huge part of growing the Charlotte FinTech community to where it is today, was given to Chris Hart. After leaving a career in banking to co-found Levvel – a digital transformation and IT based consulting firm – Chris has been an indispensable part of the Charlotte FinTech community. His involvement with the Carolina FinTech Hub, the earlier version of the Mayor’s Initiative and his mentorship of entrepreneurs in the QC FinTech Accelerator were specifically cited.
Fail Fast/Risk Taker Award: Justin Witz of Catapult
Justin, who founded Catapult with his dad, has utilized his former military background experiences to weather the ups and downs of running a startup. A participant in the QC FinTech program, Justin has helped build Catapult – a company that offers a solution to streamline and simplify the RFP process – into a force to be reckoned with.
Best Innovation/Pilot: Bob Youakim, Passport
Bob Youakim is the Charlotte-based founder of “Passport” – formerly “Passport Parking” – which is recognized as one of the fastest growing startups in Charlotte. Passport’s mobile first platform transforms the way cities manage parking, transit, tolling payments, parking enforcement and permit management. Recently receiving $43 million in funding by Bain Capital, Passport has pivoted several times, survived the seed round, stage A-C rounds, and very well could be Charlotte’s next unicorn startup. With tremendous growth in personnel and product offerings, including the CatsPass app for the Lynx Light Rail in Charlotte, Passport has already made a big impact on Charlotte’s startup scene and worldwide with its mobile payment solution for transit and parking.
Best Change Champion: HCS – Health Care Solutions
HCS improves the medical patient experience by simplifying one of the biggest pain points – paying the medical bill. With the number of people with high deductible health plans rising and the complexity of paying and keeping track of bills, the market is ripe for innovation that not only makes health care financing more affordable, but improves the customer experience. Hans Zandhuis, CEO and Founder, accepted the award on behalf of HCS, saying, “We want to be a part of a community like this. 70% of entrepreneurs fail, so we feel like it is important to help others be successful”. HCS is not only breaking down barriers to care for both providers and patients with its smart, simple solution, but it is also giving back to the broader startup community.
Rising/Falling Stars:
Finsiders also checked in with “awards” bestowed on FinTech jargon in 2017 to see “where they are now.” The attendees of the 2017 Inaugural Finsiders CLT Awards designated the word “millennials” as a “Falling Star” – overused and on the decline. Perhaps it was wishful thinking – as Google suggested it was just hitting its stride, and today is used more than ever. On the flipside, 2017 award attendees nominated the word “digitization” as a “Rising Star” – meaning they expected to hear more about it in the coming year. Unfortunately, that projection was also wrong, as Google shows “digitization” on the decline. Attendees at the 2018 event were surveyed for this year’s Rising and Falling Stars. Only time will tell if the 2018 group will do better!
The FinTech startup community is only as strong as the connections between people, which is what Finsiders, Carolina Fintech Hub, and QC FinTech strive to foster. Events such as the Finsiders CLT Awards and Finsiders’ numerous other events throughout the year bring together a diverse group of people and startups to form an ecosystem conducive for success. The Finsiders CLT Award event recognized the best and brightest of 2017, but it begs the question for all the people and organizations that make Charlotte, Charlotte, “what’s next?”
Follow Finsiders on Twitter @FinsidersCLT, or get more information at finsiders.org
