There is only one place on earth to find a regular meeting between decision makers at Bank of America, Ally, Wells Fargo, BB&T, AIG, Aflac, Cognizant, AvidXchange, E&Y, and rapidly growing fintech companies like Stratifyd, Pendo.io, Redipay, and iTrust.
Where you ask? The Carolinas. It’s a unique ecosystem that still surprises people when they come see it firsthand (not to mention that it holds the top two Tech Towns), and we here at the Carolina Fintech Hub (CFH) are just getting started.
Above you can see the Stairitorium at AvidXchange’s HQ. Highly recommend checking out this beautiful venue whenever you may be in Charlotte.
The Carolina Fintech Hub is an economic empowerment non-profit with the mission to create a global Fintech hub by accelerating the growth of talent and companies in the region. Why does the CFH membership get together on a regular basis? To make game-changing deals for fintechs and financial institutions. It’s our “Ready-Ready Deal Day” (R2D2 – no, Disney, we’re not trying to steal the name).
The Carolina Connection
A huge opportunity for change in financial services exists due to a disconnect between the incumbent financial institutions and the emerging fintechs. Let me explain.
- It’s difficult for critical infrastructure businesses like banks and insurance companies to “move fast” – and for good reason – the risk vs. reward is tricky.
- It’s even more difficult, in a regulated space, to create & build a new company from the ground up when your target customers are banks and insurance companies.
- The investment opportunity and return keeps accelerators, incubators, and private capital sustaining promising young companies with capital
- Long sales cycles at incumbent institutions, create backlogs of very capable financial technology companies and their innovative solutions (and talent), thus hindering the ability for the industry to move forward.
To recap: there is a business need, there are capable solutions, and there is an opportunity for making money. What’s the problem? Well… there has not been a holistic approach keeping financial institutions and growing companies continuously and regularly engaged.
In response, the Carolina Fintech Hub is spearheading a unique approach to support companies from incubation, through growth, to grabbing a deal with some of the largest companies in the world. We’re delivering on an engagement and support framework that pulls the right leaders, talent, and solutions together throughout the year – in person and online.
Does this sound interesting to you? It’s easy to get involved – reach out. Whether you are a financial institution, investor, fintech company, or just interested to learn more… reach out! The Carolina Fintech Hub is always looking for new, passionate individuals and organizations to join the Carolina fintech ecosystem. There’s a lot to get done and deals to be made!
