{"id":39207,"date":"2023-10-20T15:01:22","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/how-a-tiny-melbourne-startup-got-into-one-of-the-worlds-most-competitive-fintech-incubators-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:01:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:01:22","slug":"how-a-tiny-melbourne-startup-got-into-one-of-the-worlds-most-competitive-fintech-incubators-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/how-a-tiny-melbourne-startup-got-into-one-of-the-worlds-most-competitive-fintech-incubators-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"How a tiny Melbourne startup got into one of the world’s most competitive fintech\u00a0incubators – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Finch<\/div>\n

Yodlee is a veteran when it comes to fintech innovation.<\/p>\n

Long before startups were doing it, the US-based company started building innovative banking solutions in 2009.<\/p>\n

Since then the company, which now boasts tens of millions of users around the world<\/a>, has directed its focus to startups.<\/p>\n

Its incubator programs have supported some of the world\u2019s fastest growing fintechs, including Kabbage, LearnVest and Coinbase, which alone has\u00a0more than 2.5 million users.<\/p>\n

Yodlee\u2019s fintech incubator is one of the most competitive in the world but a tiny bootstrapped startup from Melbourne has made the cut.<\/p>\n

StartupSmart<\/em> asked Finch founder Shahirah Gardner <\/a>how she did it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Yodlee application process was very rigorous, which makes sense given the level of competition with only eight spots available,\u201d Gardner tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt began in September with a video pitch, product demo and written application that deep dove into our business model.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, Yodlee selected 20 finalists for a \u2018Shark Tank\u2019 style pitch and interview with their [vice president] Christine Loredo and incubator director Jeff Cain.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Gardner says more than 100 fintech startups around the world applied, and Finch is the only Australian team selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very proud of our team,” she says.<\/p>\n

StartupSmart asked Gardner about what makes Finch special and what happens next.<\/p>\n

Give us the elevator pitch<\/h3>\n

\u201cFinch is a social spending app for Australian millennials that allows them to pay friends, stay friends, and achieve financial wellness together,\u201d Gardner says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs millennials, we\u2019re entering a far more complex and onerous financial world than any generation, and as our financial priorities and values continue to change, traditional banks [and] institutions struggle to understand and connect with us as customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cCombine that with increasing social media pressure, lack of financial confidence and rising cost of living, and what you get is a lot young people feeling like they can\u2019t get ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, our goal at Finch is to meet millennials at their current behaviours and take them on a financial journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens now?<\/h3>\n

\u201cYodlee will give us unprecedented access to mentors, investors and the latest financial data aggregation technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the very first night, Yodlee organised a launch event at The Battery where we met over 70 of the most influential fintech VCs and banks in Silicon Valley. Finch even got a personal invitation by Yodlee\u2019s CEO to his ranch in Napa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this program challenges us even further and aspire to emulate some of the past fintech success stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you get into fintech?<\/h3>\n

\u201cAs a tech PR executive, I\u2019ve been working with leading Australian fintech startups on PR and marketing, so [I] have been observing consumer fintech trends\u2014as a marketer and consumer\u2014with great interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy co-founder, Toby, has been in finance and innovation his entire career so it was a natural meeting of the minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will you join the Valley\u2019s startup mafia or return home?<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhile [it\u2019s] inspiring and challenging to learn from the best in Silicon Valley, we\u2019d love to stay in Australia and fly the flag for fintech here\u2014we\u2019ll see what the future holds.<\/p>\n

\u201cFintech has yet to have its \u2018Uber\u2019 moment; we\u2019re working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yodlee is a veteran when it comes to fintech innovation. Long before startups were doing it, the US-based company started<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,3,4,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39207"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}