How We’re Going to Score Finovate Fall
Bank Innovation is a proud media sponsor of the 2010 Finovate Fall (dare I say the “best” media sponsor?), which means we’ll be at the 18th Street venue in full force. Please come say hello to me or Mary Wisniewski, my fellow editor.
So how are we going to cover more than 50 demos over two days? While attendees vote for best-in-show at the conclusion of the conference, we’ll be grading those demos from new ventures (there are a host of established companies also presenting) on three factors:
- Cool Factor
- I Want It Factor
- Profit Potential
The Cool Factor will include an assessment of the technology. Did the startup conquer a particularly thorny IT challenge? Is the startup’s technology not just an application of existing technology, but a notable leap forward? And, of course, superficiality matters, so does it look neat?
The I Want It Factor is just that: an assessment of how badly Mary or I would want to use the technology. This goes to the overall utility of the app or service.
The all-important Profit Potential will be a grade of the app or service’s potential to make a killing. At this week’s TechCrunch Disrupt, TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington in a post to the blog made a point of explaining why, amid all the gee-whiz tech startups, he put a Q&A with GreenDot’s founder on the agenda: because the company is now valued at $2 billion post-IPO. We’ll similarly be looking to separate the wheat from the startups that have the potential to truly rake it in.
We hope our coverage will be the start of much dialogue on Bank Innovation. You are all welcome to post your own scores for each startup — and to critique ours. We never said we were perfect.
Please login to join discussion
