Are You Headed to Finovate?

Finovate 2009 is right around the corner and I'm pretty excited about it. This is a fast-paced one-day event in NYC that gives the financial services industry the chance to showcase their most cutting-edge technology. I'll be there frantically trying to blog about the innovations that are most relevant and interesting to SpendOnLife readers.

The conference gives established companies and start-ups alike seven minutes each to demonstrate their product (no Powerpoint allowed, thank you very much). So within the span of eight hours, I'll have learned about 32 banking or finance innovations. Here are a few of the presenters I'm most excited about:

• Billeo: An online bill payer, plus receipt and password organizer
• BillShrink: Shows you how you can save money on your cell phone, credit card, and gas
• Credit.com: A credit card comparer site
• Kapitall: An online interface that makes investing as fun and "game-like" as possible
• MShift: A leader in mobile banking
• People Capital: Helps students who don't have credit history get loans based on their merit and projected income
• Prosper: A leading peer-to-peer lending site where you can borrow and lend money without a middleman
• SimpliFi: Gives a complete view of your finances so you can more easily reach your goals
• SmartyPig: An online savings account that helps you stay motivated by keeping your goals front and center
• MoneyStrands: An online finance manager that lets you anonymously compare yourself to others in your similar financial situation

For added intrigue, two presenters are coming to Finovate in "stealth mode," and we won't learn who they are until the day of the conference.

If you're going to be at Finovate too and would like to connect, let me know in the comments section below or send an e-mail to

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