After we began Fintech Nexus in 2013 (referred to as LendIt again then) we didn’t have grand plans. The concept was merely to assemble the mind belief within the newly-emerging on-line lending trade so we may study from one another, community, and do enterprise. We figured we might work on a small occasion a number of months a 12 months and work on our different companies the remainder of the 12 months.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the neighborhood began rallying to our aspect, and our occasions have been full of 1000’s of individuals. We took on the US, UK and Europe, then China and Latin America. This enterprise proved to be an extremely satisfying and fascinating journey. Between 2013 and 2023, we executed 31 large-scale occasions all over the world, gathering tens of 1000’s of execs to advance the fintech trade via high-value content material and interactions.
Alongside the way in which, some exterior challenges, together with the pandemic, brought on us to tackle extra financing — each debt and fairness — after which in 2023 we suffered from the fintech downturn and had a financially very disappointing end result to our huge USA occasion. This led to the sale of our occasions enterprise final June.
For the previous 12 months, we now have been targeted on our digital media enterprise, which started in earnest through the pandemic. We wished to see if we may make it a sustainable enterprise with out the occasions enterprise to help it. Sadly, we now have not been in a position to make this enterprise worthwhile.
You will have seen the for-sale announcement we posted again in April. Even when we couldn’t create a sustainable digital media enterprise, we thought any individual else may need to take over. That didn’t pan out both, and so we now have made the tough resolution to shut the enterprise down and file for chapter.
Whereas that is definitely not a cheerful end result, we now have had a implausible experience and I do know it has been essentially the most stimulating and gratifying decade of my profession by far.
So, reasonably than dwell on the loss, we need to share a few of the highlights from our journey.
Here’s a farewell video, my accomplice and co-founder, Bo Brustkern and I recorded just lately.
The Fintech Nexus retrospective
2013: A brand new occasion referred to as LendIt, targeted on on-line lending, in New York Metropolis was launched with 350 individuals.
2014: Moved the occasion to San Francisco the place we hosted virtually 1,000 individuals. Launched the primary UK occasion with 500 individuals.
2015: Again to New York with Larry Summers because the big-name keynote: 2,500 individuals. Launched in China.
2016: The San Francisco occasion had 3,600 individuals and was our final U.S. occasion in a resort. Launched the day by day e-newsletter.
2017: Moved to the Javits Heart in New York Metropolis with 5,000 individuals. Launched the LendIt Trade Awards.
2018: San Francisco on the Moscone Heart with Michael Lewis because the keynote speaker. Moved past lending to different areas of fintech.
2019: Again to Moscone Heart in San Francisco. Canceled the China occasion, began LatAm occasion in Miami.
2020: Pandemic. Yikes! Needed to cancel the Javits Heart occasion. Held USA, UK and LatAm occasions nearly.
2021: One other 12 months of digital occasions however in December we had a hybrid in-person/digital occasion for LatAm in Miami.
2022: Again to in-person occasions! So thrilling to be again in New York, London and Miami. Rebranded to Fintech Nexus.
2023: The eleventh annual Fintech Nexus USA occasion in New York Metropolis can be our final. We bought the occasions enterprise to Fintech Meetup.
2024: Fintech Nexus shuts down after an 11-year run.
It has been a privilege to be on the helm of LendIt / Fintech Nexus. So many unbelievable highlights as we glance again. However what was all the time most gratifying was once I would discuss with individuals who mentioned they first met at LendIt they usually have a thriving partnership. I’ve heard that story tons of of occasions over the previous decade.
We couldn’t have achieved the whole lot we did with out the help of the fintech neighborhood. We now have taken this severely from day one.
I wish to thank the tens of 1000’s of people that have attended our occasions, each in-person and digital, over time, together with the 1000’s of audio system. Your learnings and new enterprise connections helped drive the trade ahead.
I already miss the thrill of strolling on stage on the opening morning of an occasion, stuffed with adrenaline.
The podcast will proceed
My favourite a part of what I do proper now’s producing my podcast, Fintech One-on-One. The podcast predates Fintech Nexus and can proceed as regular, with a brand new episode popping out each Thursday afternoon. I’m about to cross episode 500, and I intend to maintain doing this for the foreseeable future. The podcast now has a brand new house on its personal web site, and it’ll proceed to seem in your podcast feed as normal.
The Web site
The web site can even stay on-line for no less than the subsequent few months, topic to the judgment of the Chapter 7 Chapter Trustee. We all know it’s a nice useful resource for tens of 1000’s of fintech fans. However the day by day e-newsletter that we now have produced since 2016 will finish with as we speak’s difficulty.
The Webinars
There shall be no extra Fintech Nexus webinars, though our YouTube channel ought to proceed to dwell on for a few years with 1000’s of hours of nice content material.
The subsequent chapter
What occurs now? Nicely, a chapter trustee shall be taking up and trying to promote our property.
The Fintech Nexus group are all free brokers now.
I’ve began to tackle a few new fintech tasks. Within the coming months, you will notice me at a handful of occasions (I really like a very good fintech convention). After a few summer season journeys, I’ll have the bandwidth to tackle extra tasks.
If you’re interested by reaching out to me or others on the Fintech Nexus group, we might be reached right here:
The fintech trade will proceed to thrive
We wish to suppose we now have performed a significant position in establishing a thriving fintech trade. For us, this has all the time been a labor of affection. The fintech area is doing such fascinating and necessary work, and it has been the chance of a lifetime to be close to the middle of all of it.
We now have matured as an trade and collectively we are actually a driving pressure in monetary providers. Let’s all proceed the nice struggle.
