Fintech challenge finalists announced - 5 Canadian companies out of 11 finalists

Thank you again to all who applied to the UBS Future of Finance Challenge 2017. Please read the full Media Report here with links to all the global finalists.

Jacoline Loewen and team for FinTech

After careful consideration and collaboration, those listed below are the applicants who we feel currently have the highest potential to partner with UBS in one or more of our businesses globally.

We would like to extend our thanks again to all applicants, and remind you that although your application might not have been chosen this time, this does not preclude you from applying to any future Challenges.

Finalists from the Americas

1. Wondereur, Toronto
2. Inpher
3. Overbond, Toronto
4. Veriday, Toronto
5. Decipher Finance
6. Elsen
7. MindBridge Analytics, Toronto
8. Catalytic
9. Authomate
10. FinMason (FinRiver)
11. Global Regulation, Toronto

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5 Canadian FinTech companies selected as Finalists out of 11

Jacoline B. Loewen, Disruptive Technology in Fintech

From TechFest happening in Vancouver to the Waterloo Innovation Summit and Elevate Toronto, it was the week of innovation and entrepreneurs.

During the same week, I got an amazing phone call from Switzerland. Our UBS Global Fintech Challenge was done.  UBS was now releasing the details about the finalists selected to go to New York.

The eleven finalist companies will receive mentoring about their technology and brain storm about how they could work with our UBS information technology team members.

The finalists will spend several days in New York And hang out with the UBS key players and decision makers for UBS Bank around the world. This is worth more than the prize money for both the startups but also for UBS. It is an amazing way to engage with the best, most disruptive and the most relevant innovative fintech companies from around the world.

The 11 finalists will then be helped to prep and then to present their Pitch Deck to the judges. One winner will be selected to get the investment capital award. Probably the mentoring and networking is of far greater value but someone has to won the podium. This is all coming up in November, 2017.

I must say, I was stunned to hear the numbers behind the competition and how much the Canadian FinTech is hitting above its weight. For your interest, here is a quick numbers break down:

• 1,000 applicants across the globe.
• 125 were looked at closely
• Out of the 11 finalists in the Americas going to New York - a whopping 5 are Canadian.
• 2 of these Fintech companies are female founded and led.

It would be amazing if a Canadian won. I will keep you posted!

Self-made billionaire reveals his number one secret to success

The Billionaire, Ray Dalio, one of the world's largest and best-performing hedge funds has published his autobiography which I recommend. A true entrepreneurial success story, Dalio started his company in a tiny apartment. He was a self-described poor student. Forty years after starting his company, Dalio decided to share his success secrets in his new book,Principles.

Ray says the most important chapter that reveals the number one roadblock to success that is so engrained in the human experience, and in our DNA, it's difficult to overcome. But those who recognize it and take steps to knock down the barrier will be in a much stronger position to get what they want out of life.

Dalio's advice: Be radically open-minded

Good decisions aren't necessarily the ones that stroke your ego. A good decision is what's best for you and your company. To make good decisions, argues Dalio, a person must have the ability to explore different points of view and different possibilities, regardless of whether it hurts your ego.

Ask any of your friends or any entrepreneur if he or she is open-minded, and most--if not all--will say they are. But are they? Are you? According to Dalio, here are some cues that will tell if you are truly open-minded.

• Close-minded people don't want their ideas challenged; open-minded people are not angry when someone disagrees.
• Close-minded people are more likely to make statements than ask questions; open-minded people genuinely believe they could be wrong.
• Close-minded people focus much more on being understood than on understanding others; open-minded people always feel compelled to see things through others' eyes.
• Close-minded people lack a deep sense of humility; open-minded people approach everything with a deep-seated fear that they may be wrong.

Dalio believes that recognizing these traits in yourself is just the first step. The second step is recognizing them in others. Once you do, "surround yourself with the open-minded ones," he says.

Imagine a trustworthy world of money - imagine blockchain and crypto-currency

Imagine a world where everyone was perfectly honest and trustworthy when it came to money.  This is where banks arose to help trusted intermediaries to able to protect and transact with money. Now, imagine a world with a single, universal, absolutely trustworthy and completely indestructible financial ledger. This is where blockchain is arising. It is to create a simplified, single ledger for transfer of value.

Jacoline Loewen at the Blockchain and Crypto-Currency Event, 2017

With these points in mind, I put together an event discussing these themes and how blockchain is gaining in achieving this lofty vision. Crypto-currencies and blockchain technologies are attracting tremendous interest from new and traditional participants across all sectors, and banks are at the forefront of understanding the potential applications of these technologies - which will change how banks operate at an organizational level, not just at a technology level.
Efforts like UBS's Blockchain and Innovation Lab in London, UK will drive innovation through unique partnerships with fintechs and other large banks as blockchain technologies are better understood by regulators and clients and industry standards emerge.
In 2015, UBS started a pathfinding journey to explore, harness and share the potential of blockchain. As a leading financial organization, it is our duty to understand the technology and its implications, to share the knowledge and benefits with clients, the financial industry and the wider society, and become ready for blockchain in production in 2018.Thank you to our expert speaker, Peter Stephens, Head of UBS Blockchain and Innovation Lab in London, UK. A special thank you to Andre Perey, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), who hosted the fireside chat with Peter. Andre is also a director on the board of UBS Bank (Canada).If you would like more information about the Exploring Blockchain and Crypto-Currencies event held by UBS Bank (Canada) in August, 2017, or for UBS reports on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, please contact me for details.


Jacoline Loewen: 416-332-7012
You can follow me on Twitter @jacolineloewen