There is a new world order coming to Wall Street.
Startups are taking on the financial sector. Some of the companies look to usurp traditional players, and others step into the gaps they've left behind.
Business Insider spoke to venture capitalists and banking veterans to put together a list of lesser-known startups, some of which are just a couple of month old.
The list includes companies offering online payments, loan origination, wealth-management software, cryptocurrency trading, and behavioral analysis for financial clients.
Some are worth hundreds of millions, while others are bootstrapped.
Every one is trying to find their place alongside the biggest names on Wall Street.
Estimize keeps traders ahead of the tape
Wall Street traders and banks are always on the lookout for top tools to sharpen their game. That’s where Estimize comes in. Leigh Drogen’s startup crunches data for hundreds of companies to get estimates to traders that might be ahead of the tape. One example is luxury brand Coach, according to Drogen, who told Business Insider: "Our consensus is well below Wall Street and the stock has been correspondingly getting crushed on the lower real expectations.” Estimize closed a new funding round earlier this month, taking the total for money raised to more than $6 million to date. The firm is up against established players like Thomson Reuters’ First Call, among others.
Exitround looks to simplify the M&A process
The M&A process is one of the most secretive parts of the business of Wall Street. Slipping up and leaking details might disrupt a deal or publicly embarrass executives. Exitround’s software allows companies to shop themselves anonymously to potential buyers. Its network includes 30,000 client companies and private-equity firms and other investors, and uses more than 1 billion data points to help pair off companies up for sale with those looking to make an acquisition.
WealthFront is taking on money managers
WealthFront CEO Adam Nash says that method of money management is outdated and inefficient. Wealth-management units at the big banks are often bloated, as there is a limit to the number of accounts money managers can control, which can be as few as six. “It’s a ratio that doesn’t need to exist,” he says of the banks’ personnel-heavy business model. “There’s only a few solutions to that problem.” Customers can sign up to WealthFront with as little as $500, and the startup doesn't charge them for the first $10,000 it manages. As millenials save and inherit more, digital finance-management tools could displace a huge revenue driver at banks.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
NOW WATCH: People were baffled by 50 sharks circling in shallow waters off the English coast