The new Stena fintechXstudio, an early-stage incubator and
accelerator was created to support student fintech
entrepreneurs
SALT
LAKE CITY, June 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneurs passionate about changing
financial services, now have a new way to supercharge a business or
idea: the Stena fintechXstudio. The studio is an early stage
fintech incubator and accelerator for students and recent alumni
from all colleges and universities within the state of Utah.
The first of its kind in Utah,
the studio provides entrepreneurs access to advisors, office space
in the historic hardware building in downtown Salt Lake City, startup funding, business
services and a broad network of fintech experts to help grow
their businesses. The program lasts a year, providing cohort
companies the runway to iterate and grow their fintech
solution.
The studio is part of a broader effort to make Utah a hub for fintech excellence. The
studio has partnered with the University of
Utah's Stena Center for Financial Technology, that was
launched in January 2023 with the
support of the Stena Foundation a total funding commitment of up to
$65 million over the next 10
years.
"This incubator and accelerator will build on the success of
the fintech community in Utah
and will become a major hub for ongoing financial technology
innovation and real economic impact," said Steve Smith, chairman of the Stena Foundation
and a seasoned fintech entrepreneur.
"The fintechXstudio combines young entrepreneurs' energy and
creativity with deep fintech industry expertise to generate high
performing fintech companies," said Ryan
Christiansen, executive director of the Stena Center for
Financial Technology. "The studio is a great opportunity to
accelerate innovation and place Utah at the forefront of global fintech
excellence."
Over 160,000 people are employed by the finance and technology
industries in Utah. The state has
a history of successful fintech innovation with companies like
Galileo, Divvy, and Finicity all calling Salt Lake City home and employing a
significant number of people.
Utah's government, university
and fintech industry leaders have come together accelerate fintech
growth through initiatives like the Stena Center for Financial
Technology and the fintechXstudio. The hope is the number of
fintech companies created in Utah
will substantially increase in the coming months and years.
The studio's physical office space is an important aspect of the
broader mission to build fintech in Utah and Salt Lake
City. Over 40% of fintech companies in Utah are in Salt
Lake County. The goal of housing the studio downtown is to
give a place where founders can scale businesses and participate in
the city's business ecosystem, thereby continuing the growth of
fintech in Salt Lake City. The
location also provides easy access to the freeway, public
transportation, restaurants and other businesses.
The 2024 inaugural studio cohort is comprised of four companies
across the fintech ecosystem. From sending healthcare payments
across the globe to financial tools for non-profits, the founders
are committed to building innovative and inclusive financial
services products. Meet the 2024 fintechXstudio cohort companies:
Benji Card
Benji Card was created to streamline
healthcare payments and simplify transactions. As price
transparency in healthcare becomes more prevalent, people are
shopping and negotiating for the best rates through cash-pay or
self-pay discounts. Through Benji
Card's free platform, healthcare plans can issue pre-funded,
virtual credit cards to their members for approved medical
expenses.
Founder and CEO Cory Morin
is motivated by the potential to simply healthcare for consumers.
"What drives me every day is sparking change in our complicated
healthcare system and to help people pay for their care," he said.
"We want everyone to be able to stress less about the money and
focus more on receiving great care. Through Benji Card, we're doing that – we hope to make a
lasting impact."
Devote
Devote is an all-in-one financial
platform tailored to nonprofits. They strive to empower nonprofits
by streamlining their expense management processes. The devote card
and software facilitates expense tracking, allows for
transaction-level spend control, automates sales tax refunds,
streamlines receipt collection and storage, and more.
CEO and Co-founder Bryce
Hansen is motivated to provide nonprofits access to a
complete suite of financial products, so they can focus on what
they do best. "We want to provide a toolkit to nonprofits that
simplifies financial services so they can focus on making a
meaningful impact," said Hansen. "Every day I am motivated by the
potential of our product to empower and accelerate a nonprofit's
growth."
One Health +
A digital health pass that allows
individuals to prepay for healthcare in different countries, One
Health + was created to make basic healthcare services more
accessible. Powered by blockchain technology, the platform is
designed to provide transparency, security, and efficiency in
healthcare payments.
CEO and founder Osei Boateng
started the company inspired by his experiences in rural
Ghana, where he witnessed health
disparities firsthand. "My goal with OneHealth+ is to eliminate
financial barriers to timely healthcare access, ensuring that
everyone can receive the care they need when they need it," Boateng
said. "The vision behind OneHealth+ is grounded in the belief that
every life deserves equitable access to prompt, high-quality
healthcare."
Stenaverse
A platform that powers fan
engagement experiences for college sports in partnership with
universities, Stenaverse is reimagining the college game day
experience in more ways than one.
CEO and co-founder Kate Van
Wagoner is driven by the fragmented experiences that exist
in the market today around collegiate fan engagement. "When you
look at the current technology, there's nothing that provides the
simple and seamless consumer experience we're providing," she said.
"It's exciting to be part of changing the user experience for such
a large segment of the population."
For more information about the fintechXstudio or to get
involved with the program, visit stenafintechxstudio.com.
About the fintechXstudio
Stena
fintechXstudio is a startup incubator and accelerator for
students and recent alumni from all colleges and universities
within the state of Utah. Founded
by successful fintech entrepreneurs, the studio is helping the next
generation of fintech founders scale faster and sharpen their
product vision. The fintechXstudio is a separate and independent
entity that is not associated with the University of Utah. The University of Utah does not assume liability for
the content, practices or services provided by the fintechXstudio,
including investment decisions.
Learn more at https://stenafintechxstudio.com.
About the Stena Center for Financial
Technology
The Stena Center for Financial Technology
at the University of Utah unites
education and industry to accelerate financial innovation and
inclusion. It is a collaborative effort of the David Eccles School
of Business, the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering and
the S.J. Quinney School of Law.
Organized as an interdisciplinary effort, the center provides
workshops, labs, research, an annual conference and other projects
and programs for students, faculty and industry partners. The
center collaborates with university faculty to bring together
fintech learning, scholarship, innovation, entrepreneurship and
knowledge sharing. It fosters an intersection of education and
industry to accelerate advances in fintech in the areas of
research, commercialization, applied learning and incubation of new
ideas and businesses. The center was launched with vision and
support from the Stena Foundation, which was founded by
University of Utah alumni Steve and Jana Smith to help people thrive by
solving big problems. Learn more at stena.utah.edu.
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SOURCE Stena Foundation