It’s that time of year again, as one of the biggest fintech events on the calendar, FinovateFall, is nearly upon us. What started more than a decade ago as a small gathering of startups in humble NYC venues, has grown into a powerhouse event featuring established companies and financial institutions. This year it’s taking place at the venerable Marriott Marquis in midtown Manhattan.

FinovateFall 2018 will feature more than 70 fintechs demoing the latest in financial technology, over 100 expert speakers and of course the hundreds in attendance. Finovate always features memorable demos, good content and of course a few surprises; with that in mind, here are a few things we’re looking forward to at this year’s conference.

1. The latest cutting-edge fintech trends

Finovate demos always seem to be at the forefront of the next wave in financial technology, and often portend what will be the next hot trends in the industry. Early years of Finovate featured a heavy focus on areas like mobile banking, personal financial management (PFM) and P2P payments – services that have now been ingrained in most consumer’s financial lives.

Likewise, many of the disruptive ideas presented at this year’s Finovate may become the digital financial staples of tomorrow. In particular, this year’s conference heavily features several companies in the areas of gamification, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. Some companies in particular we’re looking out for include Simpler Trading, Finn AI,Cambr and Launchfire.

We’re also seeing an increasing trend of fintechs popping up in areas that aren’t just focused on the individual retail customer, such as business banking, investing and retirement planning management. The event is a prime place to scout out the next hot fintech trends before they explode.

2. Tomorrow’s hot fintech, today.

Many of the current well-known names in financial technology were once relatively unknown startups presenting at Finovate. Looking over the names of previous Finovate winners, it reads like a who’s-who of fintech giants. Companies such as Prosper, Personal Capital and Betterment used Finovate as a launching pad for growth and name recognition in their early days.

Since Finovate has a competitive application process, it usually means that only the best of the best get invited to present on stage. And, as we’ve seen, some of those turn into major fintech players.

FinovateFall once again offers up the opportunity to see some of these startups before they make it big. The next big idea that will become commonplace in digital financial services could get its first public notoriety right here – it’s a good bet that some of the startups demoing this year will become household names in the future.

3. Networking, networking, networking

The demos and the expert speakers are of course a big draw of Finovate, but perhaps the number one reason people attend the show is the amazing networking opportunities that are available. Finovate still largely attracts the jeans-with-blazer startup crowd that has made up a large portion of the attendee base since been the beginning, but the event has become so big and influential that it is now fairly commonplace to see big bank executives, insurers, wealth management firms and Big Four consultants at the show.

Whether it’s during lunch, in between sessions, in the media room or just walking the lobby, Finovate offers ample opportunities to reconnect with old acquaintances or make new connections. And then of course there’s the famous Finovate after parties…

Whether you’re a longtime veteran, about to attend your first Finovate, or somewhere in between, we hope you enjoy this year’s conference. Let us know what you’re most looking forward to, or drop us a line if you want to connect.