In its first year of operation, Startupbootcamp Fintech New York has implemented an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program, to provide its accelerator teams access to a post–accelerated company, receiving advice and insights on how to make the most of the process. In return, the EIR receive access to local partners, a network of industry professionals and mentoring from Startupbootcamp FinTech’s community of mentors through to the Demo Day in late July.

Startupbootcamp Fintech New York’s first EIR is Fluent, a financial operating network for global commerce built on blockchain technology. The company, with offices in St. Louis, MO, San Mateo, CA, and Lexington, KY, has developed a suite of applications and solutions on top of its network to increase efficiency and transparency providing flexibility and enhance collaboration across global supply chains. Fluent closed its pre-seed financing in November 2015 with participation from institutional investors including Thomson Reuters, Draper Associates and UMB Bank.

“We are extremely excited not only to be in the company of this fantastic group of industry professionals and mentors, but also to provide guidance to other entrepreneurs in our nascent industry,” said Casey Lawlor, Co-Founder and Director of Marketing at Fluent. “Innovation often arises from working shoulder to shoulder with individuals from a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences, and we can’t wait to bounce ideas off the talented teams and members of Startupbootcamp NY.”

“Our teams want as much exposure to great companies as possible,” said Jesse Podell, Managing Director of Startupbootcamp FinTech New York. “We are excited to have a team like Fluent who can not only provide value to the other teams, but also help increase our profile as a go-to program for Bitcoin and Blockchain companies that are working on real solutions for the financial enterprise and beyond. We also believe that our local network of mentors and partners are excited that we are helping companies of different stages of growth and elevating the New York City fintech startup ecosystem.”

In addition to the EIR program, Startupbootcamp FinTech involves Experts in Residence who are entrenched in the Startupbootcamp community and are available for the companies enrolled in the accelerator for advice and mentorship, providing their services through Demo Day.

2016 Experts in Residence include:
• David Williams - Former Managing Director of S&P Capital IQ who led a global sales engineering and education team responsible for pre and post-sale support of nearly $200 million in new sales annually.
• Rak Chugh - Director at Byte Academy, an industry specific education company and the first boot-camp to teach financial technology. Rak brings rich experiences with fixed income, and investing experience in emerging market equities and real estate. He has built technology, worked on an investment banking trading desk and has invested in public and private equity transactions.
• Firat Parlak – Founder of Awesome, a design agency specializing in creating beautiful and engaging UI and UX designs for tech startups.
• Jason Henrichs – Venture capitalist and mentor in the startup world for two decades.

Startupbootcamp Fintech NY recently announced its top 10 FinTech startups to join the New York program, which kicked off on April 18th. After three months of acceleration, the 10 teams will be invited to present their companies to 500+ investors, mentors and partners during Demo Day. Following Demo Day, startups will also have access to the Alumni Growth Program, a global network of 2,000+ mentors, 2,000+ investors, 125+ startups, and exposure to startup hubs in London, Singapore, and New York.