Selected startups, which must have a working product and market traction, will receive up to a $250,000 investment, up from $100,000, in tandem with focused mentoring from a dedicated team of experts and executives from large global financial services companies. The deadline for FinTech companies to apply for participation in SixThirty 2.0 is February 9 (https://sixthirty.co/apply/).

SixThirty's mission is to attract the most innovative and promising B2B FinTech ideas, and work with like-minded corporate and civic partners to mentor and grow them into great businesses. This year, SixThirty will add several new corporate partnerships and collaborations with a network of companies that cuts across payments, banking, wealth management, transaction services, life and p&c insurance, technology and professional services. The partners will work with SixThirty to guide the startups in which it invests. This builds on the momentum of multi-year partnerships with existing corporate partners including UMB, Twain Financial, Reinsurance Group of America and State Farm.

As part of SixThirty's investment, each portfolio company undergoes an eight-week intensive program with mentorship and coaching from leadership at SixThirty's corporate and community partners, including operations and venture experts, academics and professional services firms. The program includes modules on business development fundamentals, pricing strategies, channel partnerships, effective storytelling, vendor management, and sales strategies. The overall focus of the program is to advance the business development opportunities and go-to-market strategies for the selected startups.

"SixThirty 2.0 presents an enriching opportunity for us to fund, mentor, and connect promising early-stage FinTech companies with some of the biggest names in financial services," said Atul Kamra, Managing Partner at SixThirty. "As the financial technology sector evolves from a focus on disruption to a focus on collaboration, our St. Louis roots and deep relationships with industry leaders have allowed us to build an ecosystem and national network that drives innovation and provides a platform for us to tackle some of the biggest issues in financial services."

SixThirty was founded in 2013 with a commitment to leveraging St. Louis' financial services hub and burgeoning startup scene to support - financially and developmentally - a diverse portfolio of FinTech companies. It now has 34 companies in its global portfolio with solutions spanning banking technology, insurance, wealth management, lending, payments, risk, compliance, blockchain, security and fraud.