Lie detectors, search engines and automated loan brokers: going algorithmic was the theme at the November edition of PitchBreakfast, which featured three startups from Queen City Fintech’s eleventh cohort.
As usual, each company had five minutes to share their concepts to a group of judges, which in turn offered 10 minutes of feedback on the pitches. Daniel Friel, CSO and co-founder of Nikia Dix, and Garth Moulton, senior vice president of business development at Pipl, Inc., were this month's panelists.
No More Fake News?
FactSquared founder Bill Frischling wants to change the future of collecting information by literally predicting it.
The startup does this by collecting and analyzing every word of what public figures say. Then, the gathered data predicts what the subject could say next.
On FactSquared's site Factbase, the company puts this into practice, allowing users to access a free, searchable database containing all the words Donald Trump uses — from those in tweets to those spoke aloud (users can access earning calls and other politicians' databases for a subscription-based fee).
These repositories are valuable, Frischling argued, because they provide a depth of insight other sources can't. In fact, media outlets are already acknowledging its value, using it to analyze topics.
The panelists, however, felt that Frishling's pitch needed to emphasize what FactSquared's mission was from the start.
“You want to get them laser-focused on what you do,” Friel said. “Where do you fit relative to everyone else?”
A New Type of Search Engine
Next up was James Flavin, the entrepreneur behind U.K-based KiteEdge. The startup offers a tool specifically for enterprise search targeted to the asset management industry.
That means the software offers insight on traditionally written forms of data, like academic research articles. Instead of working like Google — which gives you the most popular articles first — KiteEdge compiles data from the most relevant content, showcasing the relation between information.
“Human knowledge doubles every 12 hours,” said Flavin. Essentially, there’s a ridiculous amount of information out there, and it’s overwhelming to try and sort through it all.
“We need this type of tool, to be able to digest information, summarize it, so we can understand it,” said Friel.
Loaning a Digital Hand
The third and final presenter was Ermek Rysbek Uulu, whose software Richie Lending automates the loan-broker process. The result is saved time and money for business owners.
With one simple application, users have access to hundreds of top online lenders within their own private lending marketplace; finder fees are minimal.
“We spend 300 times less to process an application,” Uulu said. “We do it 200 times faster, that’s how we make it cheaper.”
Feedback from the judges focused on ensuring Uulu defend his startup's stats with accessible content in future pitches.
“You made some pretty hefty claims up there, and to be able to back them up, in five minutes, you’ve got to draw on [more]," Moulton said.
Want to hear more from Charlotte startups? Come out to next month’s Pitch Breakfast on December 11, and subscribe to Charlotte Inno’s weekly newsletter.
