Munchee, a foodie mobile app based in San Francisco, used a creative approach to attract investors in the crowded restaurant rewards category. They differentiated their program by describing the “rewards token” as a cryptocurrency, and issuing an initial coin offering (ICO) for the Munchee MUN.
Fintech entrepreneurs will need different types of expertise during different phases of their business lifecycle: beta test products and services, launch program, scale growth, expand into new geographic markets, extend the product line, upgrade technology, optimize operational processes, explore long-term growth opportunities.
Big banks like Chase are taking advantage of white label or “buy it” opportunities, by entering into licensing agreements with LaaS (lending-as-a-service) providers like OnDeck. This type of licensing arrangement provides substantial advantages to a big bank, but there can be substantial disadvantages for the technology partner.
Developers launch more than 1,000 new mobile apps every day. And most of these apps leverage substantial personal data: name, contact information, passwords, credit card numbers, geo-targeted locations, photographs, social media contacts, etc. That’s a lot of sensitive information out there in cyberspace. In an attempt to increase cyber security in this age of data breaches the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) issued new mobile app security guidelines in May 2017.
In many ways small business borrowers look and behave more like consumers than corporations, but small businesses don’t enjoy the compliance protections afforded to consumers. Protections like the Truth In Lending Act.