When Rory Eakin and his co-founder, Ryan Caldbeck, created CircleUp they did so in response to a big problem. Consumer goods companies find it very difficult to raise equity capital and most Silicon Valley VCs are not interested in the category. So, they created an equity marketplace focused on that one segment.

The real estate crowdfunding space has been around less than five years and while dozens of platforms have launched there are only a small number gaining significant traction. The most popular segment of the market for these platforms is the fix and flip market – these are bridge loans typically 12 months or less to a small developer to fund one particular project. It is against that backdrop that AlphaFlow launched in 2015.

This episode of the Lend Academy Podcast is a little bit different. We are giving listeners a preview of our next event, LendIt Europe 2017, coming up in a few days in London. I bring on my two colleagues, Ryan Lichtenwald and Todd Anderson, to discuss the show. The three of us have worked hard over the past several months to bring together the thought leaders in European fintech for two days of cutting edge content.

Fintech entrepreneurs starting out today have many options to help them grow their business. One of those options is to enter an accelerator program, a place where startups can go to get mentorships, education and introductions to companies that can help them move to the next level.

I don’t think many people would argue that the car buying experience is in serious need of disruption. Sitting in a car dealership for hours while wondering whether or not you will be approved for financing is something that should have ended a decade or two ago. Enter AutoGravity. They have brought the entire car buying experience into a simple and elegant smartphone app.

I first arrived in this country as an immigrant back in 1991. I tried to apply for a credit card and was rejected. Multiple times. The reality was that my stellar credit history in Australia was meaningless in this country. Our next guest on the Lend Academy Podcast is trying to solve this problem. They also happen to be the winner of the startup competition, PitchIt @ LendIt, in March, 2017.

Equipment finance is one of the largest verticals with around $1 trillion in financing happening every year. We have never had a show dedicated to this space until now. Like other verticals there are some very well established legacy players as well as some enterprising and nimble fintech companies looking to do things differently.

Even people who have never heard of fintech are aware of FICO scores. The three digit number that denotes credit worthiness has been part of our financial lives for decades. What people may not be aware of, even within fintech though, is the sophistication of the company behind the FICO score. The reality is that FICO has been doing cutting edge work in credit modeling and fraud detection for a very long time.

When it comes to marketplace lending tools for retail investors there have really been two games in town: NSR Invest and LendingRobot. Both companies have served retail investors for many years and have amassed a loyal group of customers. We broke the news here earlier this month that the two companies would merge to create the largest robo-advisor in marketplace lending.

My very first trip to China back in 2014 was because of an invitation to speak at an event hosted by Greg Gibb of Lufax in Beijing. Since then, I have been wanting to get him on the show to talk about Lufax and his story because he is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting and most articulate people in all of fintech.