Vantage Ventures Launches Effort to Support Entrepreneurs in the Mountain State
MORGANTOWN, WV / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2021 / Life is old in West Virginia's Appalachian Mountains, but Mountaineers are introducing a series of audacious initiatives to welcome new, innovative financial technology (fintech) companies to the state.
In April, West Virginia became the only the second state in the U.S. to create a process for technology companies to transform the insurance industry (insurtech). The new insurtech process will allow businesses to offer innovative products and services in a controlled environment, under the supervision of regulators, that would not normally be permissible in the existing regulatory framework.
"The insurance industry is entering the digital age. Big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technology-enabled efficiencies are poised to rapidly transform the industry," said West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee Chair Moore Capito, who sponsored the West Virginia legislation establishing an insurance innovation process. "Now, West Virginia is providing a way for promising insurtech companies to safely offer inventive new products and services to my constituents and West Virginians across the state, and bypass the outdated laws inhibiting innovation."
The passage of legislation that supports insurtech entrepreneurs follows the creation of a regulatory fintech sandbox in the state. West Virginia's regulatory fintech sandbox enables entities that would normally require licensure in the state to partner with financial institutions and test innovative financial products or services for a limited period of 24 months. Administered by the Division of Financial Institutions, the program is intended to encourage entrepreneurs and start-ups who want to address impactful, sustainable finance challenges through the deployment of emerging technologies.
West Virginia provides more than just a welcoming regulatory environment, however. The state has several fintech companies and partners, including MVB Bank, that actively partner with local entrepreneurs. The unexpected pool of technical talent and venture capital (VC) investors also have attracted fintech entrepreneurs to the state.
Core10, a fintech that provides API Integration and SaaS implementation services to the financial services industry and leading fintechs, selected Huntington, WV as its first Hereshore® community. Lee Farabaugh, co-founder and president of Core10, explains, "The decision to serve our national client base from West Virginia has benefited from a pipeline of talented developers in an area with a significantly lower cost of living."
The availability of capital also has buttressed the decision. "The majority of Core10's seed and growth capital has come from investors tied to West Virginia, including the state's Venture Capital fund, local family offices, and FINTOP Capital, whose founder, Joe Maxwell, is a West Virginia native," said Core10 CEO Jeff Hanson.
Vantage Ventures, an initiative of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, is leading an effort to provide benefits to fintech entrepreneurs bringing solutions to the Mountain State. These benefits include access to coworking space as well as potential partners, customers, and capital. Vantage Ventures supports high-impact and scalable companies tackling complex challenges in Appalachia with the support of pioneering technology leaders, visionary venture investors, and top financial institutions.
"West Virginia provides exciting opportunities for fintech innovators seeking to strengthen Main Street through the introduction and expansion of financial services capabilities, including lending, insurance, and traditional banking," said Sarah Biller, executive director of Vantage Ventures. "We are focused on creatively and responsibly utilizing fintech to tackle economic mobility, healthcare, energy, and other challenges that confront rural populations along the sustainable finance continuum."
To learn more about Vantage Ventures and the community-based efforts it supports to demonstrate that for fintech entrepreneurs, companies, and workers, West Virginia is ‘Almost Heaven,' visit: https://vantageventures.io/#about.
About Vantage Ventures
Housed at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, Vantage Ventures provides a bold new generation of entrepreneurs with a systematic and repeatable process to transform their world-changing ideas into scalable businesses. Vantage Ventures leverages its network of mentors, talent, capital allocators, academics, and committed industry partners, including entrepreneurs and the innovation engines of large companies, to forge a new path of economic growth. It is backed by globally influential technology leaders, Fortune Class companies, venture investors, and an unexpectedly cool R1 Institution. For more information, visit: https://vantageventures.io or follow Vantage Ventures on Twitter: @VantageWV, Instagram: @VantageVentures, and LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Kyle W. Kempf
Caliber Corporate Advisers
kyle@calibercorporate.com
888.550.6385 ext.19
SOURCE: Vantage Ventures
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