Recognizable Financial Start-ups

Today, we want to cover two fairly new start-ups that have the potential to positively impact your bank accounts.  At Cloud 9 Financial Consulting, we like to explore different options that may not be proven opportunities. Actually, the two companies that we are going to cover today were finalists in a disruptive competition (for start-ups) that happened in May. We think that they can help you in your goal of retiring, millionaires.

First up to the plate is, Plantly.  According to their website, "Plantly is a web application that creates a diversified investment plan for you." It allows even the most common Internet users create customizable solutions for your investing needs.  They start out by asking a few basic, but core foundation questions. Then proceed to finding investment vehicles that suit your answers. Plantly is originally meant for everyone and provides a sense of control even though they recommend investments by name.  Their site is currently in Beta, and is not wide-open to the public just yet.

On deck is the groundbreaking, Betterment.  Betterment, allows users a very non-confusing account, that accomplishes its goal of simplifying the investment process.  It aims to revolutionize the current model of the institutional "savings account."  To do this, the user can choose their asset allocation using a simple meter, and the back-end of the site purchases and sells securities according to your choice of allocation.  Unlike Plantly, Betterment is a FINRA certified brokerage of investment securities. Meaning, that it sells instruments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.) through its site; Plantly makes you link accounts to an external brokerage firm.  Our major con to Betterment is that users cannot personally choose what securities their portfolio consists of.  However, with the returns that Betterment are promising, we don't see it as a major problem. Betterment does its job as a substitute for your savings account.  With no hidden fees, no minimum balances, and the simplicity of its user interface, Betterment can easily blow-up into a multi-million dollar company.

We love the ideas behind both sites, and see potential for their future relevance as long as they hold true to their core values.

New Volunteer/Networking Community

So, unbeknownst to most of the world, Tech Crunch Disrupt went down last weekend. One of the events there is the hack-a-thon. The hack-a-thon brings together some of the country's best hackers to pull an all-nighter, sponsored by Red Bull.

Out of this hack-a-thon came a website, Iwannavolunteer.org. We at Cloud 9, found out about this website while looking for new hot start-ups exhibiting at TC Disrupt (gotta keep up with modern tech).
Iwannavolunteer.org was born of Patriot Media, LLC, headquartered in Avon, Connecticut. Here's their brief description,"Instantly find volunteer opportunities near you! Search today, this week, this month... Put your extra time to good use wherever you may be." The service is made for organizations, or individuals that can post localized volunteer opportunities; then volunteers log on to see what new ways they can serve their communities.

We at Cloud 9 always advocate community services and charitable giving. We believe that giving away money is just as important as saving and investing it. It helps others that aren't as privileged as we are, and it provides financial perspective about our own financial means. Check out this site, it's brand new and we support it. I Wanna Volunteer

Free credit score...numbers included

For awhile now we've heard friends, family, colleagues, coworkers, mentors, authors, singers, acto....okay you get the point.  Anyways, there's always a complaint that getting your credit report is not the same as getting your credit score. And when getting your actual score, companies hound you to sign up for their service to keep your credit score available. Well no more...

Earlier this week the Senate voted to pass the enormous financial reform and in it, an amendment that requires credit reports to include numerical credit scores.  Now you'll be able to see exactly what number that loan officer will see when you apply for a business loan.  Or the mortgage broker that chooses whether or not to refinance your house. Most importantly, you'll have an idea of how much to save before attempting to leverage equity with debt.

When applying for a loan you never really know what your actual credit score is, although you can usually "guesstimate" and get within the ball park.  Now individuals will be able to correctly assess how much cash, or liquid assets, you will need in order to match the criteria for large and small loans. Even with the advent of the credit crunch and the crackdown on passing out loans and credit cards like candy;  you can still get to the "sweet-spot" on a banks' "yes" list.

When, better stay politically correct...if the reform passes, the people serious about getting loans will simply have to look at their credit score, ask for a loan quote, and then focus on improving their personal financial statements.  When the credit score changes after 4-8 months, ask for another quote to see if you are now a more favorable "risk" to lending institutions.  We would imagine an individual could in fact shop around to other banks to see who will be the best at the age old game, "who can give me the lowest interest rate."

A new start-up referred to simply as, Bank Simple, is in the running to change the way you bank.  It wants to make the relationship between your money and the institution itself, less....web like.  Where you never really know where your money is that you deposited for completing online surveys; because it's currently being lent at a 12% premium to the return you're getting on it in the first place.  All of these shadowy ways that banks make money on consumer deposits and risk of defaults is part of the reason that our global economy is in the state it is currently in. But, Bank Simple is here to alleviate that problem with transparency and ease.

Bank Simple is unique because it motto is, "don't suck."  This alone is reason enough for me as an consumer to lend an ear to what they are attempting to accomplish.  They are shooting for a bank that doesn't charge you hidden fees, or have lengthy and unreasonable customer service policies, a bank that realizes that if it takes extreme care of it's customers, money will undoubtedly come streaming in. 

In taking care of the everyday human being, Bank Simple offers no overdaft fees, no complicated and hidden product costs. It gives you one card that allows you to pull from checking or savings, or make purchases on a credit basis.  And makes it easy for you to deposit checks by allowing you to simply take a picture of it with your phone.

Bank Simple

Real-time Collaborations

The wave is about to overwhelm the people of the world as Google Wave is opened to the public. This move marks the day that collaboration (professionally and socially) is changed forever.

When Google first debuted the wave communications platform, it was said that it would make all communications between parties more efficient. That goes without saying that two colleagues, on opposite sides of the planet, who can work on a looming project in real time will become increasingly valuable over the next few years.

Today is the day that social becomes closer than it was to being fully integrated both inside and outside of companies, no matter how big. I've used wave to play sudoku and chess with friends. And also to work on a project with a team back home, while I was on vacation in Puerto Rico. This platform is phenomenal and from what I've read about the updates...this Google labs product has gotten even better over the past 9+ months.

Youtube entering the fray

With the advent of potentially losing blockbuster to the rules of modern business, keep up with the times (or else), Youtube has recognized a possible market on in its own video viewing platform.

This market is movies for rent. From the time that Youtube started as an independent product, to now where it is owned by the tech giant Google; it has sometimes struggled to monetize it's large audience. Well that may soon change.

In January Google made a widely unnoticed move to rent 5 independent films on the Youtube website, possibly to gauge the demand from it's marketplace. If this test proved worthy enough to roll out a full-blown movie renting platform, the site could see a dramatic increase in revenue through all of its loyal followers. There are two keys to its future success: 1) Will Google be able to strike an advantageous deal with film companies to use their content on its website. 2) Will Google be able to provide a value to customers that exceeds Hulu, Redbox, Amazon, and Netflix (to just name a few).

If Youtube can offer these two keys there could be a major additions to the "black" of Google's bottom line. Keep your eyes on the lookout for more companies to start the foray into more immediate gratification type of offers. Currently Apple is the king and there are a few other companies that could be nipping on its heels in the next 2-3 years.

The success of these companies affect the end consumer more than anything else. Everyone knows that the more fierce the competition, the more the leaders have to proverbially "step their game up." If they do not then Myspace, AOL, and Blockbuster's will be happening all over the place. And when these companies do step up, the consumer gets their best effort at a valuable product. When consumers are happy, the financial statements look more appealing. When the financial statements are more appealing, investors absorb the benefits.

Since I am an investor, I welcome the advent of fierce competition in capitalist markets. In the end everyone is happy. Especially the everyday man investing in an early retirement.