Meet Lawnmower and Factury, Part of Startupbootcamp’s NYC Cohort

On Tuesday, March 15, Startupbootcamp announced that following four grueling days of pitches, interviews, training workshops and feedback sessions, it has selected a total of 10 startups out of over 400 applicants to take part in the Startupbootcamp FinTech New York accelerator program kicking off this April.

“Following the launch of the New York program, we have received an overwhelming response,” Jesse Podell, Managing Director at Startupbootcamp FinTech commented. “20 impressive startups were selected from over 10 countries to participate in our Selection Days. We are extremely excited by the caliber of talent who made it through the process of our first program in New York and we look forward to witnessing their growth through the Startupbootcamp Fintech accelerator.”

Among the 10 companies selected from those 20 that participated in the Selection Days are two blockchain startups:  Lawnmower and Factury. Lawnmower is an iOS & Android app that provides an entry-point for bitcoin investment. It automatically purchases bitcoin through a user’s linked Coinbase account based on the spare change generated from traditional purchases. Users can customize the amount and frequency of their purchases via a custom spare change multiplier and purchase threshold features, check their investment statistics over time, and cash out at any point.

Factury provides a smart invoice payment system with APIs for authorized third parties, such as banks, insurance companies and debt collection agencies, by leveraging blockchain technology to improve enterprise-wide operational efficiencies.

BTCMANAGER interviewed Patrick Archambeau, the founder of Lawnmower, and Artūrs Ivanovs, the co-founder and CMO of Factury, to find out more about their experiences throughout the Startupbootcamp selection process and their expectations moving forward.

“Startupbootcamp is famous for making the Selection Days process very valuable to the participating teams,” said Ivanovs. “Accelerator’s team gathered more than 70 fintech experts and thought leaders from all over the world, including experts in blockchain and distributed ledgers. That means that teams had the opportunity to gather high-level feedback on go-to-market strategy, use of technology, and to open some doors for potential partnerships with the impressive partners of the program, including top-tier international banks.”

The 10 teams will converge on New York City in April to participate in an intense 3-month program. According to the program’s website, “Startupbootcamp’s accelerator programs have one key focus – to connect startups with the most relevant mentors, investors and partners from around the world.”

“We are really looking forward to being able to spend 4 months in an environment surrounded by people who want to help us succeed,” said Archambeau. “The mentors the program offers are amazing and the network that is offered can’t be beat. Coming from San Francisco, we have not had much time out on the East coast, so being able to meet a different set of people in the Fintech industry, as well as potential investors, will be great.”

“The Factury team is looking forward to the program with three main objectives,” said Ivanov. “Enter the US market, run at least 3 pilot projects with financial institutions (banks and factoring companies) and raise seed round [funding] to further growth. Therefore, our team is open for partnerships that could help with any of our objectives.”

At the end of the program, an investor Demo Day is held to celebrate the progress that’s been made and to provide networking opportunities for the participants. Over 500 investors, mentors and partners are epected to participate in Demo Day. The startups will also have access to the Alumni Growth Program, a global network of over 2,000 mentors, 2,000 investors, and 125 startups, as well as exposure to startup hubs in London, Singapore, and New York.

“We are really looking forward to the Demo Day,” said Archambeau.”Getting a chance to pitch in front of hundreds of potential investors is going to be a great opportunity.”