Background: My Money20/20 Story
About 10 years ago, serial entrepreneurs Anil Aggarwal and Jon Weiner observed that payments — a nearly $1 trillion industry — was about to experience a digital transformation and yet none of existing industry conferences brought together all of the stakeholders that would be powering this revolution. Thus, Anil and Jon set out to build an event and community that would include startup founders, venture investors, mobile operators and Silicon Valley big techs along with the traditional banks, networks and payment processors. Their beautifully curated and marketed event, Money20/20, launched in October 2012 with Google as its Platinum Sponsor and more than 2,000 influential members of this nascent business community in attendance. Money20/20 was a sensation, doubling in 2013 to 4,000+ attendees and then again in 2014 to nearly 8,000 attendees.
In 2012, then a consultant in the payments industry advising my clients about the latest trends, I was one of those 2,000 attendees at the inaugural Money20/20 conference. At the next year’s event, in 2013, I moderated a panel on mobile payments and served as an emcee for startup pitch event on the keynote stage. Shortly after, Anil and Jon invited me to join the team at Money20/20 and I then served as Chief Content Officer from 2014 through 2019. During that time, Money20/20 was acquired in a massive nine-figure deal by London-based Ascential Events and we launched new editions in Amsterdam and Singapore. It was an amazing and rewarding 5-year journey.
The Opportunity: A New Financial Revolution
Today, in 2022, there is a similar financial revolution underway, this time in personal finance. From the digitization of banking to the democratization of investing, the way that we manage and invest our money — and even the underlying technology platforms that power finance (see crypto and DeFi) — are fundamentally changing. And just like with the payments industry in 2012, the current lineup of financial services industry events are only serving individual verticals and not yet effectively bringing together all the key stakeholders—namely, the innovation economy at the convergence of the investment management, fintech and crypto communities.
An important aspect of this revolution in finance is a focus on values and impact. The wealth gap is widening. The top 10% of U.S. households hold 70% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 50% hold 2%. Financial literacy and wellness remains a growing concern. And both the finance industry and retail investors are becoming increasingly aware of the power and responsibility they share to align with their values and address important issues like climate change and social justice. More of us are asking how capitalism and finance can be a force for good.
The Concept: NOW South Festival
And so, I’m in the process of chasing a very big dream and I invite you to join me in bringing it to fruition. Like my friends and mentors Anil and Jon, I’ve formed a new company to launch an event and community that will address this new revolution in personal finance and bring together the innovators driving the transformation. The concept was incubated over the past year or so during my tenure at Spark Network and Spark founder Jim Wiandt will remain an investor and advisor for the new entity. I’m now working to bring on new strategic investors and partners.
NOW South Festival is inspired by the city of Atlanta, the heart of the American South and a region in the midst of a seismic social and economic transformation. The “now south” represents an ambitious vision and symbol for what is possible in America today, and a sense of urgency to invest, innovate and collaborate together to build a better future for all. The inaugural festival will be held in amazing venues in downtown Atlanta in 2024, with details and exact dates to be announced in the coming months.
NOW South will truly be one-of-a-kind event — a business conference wrapped in a cultural festival:
- Convene the key stakeholders defining the future of personal financial management — at the intersection of wealth management, fintech and crypto.
- Overlay of capitalism, finance and tech as a force for good in impact (ESG) areas like inclusive finance, shareholder engagement and climate and sustainability.
- Agenda content that frames the community and conversation but is creatively curated and not overly commercialized.
- Event programming that integrates cultural elements like live music, culinary experiences and film screenings to deepen connections through shared experiences, reinforce impact themes and introduce outside-of-the-box thinking from speakers outside of the financial services industry.
- Featuring a structured meetings program — powered by software and smart design – that replaces outdated and inefficient expo hall models, connects the community and drives significant ROI for sponsors and delegates.
Look for announcements as we move through 2023 and ramp up to the 2024 festival.
If you have questions or would like to be involved, then please reach out to me at andrew@nowsouthfestival.com.