Startups and Fintech:
​Growing and Scaling a Consumer Finance Application

​Presentation Date & Time:
December 2nd & 3rd, 2020

Presenter Information:
Name: Brian Barnes
Organization: M1 Finance

Presentation Description:
Brian Barnes was passionate about investing long before founding M1 Finance in 2015. After buying his first stock at the age of 10, investing became a hobby and a passion. However, after college, he discovered that although he loved investing, he hated the process. And, that is when M1 was born. M1 is a consumer finance application that that allows for Smart Money Management tool, allowing people from all walks of life to build and easily manage wealth.
 
In his talk, Brian will discuss M1's learnings from breaking into the financial services industry, which has operated the same way for many years, with a high-tech solution. From working with regulatory bodies,  banks, and Venture Capitalists to supporting users to gain trust in, use, and ultimately switch from their dated brokerages to this new product, M1 has forged a path that will ultimately change how the financial services industry does business. Now, with over a billion dollars in AUM and over half a million active users, Brian will also discuss the strategies and approach to scaling an application, along with predictions for the finance industry as technology moves forward.

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Brian Barnes Biography

Brian Barnes is the founder and CEO of M1 Finance, a next-generation personal finance platform. Since starting the company in 2015, M1 has grown to over 50 employees and manages billions of dollars on behalf of its approximately quarter million users. Prior to starting M1, Brian worked as an equity research analyst at the hedge fund ValueAct Capital and as a management consultant at LEK Consulting. He has a BA from Stanford University in economics.