Best in Finance: Top Money Experts

Open up the possibilities with the best in finance today. Winners of the CreditDonkey Best in Finance Award have been announced.

Best Finance © CreditDonkey

Most Innovative Finance Companies

Looking to put your money to good use, or need a piece of the pot for your latest venture? Or are you on the hunt for a better way to manage your finances? The winners on this list can help.

Connecting with people who will donate or invest in your cause or new business is easier than ever. When you know which of the many, many innovative finance companies are the best of the bunch, you can move forward with your project or money management effort with confidence.

At CreditDonkey, we are always searching for the latest innovations, greatest platforms, and most practical tools for making your money go further in the most efficient ways possible. The innovative companies on this list pull off these feats in a variety of ways. Take a look, and see if you're inspired to do anything different or new with your fundraising or money management endeavors.

Best Finance © CreditDonkey

• Crowdrise
  

  Crowdrise allows anyone to raise money for any good and impactful cause, and it takes less than a minute to start a new account. Bringing the idea of Kickstarter to the world of nonprofits, Crowdrise is already making a huge impact for individuals, nonprofits and causes that are putting themselves into action all around the world. Crowdrise was founded by Edward Norton, Shauna Robertson, Jeffrey T. Wolfe, Robert Wolfe as a platform to raise charitable donations.

  Why Crowdrise is Best in Finance: Crowdrise offers some of the best pricing for fundraising without goal requirements, and you can raise 3x more with their fundraising ideas while earning impact points. Detroit, MI

  Read: Love a Thon
  Follow @crowdrise

• CurrencyFair
  

  Sending and receiving foreign currency is never a cheap, fast or affordable process. Especially when you get up to five figures or try going through your bank. CurrencyFair solves that with a clean, easy, fast and transparent process that helps you send and receive money in foreign currency online. Most transactions only have a three euro fee and a 0.35% commission, and they have helped their customers save over 170 million euros. CurrencyFair was founded because a problem needed to be solved. Expats were looking for an affordable and easy way to move money to and from their new home countries, and this need evolved into what CurrencyFair is today.

  Why CurrencyFair is Best in Finance: CurrencyFair bills itself as cheaper than your bank, faster than your bank, regulated, secure and available anywhere. Available in the App Store and Google Play

  Read: These 20 Swedish Startups Are Poised for Big Things in 2017
  Follow @CurrencyFair

• Classy
  

  Some of the world's best nonprofits turn to Classy when it comes to fundraising online. That includes Teach for America, Heifer International, Oxfam, Team Rubicon, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, just to name a few. With impactful, clear, clean and responsive campaigns, they are one of the best platforms for raising money online to make an impact around the world. When one of the largest cancer organizations refused to accept the money he raised during a pub crawl held to honor his mom, a two-time breast cancer survivor, CEO Scot Chisholm was inspired to start Classy to make it easier for anyone to support a cause that’s meaningful to them – and just as easy for organizations to make purposeful and lasting connections with their supporters. Realizing that nonprofits needed to adapt and improve the overall giving experience, Scot and the founding team set out to build a solution that would appeal to the next generation of tech-forward philanthropists, which went on to become one of the fastest growing online and mobile fundraising platforms.

  Why Classy is Best in Finance: Classy puts the nonprofit’s brand first through easily customizable campaigns that range from crowdfunding, to peer-to-peer fundraising, event registration & management, and one-time or recurring website donations, all under one platform. San Diego, CA

  Read: Send Military Kids to Camp
  Follow @classy

• Wipro
  

  Businesses in the aerospace, automotive, engineering, health care, entertainment, insurance, government and dozens of other industries turn to Wipro to solve all of their IT needs. With over 170,000 employees spanning six continents, they are one of the greatest technology, consulting and outsourcing companies to solve any business and IT need your company could face. Wipro can trace its origins all the way back to 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products. They entered the technology sector in the 1980s and became listed on the NYSE starting in the year 2000 (NYSE: WIT).

  Why Wipro is Best in Finance: Wipro offers IT services, consulting, system integration and IT sourcing around the world. Based in Bangalore, India

  Read: Artificial Intelligence Uncovered
  Follow @Wipro

• Experiment
  

  Experiment is a novel idea that brings the world of crowdfunding to the scientific community. Whether you are a university, organization or class that's looking to raise money for a specific project, or you're a huge science fan who wants to fund ideas and experiments, there are an endless number of projects, ideas and experiments that allow you to fund your own curiosity. Experiment was founded in 2012 by Cindy Wu and Denny Luan to provide crowdfunding services for scientific research. Categories include, but are not limited to, biology, chemistry, computer science, medicine, anthropology, psychology and engineering.

  Why Experiment is Best in Finance: With Experiment, you can browse challenge grants, institutions, categories or lab notes on different projects and fundings. New York, NY

  Read: Gadolinium retention in pediatric patients
  Follow @lets_experiment

• LearnVest
  

  LearnVest cuts down the cost of a certified financial planner by thousands of dollars over the course of your relationship. Plus you'll have your own personalized and customized plan available to you 24/7 online and through email. You get resources, articles and help that is tailored to what you need, and it costs less money and you get better service than through traditional CPAs so you can manage your money more effectively and achieve your financial goals. Alexa von Tobel dropped out of business school to start LearnVest under the belief that financial advice should be affordable and accessible with a dedicated team of financial planners, behavior experts, and tech gurus.

  Why LearnVest is Best in Finance: LearnVest offers dedicated financial planners, customizable financial plans, online tools, classes and articles. Sign-up for LearnVest through their site

  Read: Average Costs of the Most Common Home Reno Projects
  Follow @LearnVest

• TransferWise
  

  TransferWise saves you money when it comes to sending and receiving currency to foreign countries. Brick and mortar banks can charge up to 5% when you send money. Not to mention that it can take several days, and there is no transparency in the process. TransferWise changes all of that, saving you up to eight times the amount of money and offering next-day transfers of funds. Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann were working and living overseas and needed to find a solution to sending money across borders. They came up with a simple solution to provide each other with a fair exchange rate, and that answer went on to become TransferWise.

  Why TransferWise is Best in Finance: Get the real exchange rate, next day delivery and trust all over the world with TransferWise. Get the app for Apple or Android

  Read: 5 Foods You'll Miss as a Brit Living in the U.S.
  Follow @TransferWise

• Rally
  

  Rally is one of the easiest places to raise money online, and it separates itself from the pack by allowing you to tell your story. Whether you need to raise medical funds for a loved one, create a project that will make an impact on the other side of the planet, or have a mission that you want to share with friends, it's fast and easy to tell your story and start trending so you can get the funds and resources you need. Rally was founded in 2011 by Tom Serres, Naveed Lalani, Jonas Lamis and Brian Upton to serve as a social online fundraising platform for individuals, nonprofits and organizations.

  Why Rally is Best in Finance: On Rally, you can create your page, tell your story and raise money online. San Francisco, CA

  Read: Easiest Online Fundraising
  Follow @rally

• Aspiration
  

  Aspiration is changing the way people do their banking. Whether it is as simple as earning interest on checking that is over 100 times greater than brick-and-mortar banks, or ethical investment funds, Aspiration puts 10% of their profits into charity while offering fair and affordable products that anyone can use. It's fair, ethical and making an impact in the world of banking. CEO Andrei Cherny leads Aspiration's mission to help everyone gain access to the best banking and investment products. He brings over 20 years of experience in making the world of financial institutions fairer for all.

  Why Aspiration is Best in Finance: With Aspriation, you set the fee for your account and 10% of profits go to charity. Marina del Rey, CA

  Read: Join the Revolution in Sustainable Investing
  Follow @Aspiration

• Watsi
  

  Watsi has a direct and innovative approach to helping people around the world. Using their amazing platform, you can meet people around the planet who need help funding their health care and you can donate to their needs. You get to meet people and read their stories, contribute a donation starting at $5, and receive updates on their health. It's making a personalized difference around the world. Chase Adam had the idea for Watsi when he was serving in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. He was asked for donations for a child's health care and it inspired him to create a platform where patients could share their story and connect with donors to help expand access to health care around the world.

  Why Watsi is Best in Finance: With Watsi, 100% of the donations directly fund the health care of the patient. Donors can select individual patients to donate to or become a monthly donor and receive emails with the patient their donation supported.

  Read: Father's Day
  Follow @watsi

• Avant
  

  Avant offers an easy, convenient personal loan process, all done online so you can start receiving funds as soon as tomorrow.

  Why Avant is Best in Finance: All you have to do is check your rates to get pre-approved, then e-sign your contract quickly and securely; it takes just minutes. Avant also features a simple web dashboard and a mobile app, as well as customer support seven days a week so you can always stay up-to-date on your loan and get your questions answered.

  Read: Give Yourself a $5,000 Raise This Year
  Follow @avant_us

• CB Insights
  

  Companies like Cisco, Microsoft, SalesForce and KPMG rely on CB Insights to provide every available piece of data on their own challenges and their competitors to make smart and strategic business decisions. Using analytics, a tremendous amount of data and statistics, CB Insights can help you predict emerging trends, pinpoint growing data and take a lot of the legwork out of planning for the future. CEO Anand Sanwal oversees CB Insights with the goal of analyzing large amounts of data to help corporations answer difficult questions using data in their decision making.

  Why CB Insights is Best in Finance: CB Insights helps you predict emerging trends, get data on the competition and identity tomorrow's challenges. New York, NY

  Read: Google, Twitter, Intel, Apple In A Rush To Grab Artificial Intelligence Startups
  Follow @CBinsights

• Bench
  

  If you spend way too much time managing your finances and QuickBooks for your company or small business and don't even understand all the data, Bench will handle your bookkeeping for you. With an experienced and personalized team ready to go, you can securely have your financial documents handled and converted into easy-to-understand financial reports that work for any kind of business. Bench was founded by Ian Crosby, who has worked as a bookkeeper and a treasurer at various companies, including Bain & Company. He has appeared on Forbes' Top 30 Under 30 List and has overseen Bench's tremendous growth in the financial start-up sector.

  Why Bench is Best in Finance: Bench lets you convert your data into financial reports with experienced bookkeeping and a transparent and secure process. Vancouver, BC

  Read: A Simple Way to Get Inside Your Customer's Mind
  Follow @Bench

• BillGuard
  

  BillGuard - now a part of the Prosper Daily family - has boomed thanks to its unique approach to handling bills and security. If one person in the BillGuard family notices fraud, an alert will be sent to all people who deal with that same billing company. You can manage and maintain all your bills and accounts in one place and make sure you're paying on time while preventing ID theft and cyberattacks. Founder Raphael Ouzan is a decorated former data intelligence officer who oversees BillGuard's team of engineers, data scientists and product designers in their Tel Aviv office. They are dedicated to finding newer and smarter ways to manage money.

  Why BillGuard is Best in Finance: BillGuard lets you view all your accounts and balances in one place with bill security and ID protection. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel

  Read: Grey Charges in America
  Follow @BillGuard

• Automated Insights
  

  Yahoo, Edmunds, Sling, Amazon, the Orlando Magic and the AP turn to Automated Insights for their unique ability to translate complicated data into clear content. Whether you need to inform employees, shareholders or the team, they are the number one creator of personalized content around data and statistics. In 2016 alone, Automated Insights produce over 1.5 billion narratives, reports, and articles. In 2017, Marc Zionts became Automated Insights' new CEO with the goal of growing and scaling an already successful company. They are looking to build on the strong and innovative base and grow even further commercially.

  Why Automated Insights is Best in Finance: Automated Insights specializes in business intelligence, ecommerce, finance, media, marketing/advertising, sports and real estate. Durham, NC

  Read: Automated Content Won't Take Your Job. It Will Make Your Job Better
  Follow @AInsights

• eShares
  

  eShares is the easy and comprehensive way to manage your cap table. What used to be segmented into different silos and divisions can now all be done in one place. Whether you are a company or investor looking to manage, issue and grant access and compliance to your shares or an employee needing an easy way to track vesting, eShares allows for everything to be integrated seamlessly. CEO Henry Ward founded eShares in 2012 and it became the first and only SEC-registered transfer agent for private companies and the first platform to issue e-certificates for private companies.

  Why eShares is Best in Finance: eShares handles cap table management, issues stock to investors and tracks vesting. Palo Alto, CA

  Read: A Manager's FAQ
  Follow @eshares

• DueDil
  

  DueDil, short for due diligence, is the research and information that every business should do in order to move forward. And DueDil keeps all those tools at the same place. Whether you need to thoroughly research a business before reaching out, learn about a competitor, or stay within compliance or expanding your sales force, DueDil is a comprehensive knowledge tool that is already used by over 175,000 businesses. CEO Damian Kimmelman co-founded DueDil in 2011 with the intention of providing companies with more thorough information about other businesses, and it has expanded rapidly across Europe.

  Why DueDil is Best in Finance: DueDil allows you to understand information about competitors and manage customer and supplier lists while reaching out to businesses directly. London, UK

  Read: Introducing Lists
  Follow @duedil

• Mosaic
  

  Mosaic has a clear and concise vision for the future: 100% clean energy for all. They are helping make that happen by offering loans to install solar panels that allow people to own their own electricity, save money on their power bills and help the environment along the way. Whether you are a homeowner or solar installer, you can save tens of thousands of dollars on electricity over time. Founders Billy Parish and Dan Rosen are clean energy entrepreneurs. Billy founded the Energy Action Coalition and Dan has been named one of Forbes "30 under 30" for energy.

  Why Mosaic is Best in Finance: Own your electricity, save money and help the environment with Mosaic. Oakland, CA

  Read: Six Reasons Why The Clean Energy Revolution is Unstoppable
  Follow @solarmosaic

• Crowdfunder
  

  Crowdfunder brings the world of venture capital investing to anyone who wants a piece of equity in some of the newest and most exciting companies around the world. If you think you have an eye for the next big thing, Crowdfunder is a chance for you to prove it. You can help companies get off the ground and have a stake in their future, and they are also a great place for companies looking to raise funds and find ordinary investors around the world. Companies can also raise token sales via SAFTs and ICOs. CEO Jean-Michel Arnoult oversees Crowdfunder with the vision of making entrepreneurship a powerful force for economic change. Through access to capital and education, they make high-impact venture growth more accessible.

  Why Crowdfunder is Best in Finance: With Crowdfunder, you can search for funds based on location, industry, deal type and popularity. Los Angeles, CA

  Read: Learn About Jason Coombs
  Follow @crowdfunder

• Fig
  

  Fig brings the success of crowdfunding and venture capital investing to the world of video games. With the resources and marketing of a full-fledged indie studio, they are allowing people and earn returns from game sales, while offering a platform for designers and developers to raise money for their projects. It's a great community that allows investors to have equity in their investments. Fig CEO Justin Bailey brings an extensive background in the video game industry to launch a platform where a community can crowdfund and invest, helping to create and earn returns from new and popular games.

  Why Fig is Best in Finance: Fig is a community-powered publisher that offers publishing and marketing services for indie games, and enables you to receive Fig Shares that entitle you to returns based on the game's future sales revenue. San Francisco, CA

  Read: Wasteland 3
  Follow @PlayFig

• give2gether
  

  give2gether is a software platform that allows nonprofits to boost their outreach, expand their social media presence and raise the money they need to get their projects off the ground. With an endless list of success stories, give2gether helps you boost your conversion ratio, empower activists to promote your campaigns, visually display contributions and improve visitor giving rate. Co-founders Arnon Shafir, Hoan Soo Lee and Shachar Kariv bring their expertise in internet technology innovation, economics and entrepreneurship to give2gether's forward-thinking approach to fundraising.

  Why give2gether is Best in Finance: give2gether allows you to improve conversion rates and reach new prospects, and can be linked to social media.

  Read: Second Chance 2016
  Follow @give2gether

• Narrative Science
  

  Narrative Science uses natural language generation technology to transform big data into actionable narratives that can move your company forward. Whether you're looking to communicate with your team, company or clients, it uses forward-thinking technology to take spreadsheets, charts, analytics and stats into a story that will deliver the information you care most about. CEO Stuart Frankel leads Narrative Science's vision of focusing on how customers can achieve more efficient business answers and results with artificial intelligence technologies.

  Why Narrative Science is Best in Finance: Narrative Science features actionable data, advanced natural language generation and intelligent narratives. Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C., and New York, NY

  Read: Innovation Ushers in the Modern Era of Compliance
  Follow @narrativesci

• Hearsay Systems
  

  Hearsay Systems offers leading Advisor Cloud solutions for financial services, empowering advisors to efficiently and compliantly use social media, websites, text and email to engage with customers, build stronger relationships and grow their business. Its prescriptive technology processes and prioritizes data from across digital channels and data systems, providing actionable suggestions for advisors on how they should engage with customers next. Built for the enterprise, Hearsay connects these advisor-client interactions and data to corporate CRM systems and digital marketing programs, and provides efficient compliance supervision and review workflows – all on a secure, enterprise-ready platform.

  Why Hearsay Systems is Best in Finance: Hearsay is used by more than 150,000 advisors and agents at the world’s largest financial services and insurance firms. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

  Read: In Detail
  Follow @hearsaysocial

• Metromile
  

  Metromile is turning the world of car insurance on its head with the extremely popular pay-per-mile business model of charging customers based on how much they drive. It's a great option for people who have cars in urban areas and only drive on occasion. You can save an average of $500 if you only drive sporadically and receive the best service of the largest insurance companies. Metromile CEO Dan Preston leads the company's vision to revolutionize the services around car ownership. Before coming to Metromile, he was co-founder and CTO of AisleBuyer, a company acquired by Intuit in 2012.

  Why Metromile is Best in Finance: Metromile is a smart driving app with a reliable claims department and pay-as-you-drive pricing. Currently, Metormile is available in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.

  Read: Get Your Per-mile Car Insurance Quote
  Follow @Metromile

• CircleUp
  

  CircleUp has allowed hundreds of companies get the funding they need to break through into CPG markets. The company uses its machine learning platform Helio to use smart, predictive data and analytics to identify top performing CPG businesses and then work with them on fundraises. They are one of the best places for helping small businesses in the consumer and retail industry get the capital and resources they need to get off the ground and have as powerful an impact as possible. Ryan Caldbeck and Rory Eakin bring their experience in investing, consumer products, equity and social enterprise to CircleUp to make funding more easily available to promising companies.

  Why CircleUp is Best in Finance: CircleUp evaluates 92,000 data points per company, and analyzes 1.2 million companies across billions of data points with Helio, it's machine learning platform. San Francisco, CA

  Read: Makers Market raising on CircleUp
  Follow @CircleUp

• HandUp
  

  HandUp allows you to make a direct impact in the place where you live. It is the digital, larger Silicon Valley version of many people chipping in to help people in their communities who need a hand. Whether you want to help fund one person in need, contribute a monthly donation, or find a project or nonprofit, it's a great way to see your money make an impact around you. Having gained many years of experience with nonprofits, co-founders Rose Broome and Sammie Rayner founded HandUp with the mission to empower technology to enact social change.

  Why HandUp is Best in Finance: HandUp allows you to give directly to people in need and see the impact your donation makes. San Francisco, CA

  Read: Do One Thing
  Follow @HandUp

• PolicyGenius
  

  PolicyGenius is a one-stop shop for all your insurance needs, whether you're looking for homeowners insurance, renters, life, pet or disability. Or you just need an insurance check-up to see where you're covered and where you might need more, they are an unbiased and comprehensive source that shows you the best options that work for you while saving you money along the way. Founders Jennifer Fitzgerald and Francois de Lame are experts in the world of insurance, consumer financials, marketing, sales and business development, and are constantly working on insurance pricing models and the best ways to get people covered.

  Why PolicyGenius is Best in Finance: Receive unbiased advice, compare quotes, apply and buy insurance through PolicyGenius. New York, NY

  Read: Compare Affordable Quotes & Buy
  Follow @PolicyGenius

• Lenddo
  

  Lenddo is solving one of the biggest problems for the emerging middle class around the world by providing ways to build a credit history. This is crucial for people and places who have steady income but lack the credit history to earn loans and credit lines. Lenddo offers tools and software for financial lenders to use digital footprints to allow people to earn lines of credit to invest in their futures and families. Lenddo was founded in 2011 to use non-traditional data to calculate people's credit scores. Its founders have the aim of improving the well-being of the middle class in developing countries with micro loans.

  Why Lenddo is Best in Finance: Lenddo helps financial services providers extend credit and helps people invest in their future. Based in Singapore

  Read: Join the Lenddo Team
  Follow @lenddofriend

• Crowdpac
  

  Crowdpac is the intersection of political action committees and crowdfunding. With the simple and dedicated mission to helping match people with politicians and causes while enabling people to run for office and get involved, Crowdpac stands out from many other start-ups. You can browse issues, categories and trending tags and support the causes you believe in the most. Crowdpac founders Steve Hilton, Adam Bonica and Gisel Kordestani lead the company's mission to be a free and open technology platform that is non-partisan and uncontrolled by any political committee, party, or politician.

  Why Crowdpac is Best in Finance: With Crowdpac, you can inform your political beliefs, back people who support your causes and even run for office. San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC

  Read: It Happened Trump Was Elected
  Follow @Crowdpac

• TRDATA
  

  TRDATA's products include Market Data, Trading Platform and Client Portal, all with the expressed intent to help manage financial transactions faster, better, more smoothly and more efficiently. Whether you need to aggregate quotes, stock tickers and news from the leading experts, or you need to centralize client information, TRDATA has the tools you need, and it's why they're trusted by over 800 major financial companies around the world. TRDATA was founded by an investment banker in 2009 and has grown to become a financial technology company in London, Moscow and Kiev, offering real-time, high-quality and customizable products for market professionals.

  Why TRDATA is Best in Finance: TRDATA allows you to track market prices and access news and analytics. Based in London, UK

  Read: How TRDATA is Adapting Its Business Strategy to the Market
  Follow @trdata

• Benefitter
  

  Figuring out health care and insurance for employees takes up a great deal of money, time, work and effort for a company, especially so for small businesses that might not have a dedicated HR department. Benefitter helps find health insurance solutions for employees who might not be on a company plan; it works with insurance brokers who can help companies and their employees as well. Benefitter was founded by Rachel Gollub, David Adams, Chris Dean, Conrad Voorsanger and Brian Poger to serve as an SaaS-based platform that gives employers solutions when it comes to employee health coverage.

  Why Benefitter is Best in Finance: Benefitter offers affordable, sustainable and personalized health insurance solutions for employees. San Francisco, CA

  Follow @benefitter

• AuditFile
  

  AuditFile is a software solution for CPAs and internal audit divisions. It has programs, tools and real-time advanced data that provides up-to-date audit statuses in a clear and manageable workflow that will make your entire team more efficient. Created by CPAs for CPAs, the secure, cloud-based AuditFile will allow you to complete your work from anywhere while making the process more cohesive and smoother for everyone involved. CEO Steven Bong leads AuditFile's mission to make audit software work the way people work, rather than the other way around. They aim to make software simpler and more powerful in ways that add value to the services that companies provide to clients.

  Why AuditFile is Best in Finance: AuditFile was created by CPAs for CPAs without contracts or hardware. Walnut Creek, CA

  Read: Cloud Based Audit Software Product Overview
  Follow @AuditFile_team

• Covestor
  

  Interactive Brokers Asset Management - the trade name for Covestor - is another innovative approach to the exploding world of online investing. It takes the popularity of so-called "robo-advisors" and applies similar principles to portfolios that are managed by third-party investment managers or the company's own Chief Investment Officer.

  You can invest in any of the dozens of portfolio offered depending on the risk score assigned to you by Interactive Brokers Asset Management, which is based on your responses to a 9-question risk questionnaire.

  Interactive Brokers Asset Management replicates the trading in accounts funded and managed by third-party investment managers or the company itself into the accounts of clients selecting those portfolios for investment using co-trading technology. Interactive Brokers Asset Management trades its clients' accounts through its affiliated broker-dealer, Interactive Brokers LLC.

  Why Interactive Brokers Asset Management is Best in Finance: You can filter, rank and evaluate portfolios and select your investments based on your own criteria (e.g., investment minimum, fees, strategy, etc). IB Asset Management is constantly working on adding to the list of portfolios available for investment. Management fees are also on the low end, ranging between 0.08-1.5%. The company's main office is in London, UK and it also has a US office in Boston, MA.

  Read: Living Large Stock Market
  Follow @Covestor

• Cozy
  

  Cozy is the leading online property management service for landlords and renters. Cozy makes renting easier, more secure and more transparent, with simple rent payments, online rental applications, secure tenant screening and renters insurance. Available everywhere in the United States, Cozy was founded by CEO Gino Zahnd in March 2012. Cozy powers Landlordology, an educational resource for rental owners and property managers.

  Why Cozy is Best in Finance: Schedule rent payments, complete easy applications and utilize tenant screening tools with Cozy. Portland, OR

  Read: Cozy Series B funding
  Follow @CozyCo

• SeedInvest
  

  SeedInvest gives ordinary investors the opportunity to have a stake in robotics-driven companies with their eyes on the future. With over 164,000 investors, over $50 million invested, and over 155 start-ups founded, you will receive access to vetted start-ups and be able to diversify your portfolio and invest in the future with minimum investments as low as $500. Ryan Feit and James Han founded their company to solve a problem they discovered in business school. It was very difficult for people to raise money for their start-ups, so they started a movement to make that easier. The final product became SeedInvest.

  Why SeedInvest is Best in Finance: SeedInvest allows you to find vetted start-up investments with easier diversification and helps you fund for the future. New York, NY

  Read: DSTLD
  Follow @SeedInvest

• Tala (formerly InVenture)
  

  Tala (formerly InVenture) is changing the way that people around the world are approaching credit scores, credit history and obtaining loans to invest in their future. By using thousands of data points and information, they are helping the burgeoning middle class in emerging markets around the world get the credit history, proof and scores they need to start businesses and build a strong foundation for future generations. Tala was founded by Shivani Siroya to serve as a mobile and data science service to redefine emerging markets' financial sectors with credit scoring and lending around the world. Tala lends directly to customers via their smartphone lending app.

  Why Tala (formerly InVenture) is Best in Finance: Tala offers instant credit, full financial partnership and services built for people. They aim to accelerate financial access, choice and control for the underserved around the world. Santa Monica, CA, Manila, Philippines and Nairobi, Kenya

  Read: Careers
  Follow @talamobile

• Mucker Capital
  

  Mucker Capital is a successful and well-known seed-stage venture fund that has helped companies get the funds, help and resources they need to break onto the big stage. They invest in companies powering a software-based future and bring a world of knowledge and experience to solve challenges that go far beyond funding, covering everything from operations, customers and recruitment. Mucker Capital's name was inspired by Thomas Edison's dream of a place where entrepreneurs work on creating new and improved products. Edison called his original lab workers "muckers," and they bring the same inspiration to their work today.

  Why Mucker Capital is Best in Finance: Mucker Capital features product development, customer development, business development, operations and recruitment services. Santa Monica, CA

  Read: Mucker Academy
  Follow @mucker

• Stockpile
  

  Winning awards for the most disruptive company and product of the year, Stockpile treats buying and selling stocks as easy as going to your local grocery store. Not only can you buy percentages of stocks without an expensive broker, but you can e-gift friends and family members shares in companies as easily as using an app on your phone. It's a fun and affordable way to build a portfolio and invest in your future without a major financial commitment. The idea for Stockpile started when Avi Lele wanted to give his nieces and nephews stock for Christmas. The ones he wanted to give were too expensive, so he looked for a new way to gift stocks. The company hasn't looked back.

  Why Stockpile is Best in Finance: With Stockpile, you can purchase fractional shares of stock in over 1,000 different stocks and ETFs (in any dollar amount, for as little as $5). Plus there are no account fees, trades are only 99¢, and account holders can learn as they go. It’s a great way for kids and teens to start investing early. The company also offers gift cards and eGift cards, great for holidays, birthdays, graduations, and much more. Palo Alto, CA.

  Read: Your Favorite Stocks By The Dollar
  Follow @stockpile

• Tuition.io
  

  When it comes to killer benefits that give your company a leg-up on competitors, one of the emerging offerings in that space is contributing to employees' student loan payments. Tuition.io is helping companies set up custom repayment programs so that they can retain the best workers, give them an advantage over other options, and reduce turnover by offering an amazing benefit that most people would love to have. Tuition.io was originally founded as a way to help borrowers repay and manage their loans, but then added the ability for companies to offer student loan repayment assistance as a benefit.

  Why Tuition.io is Best in Finance: Tuition.io improves recruitment, reduces turnover and increases employee engagement. Santa Monica, CA

  Read: The Cost of Millennial Turnover
  Follow @TuitionIO

• Groundfloor
  

  Whether you are looking to raise money for a home improvement or house flipping project, or you are an investor seeking new, fast and profitable ways to diversify your assets and get a strong return on your investment, Groundfloor provides a vehicle for you. You can find projects in which to invest and receive a profit of the future sales with an easy, fast and secure way to find investments or raise money for your next endeavor. CEO Brian Dally oversees Groundfloor's vision to make it easier to connect individual investors with real estate developers. It was originally founded by Brian Dally and Nick Bhargava in 2013, and the company has been growing ever since.

  Why Groundfloor is Best in Finance: Groundfloor offers strong returns and capital to complete projects along with short-term, secure loans and investments. Atlanta, GA

  Read: Meet Dylan Patton-Kuhl
  Follow @groundfloor_us

• Venture Scanner
  

  Venture Scanner is a one-source shop for all the detailed analytics, stats, real-time data and information you'll need on almost any start-up industry. Whether you need to get comprehensive data on 3D printing, AI, Bitcoin, health or energy technology, VR, marketing or the future of television, entertainment and technology, you'll have a smart and trusted resource for all the data you'll need to make informed decisions about your business and investments. Venture Scanner founders Nader Ghaffari, Lionel Jingles, James Conlon, Nathan Pacer and Jereme Monteau bring their extensive background in finance, technology and market research to become one of the premier analyst and tech-powered start-up research firms.

  Why Venture Scanner is Best in Finance: Venture Scanner offers market reports and detailed data on innovative ventures and start-ups. San Francisco, CA

  Read: FinTech Q1 Update in 15 Visuals
  Follow @VentureScanner

• Drive Spotter
  

  Drive Spotter is a revolutionary approach that combines driving with smart analytics and data gathering. Whether you're managing a fleet of rideshare cars or cabs or you're part of an insurance company, they use constant data, dash cams and statistics to help cut down on accidents, save money on gas and repairs, and help streamline the management process for everyone involved. Driver Spotter was founded by Andrew Prystai and Chris Augeri to maximize driver and ride-sharing safety and maximize performance in the growing world of rideshare services.

  Why Drive Spotter is Best in Finance: With Drive Spotter, companies can increase safety, reduce fuel costs and reduce vehicle wear and tear. Omaha, NE

  Read: Driver Safety, Efficiency, and Analytics for Your Fleet
  Follow @drivespotter

• Thinknum
  

  Thinknum is a FinTech company that monitors companies' websites, demand, sales, pricing and data to provide real-time information for investors. Whether you're looking to spot trends, changes to patterns or comparisons down to the zip code level, utilizing Thinknum gives you an advantage when it comes to making smart data-driven decisions on your investments. Co-founders Gregory Ugwi and Justin Zhen bring their backgrounds in quantitative strategy, mathematics, software design and financial engineering to Thinknum to provide real-time solutions for financial markets.

  Why Thinknum is Best in Finance: Thinknum allows for tracking of real-time demand while discovering outperforming businesses. New York, NY

  Follow @Thinknum

• SimplyInsured
  SimplyInsured is a one-stop location for companies looking for health insurance solutions. Simply enter your zip code, contact info and number of employees and they will curate a list that you can filter based on what works for your company and your budget. It's a great tool to see and compare all available options with simple action steps to get insured. Bob Aspell and Vivek Shah founded SimplyInsured to do away with paperwork and faxing to make small business health insurance an easier and simpler process.

  Why SimplyInsured is Best in Finance: With SimplyInsured, you can easily compare policies and receive instant quotes - without a commission salesforce. San Francisco, CA

  Read: The genesis of SimplyInsured is simple 100% online health benefits for your small business
  

• WealthBar
  

  WealthBar can save you thousands of dollars over time compared to managed mutual funds, while at the same time allowing investing to be accessible for everyone. In just minutes, you can invest online in some of the best and lowest-fee funds at a fraction of the cost of going through a traditional brokerage house. You can invest in your future while saving money at the same time. Co-founders Tea Nicola and Chris Nicola launched WealthBar to become one of Canada's first online portfolio management services. It lives at the intersection of tech, financial management and portfolio expertise to improve online investing.

  Why WealthBar is Best in Finance: WealthBar allows you to start investing in 10 minutes, get all your questions answered and see everything on your dashboard at once. Vancouver, BC

  Read: Canada's 2016 Federal Budget
  Follow @WealthBar

• CrowdStreet
  

  CrowdStreet is an excellent way for investors to receive access to institutional-quality commercial real estate investment opportunities. For CRE investment firms, it provides opportunities to acquire investors and raise capital needed to launch, continue and complete projects around the country. They used advanced technology solutions to help people build wealth through real estate. Founders Tore C. Steen, and Darren Powderly bring over 80 years of combined experience to CrowdStreet, with the goal of providing equal access to institutional-quality commercial real estate investment opportunities as a means of portfolio diversification and wealth creation by democratize access and changing the way capital is raised.

  Why CrowdStreet is Best in Finance: Invest in institutional-quality real estate offerings, raise capital and manage investors and investments with CrowdStreet. Portland, OR

  Read: CrowdStreet Raises $3.5 Million in Series A Funding
  Follow @CrowdStreet

• AgentPiggy
  

  AgentyPiggy helps kids learn about money. Working with parents, creating challenges and setting goals, it teaches all the basics when it comes to saving and spending so they can make smart decisions when they get older. Smart finances requires a strong foundation, and AgentPiggy allows kids to earn, save, spend and donate to charity while hitting their parental-guided goals along the way. AgentPiggy was founded by Maritza Lanas with the goal of having an online service and bank for parents to teach their kids the basics of financial literacy in a fun and useful way.

  Why AgentPiggy is Best in Finance: AgentPiggy teaches kids how to save for a goal, earn money and donate to charity. Based in Chile

  Read: Agent Piggy Espanyol
  Follow @agentpiggy

• Yoyo Wallet
  

  Yoyo Wallet is Europe's fastest-growing wallet app, allowing you to pay with your phone and avoid cumbersome cash, coins, and cards. Alain Falys, Michael Rolph, and Dave Nicolson, who co-founded Yoyo Wallet, are aiming to disrupt the mobile payment space by making it benefit both customers and retailers in new ways.

  Why Yoyo Wallet is Best in Finance: They even let you pre-order at pubs, venues, and other establishments so you don't have to wait in line. Even better, every penny you spend earns you rewards like discounts and special offers.

  Read: YOYO THROUGH THE EYES OF A 14-YEAR-OLD
  Follow @yoyowallet

• Seed
  

  Since we are living and working in an age where you can run your business from anywhere in the world, isn't it time you had a business bank account with the same thinking? Seed is a forward-thinking online business bank with all the services you'd need from a brick-and-mortar institution. You get all the essential tools you need with a beautiful and responsive app. Co-founders Brian Merritt and Ryan Hildebrand bring their backgrounds in engineering and finance at companies including Simple, Sony and Demandforce to their innovative finance start-up, Seed.

  Why Seed is Best in Finance: Seed features a mobile and web app business bank account, electronic and paper bill pay, support, bookkeeping and reporting. San Francisco, CA

  Read: jobs
  Follow @seedbiz

• VerbalizeIt
  

  Companies like Yamaha, TripAdvisor, Video, Udemy and many more are turning to VerbalizeIt for their accurate and fast conversation translation services. Whether it comes to document translation, audio and video, web and mobile or custom needs, they harness human-powered translation to effectively transmit information into over 150 languages around the world. Co-founders Ryan Frankel and Kunal Sarda created VerbalizeIt to empower businesses with effective translation services. They were acquired by Smartling in 2016.

  Why VerbalizeIt is Best in Finance: VerbalizeIt features a curated and quality-assured community, cutting edge technology and integration across all media. New York, NY

  Follow @Verbalize_It

• SignalFire
  

  SignalFire is one of the most proven, reliable and successful venture capital firms. Where they shine is in their ability to get companies the resources, talent, money and connections they need to excel. They pride themselves on building the first scalable venture firm with the same detail and drive that goes into creating the world's most successful businesses. Founder and CEO Chris Farmer started SignalFire with the goal of creating a scalable global capital venture firm to provide access to the best entrepreneurs, products and engineering leaders by investing early in the seed stages.

  Why SignalFire is Best in Finance: SignalFire offers talent recruitment, expert advice and a large corporate network. San Francisco, CA

  Follow @signalfire

• Long Game
  

  Long Game is an innovative, helpful and encouraging app that helps people save money by making it as fun as playing the lotto, except you can't lose money. This is an FDIC-insured savings account and app that allows you to earn coins. You can then use those coins to play flip-it games, scratch-offs (in the app) and even a million-dollar lottery to earn real money. You can withdraw the money at any time and feel like you're playing lotto games where you can only win. Long Game was created by Ashby Monk and Lindsay Holden with the goal of coming up with a fun and interactive way to encourage smart financial saving and planning.

  Why Long Game is Best in Finance: With Long Game, you get rewarded for saving money, have the chance at winning a million bucks every week, and it's completely free and FDIC insured. San Francisco, CA

  Read: Jobs
  Follow @longgame

• NBD Nanotechnologies
  

  NBD Nanotechnologies is one of the industry leaders when it comes to advanced surface wettability and liquid management. With coating for glass, metal, plastic or paint, they have solutions for nearly all types of surfaces and materials. Their RepelShield and InvisiPrint glass coatings help protect delicate materials from the elements, which helps businesses and their customers. Ryan Caldbeck and Rory Eakin bring their experience in investing, consumer products, equity and social enterprise to CircleUp to make funding more easily available to promising companies.

  Why NBD Nanotechnologies is Best in Finance: NBD Nanotechnologies features custom applications, state-of-the-art solutions and commercial scale. Boston, MA

  Follow @NBDnano

• Satago
  

  Satago solves one of the greatest problems that is faced by B2B companies: cash flow. Very often you are waiting to get paid on a previous invoice in order to move your company forward. Satago helps by forwarding the cash you need so that you can keep operations flowing. They'll work with you, offering helpful customer service and no hidden fees so that cash flow concerns don't keep you up at night. Satago was founded by Steven Renwick and Adam Horner to solve the difficulties of getting paid as a freelancer. They wanted to fix the problems of tracking down invoices so that more time could be spent on business.

  Why Satago is Best in Finance: Finance your invoices, improve cashflow and avoid hidden fees with Satago. London, UK

  Read: Press Release
  Follow @SatagoHQ

• Zero Financial
  

  Zero is a financial service that has your best interests in mind by combining the best features of a debit and rewards credit card. Zero acts like a debit card that tracks your deposits and spending with every transaction tracked right away. But it also has the best features of a rewards credit card by offering between 1% and 3% cash back that is automatically deposited back into your account, so you don't have to think about reward categories. It's a simple and effective redesign of banking that puts the customer first. Bryce Galen and Joel Washington founded Zero Financial in order to disrupt banking platforms with a consumer-friendly brand. The company combines the responsibility of a debit card with the rewards of a credit card, and the company hasn't looked back.

  Why Zero Financial is Best in Finance: Zero has no overcharge fees, no wire fees and cash back on debit purchases. San Francisco, CA

  Read: Introducing Zero Acts Like a Debit Card, Earns Credit Card Rewards
  Follow @zerofinancial

• FlexMinder
  

  FlexMinder - recently acquired by Jellyvision - makes the process of processing health insurance claims and expenses easier, especially for people with HSAs and FSAs who need to file claims through insurance companies. All you have to do is link your debit or savings account card and it will automatically scan and reimburse data securely, saving you money and time. FlexMinder founders Will Miceli, Lowell Ricklefs and Mike Metcalf created the company to rethink the health care industry by influencing how claims are handled while helping people manage their FSA and HSA accounts.

  Why FlexMinder is Best in Finance: With FlexMinder, you can connect your health insurance accounts and allow for one-click reimbursements. Chicago, IL

  Follow @flexminder

• Traity
  

  Traity is addressing a growing problem in the world of ecommerce and just being online in general: verifying that you actually are who you say you are. And you want to make sure you're buying something from a real company or dealing with a real person. Traity allows you to verify and earn trust and confirm and control your identity in a world where it's becoming easier for that to get stolen. Traity was founded by Jose Ignacio Fernandez, Borja Martin and Juan Cartagena with the mission of building more trust between individuals and companies to allow for more interactions, transactions and social and economic opportunities.

  Why Traity is Best in Finance: Traity offers identity verification, social networks analytics and ID protection. Mountain View, CA

  Read: Insurance meet Reputation
  Follow @traity

• Proformative
  

  Over two million people turn to Proformative for their over 30,000 peer questions and answers to over 200+ live webinars that focus on solutions around corporate finance every single year. When it comes to the office of the CFO, sometimes you need a group of professionals to help answer your toughest corporate finance questions, and that's where the community at Proformative has the help you need for any challenge you'll face. Danny Phillips became President in 2014 with over two decades of conference, event, tradeshows, education, B2B marketing and content experience. He previously ran Present Sky, a media company with a business development focus.

  Why Proformative is Best in Finance: Proformative offers free live webinars along with a robust corporate finance community and real-time content. New York, NY

  Read: 3 Urgent Responsibilities of CFOs in 2017
  Follow @proformative

• GrabCAD
  

  GrabCAD is a one-stop hub for making life and work easier for designers, students, engineers, manufacturers and professionals in hundreds of different fields. Whether you're looking for top-quality 3D printing, a robust community with answers to any question, or the ability to share your designs so that you can get the job done faster, easily and more securely, GrabCAD has every solution to your design needs. Hardi Meybaum is CEO of GrabCAD, where millions of engineers utilize the community to share CAD files, search for tips and take up challenges with other like-minded creatives.

  Why GrabCAD is Best in Finance: GrabCAD is the easy way to share CAD files, connect with GrabCAD community and professionally 3D print. US, UK, Estonia and Israel

  Read: NASA Experiment Attachment System (EAS) Challenge
  Follow @GrabCAD

• Fundly
  

  Whether the campaign is for individuals looking to raise money for creative projects and pilgrimages or nonprofits looking for a responsive site and mobile app to make their impact heard around the world, Fundly is a great resource for people and nonprofits who want to build a fundraising page. Their projects span nearly every category, and it's quick, easy and effective to establish a desktop and mobile page for your fundraising efforts. Fundly was founded in 2009 by Erik Nilsson and James Nicol to change the way people, individuals and nonprofits think about raising money. They were acquired by NonProfitEasy in 2015.

  Why Fundly is Best in Finance: Fundly guides you to help you raise money online with a secure payment processor, along with mobile and desktop design. Made in California

  Read: familia solorzano
  Follow @Fundly

• DigitalOcean
  

  DigitalOcean is cloud computing designed for developers. Think of it a little bit like a Dropbox that is specifically tailored to the design community. Over 50,000 teams are currently on their platform, including TaskRabbit, Atlassian, Xerox, Ericsson and more. With lightning-fast speed, pre-built open source apps and security, it's a great cloud-based resource. CEO Ben Uretsky has driven DigitalOcean's vision, strategy, and growth to become the second largest and fastest growing cloud computing platform, according to Netcraft.com.

  Why DigitalOcean is Best in Finance: DigitalOcean offers highly available storage, a lightning-fast network, collaboration, monitoring and alerts. New York, NY

  Read: How To Use List Methods in Python 3
  Follow @digitalocean

• RocketBank
  

  RocketBank has already received millions of dollars of backing for being one of the first mobile-centric banks to make headway in Russia. With lower fees, higher interest rates and convenience, they bring the best of mobile banking and traditional plastic across the country. You can pay people, get money and make payments all with the convenience of a nicely-designed app. RocketBank founders Mikhail Provizion, Victor Lysenko, Alexey Kolesnikov and Oleg Kozyrev bring their backgrounds in start-ups, banking and consulting to the innovative Russian bank.

  Why RocketBank is Best in Finance: RocketBank is convenient, mobile-first banking with a free card delivered across most Russian cities. Based in Russia

  Read: Win a ticket
  Follow @rocketbank