Previous Winner – Elsen

Here at Tech Trailblazers we’re keen to share the success stories of firms who have gone on to greater things after winning their category. Today we’re catching up with Jane Hood, CMO of Elsen. The company won the Financial Technology Trailblazers Award in 2017 – check out Elsen in the list of last year’s winners here.

Could you give me a brief description of your company and what your focus is?

Elsen is the platform-as-a-service company for large financial institutions. The Elsen nPlatform enables anyone to effortlessly harness vast quantities of data to make better decisions and quickly solve their most complex problems. It allows financial institutions to build applications that let any user analyse massive amounts of data in minutes. This type of analysis can currently take days to accomplish, and requires working with PhDs and data scientists – or being one yourself. By putting data in anyone’s hands, nPlatform helps to transform traditional investment workflows, strategies, and results. And as a cloud-based platform, it does so without investments in expensive infrastructure, the resources to continually maintain it, or the expertise required to cleanse and manage data.

How has winning the Tech Trailblazers award helped you?

Winning the Financial Technology Trailblazers Award in 2017 helped to provide global validation for our company and product. 2017 was a big year for Elsen because we kicked it off by launching nPlatform – our platform-as-a-service for financial institutions – and announcing a partnership with Thomson Reuters, which unveiled the first commercial product built on nPlatform. When we helped launch Thomson Reuters QA Point Powered by Elsen, it was first available in North America. But exceptional customer feedback and early business results convinced Thomson Reuters to roll it out globally, months ahead of schedule. The recognition from Tech Trailblazers was a great way to start 2018 and continue our global expansion, especially knowing that it was based on feedback from esteemed judges from all over the world.

What words of encouragement would you give to a company which is weighing up whether to enter the Awards?

If you believe in your company and you’ve started to gain demonstrable traction with your customers, or have a new and innovative product that people should know about, Tech Trailblazers is a great place to seek the recognition you deserve. Dozens of tech leaders from around the globe judge the awards to determine a “short list” in each category, and getting in front of them is well worth the nomination alone. On top of that, the social component to the final round of public voting among Trailblazers’ strong network helps to get the word out even more.

Are there any tips you could give a company to help them with entering the awards?

Judges are looking for companies and products that are disrupting an existing market, and they want to know that it’s a market with future growth potential. Lay out your case for these two things in clear language that’s free of buzzwords and hyperbole, and whenever possible, back it up with data or real-world anecdotes. That’s the best way to make sure the true impact that your company is having – or will have – resonates with judges.

Do you have any advice in general for start-up companies, trying to survive in the current economic climate?

It’s a great time to be at a startup, especially in the tech industry. Everything is being impacted by technology today, and countless industries have been disrupted for the better by innovations coming from even the smallest companies. In the past, people may have discounted you or your company if you weren’t a brand name with proven success, but that’s not the case anymore. People understand that innovation can come from anywhere, and they’re more likely to give anyone a chance if they have a good idea. Once you have a solid plan, my best advice is to meet and talk to as many people as you can. When you start to tell the world about what you’re doing, doors will begin to open and good things will happen.

How is the future looking for you? What’s next for you?

The future is looking bright! The Elsen nPlatform is already being used by customers globally. With that validation under our belt, we’ll continue to expand and are currently in contract negotiations with other large financial institutions around the world about how they can develop applications on nPlatform for their own specific use.

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