Beyond the Pitch: How Advintro Curates the Future of Fintech

At Advintro, our mission sits at the intersection of innovation and implementation. To ensure we bring only the most impactful solutions to our clients we connect with over 150 financial technology firms each year. We see a LOT of the newest and best ideas. In fact, we like to say, that "we get to hang out with the cool kids" after reviewing and vetting hundreds of firms over our seven years in business. While the sheer volume of emerging tech is vast, our selection process is disciplined. We evaluate every potential partner through a rigorous balance of qualitative and quantitative factors to determine if they are truly "commercial-ready" for the enterprise sales landscape. So how do we do it? How do we cultivate, find and essentially choose what fintech prospects we add to the portfolio? Rather than bore the readers to death with a professorial approach to explaining this, I thought it only appropriate to provide an outline through some of the questions we look to get answered when meeting with a prospective new fintech client before adding them to our portfolio. Here are the exact questions we look to answer before inviting a fintech into our portfolio.

Do they have a real product?

We distinguish between "vaporware" and a functioning, battle-tested platform by performing deep-dive demos and verifying existing deployments. This is the first hurdle. Advisory firms cannot afford the operational risk of being a "beta tester" for a tool that doesn't yet deliver on its core promises. Ensuring a product is tangible and stable means that when an advisor buys in, they get a tool that works on day one, not a roadmap of unfulfilled potential. The saying goes, you only get one chance to make a good impression. The demo and the product being "ready for primetime" is monumentally important.

Is the offering timely?

We evaluate whether a fintech is solving a problem that matters in the current market cycle, like tax-loss harvesting during volatility or estate planning during a wealth transfer wave. Technology that was revolutionary five years ago is often obsolete today, and being "too early" can be just as detrimental as being "too late." At Advintro, we get the benefit of seeing the culmination of so many ideas that we see where the industry is moving. It's like watching history write itself in meetings each day. It's cool to watch!

Where does it fit in the current market landscape?

Our team maps every firm against the existing technology landscape to see if it replaces an old category, creates a new one, or acts as a "plug-in" to an established leader. We look for clarity in positioning so advisors understand exactly where this fits in their tech stack without causing redundancy. This helps firms avoid "feature creep"—the expensive habit of paying for three different tools that all do the same thing. Can the fintech reduce reliance on current expensive incumbents? If it can cut your overhead it's a winner.

Where do we see the application?

Beyond the marketing materials, we identify the specific "use case" where this technology will shine, whether it's the back-office, the client-facing portal, or the CIO's investment desk. We translate the "what" of the tech into the "how" of the advisor's daily workflow. This clarity is vital for firms to project exactly which department will see the efficiency gains and how the tool will actually change their client service model.

Is it a crowded space?

We analyze the competitive density of the solution's niche to determine if they are a "me-too" product or a true disruptor. In a crowded market like CRM or Financial Planning, a new entrant must offer a 10x improvement to justify the pain of switching. We want to avoid the rip and replace approach while selling because rarely is this something that firms are comfortable doing. In fact, many times, it's a show stopper. For an advisory firm, this perspective is crucial to ensure they aren't adopting a tool that will be consolidated or outpaced by a dominant incumbent within 18 months.

Is the product sellable?

To get straight to the point, we look at a fintech product through the lens of a "buyer's journey," asking if the value proposition is clear enough for an advisor to justify the cost to their partners or board. A product might be brilliant, but if it's too complex to explain or its ROI is invisible, it won't gain traction. Advisory firms need solutions that have a clear internal champion and a logical path to adoption across the entire organization.

Is it a vertical or a horizontal sale?

A lot of firms that decide to launch typically have a great idea and they have conviction. That doesn't mean they are ready for primetime. They might believe that their product is right for any and every application. We call this "the horizontal sale". You can't be trying to boil the ocean with one product that supposedly does everything for everyone. That doesn't work. You won't get traction because the audience leaves a demo not understanding where the product fit is. It is usually better when you have a fintech product that offers a vertical sale whereby it solves for a precise current painpoint and that can then be applied across the entire firm.

What's the fintech company's capital structure?

We conduct a quantitative review of a firm's funding, including who their investors are and how much "runway" they have left before they need more cash. What "round" are they on? Or are they "bootstrapped". Generally speaking we want to work with fintechs who have at least ~$2M or more of ARR and founder led sales success. We also want them to have a healthy amount of capital on hand, in the millions. It is important that we come away from an introduction knowing that this isn't the proverbial "two people and a powerpoint presentation". Firms are reaching out to Advintro because they know they have something good. We know they have proven sales success. They look to Advintro because they now want to go from ~$2M ARR to $5M or $10M ARR, quickly. That is when and why they hire us. In addition to understanding their current capital position we like to understand a fintech's cap table, which helps us gauge their long-term stability and the likelihood of a disruptive acquisition. Advisory firms are looking for partners, not temporary vendors; knowing a firm is well-capitalized provides peace of mind that the software will be supported and updated for years to come. Remember, no one ever got fired for hiring IBM.

What's their ARR?

Going deeper into the Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) metric. ARR is our primary quantitative metric for gauging market validation and "product-market fit." A growing ARR suggests that other firms have already vetted the tool and found it worth the subscription cost. For an advisory firm, this is a "social proof" metric; it indicates the fintech is a legitimate business with the resources to invest back into R&D and customer support. It also means there is clear market demand for it.

Enterprise vs. single seller?

We evaluate whether a fintech is built to support a massive multi-office enterprise with complex permissioning or if it is better suited for a solo practitioner. Many tools excel at one but fail at the other. By identifying the target "persona," and ICP, we ensure that our advisory clients aren't buying a tool that is either too "lite" for their sophisticated needs or too "heavy" and over-engineered for a nimble practice. We are in the business of enterprise level BtoB sales (top down sales). We are not built for single seller scenarios.

SOC II compliant?

In today's cybersecurity environment, this is a "biggie", the proverbial show stopper. We treat SOC II compliance as a non-negotiable requirement for any firm handling sensitive client data. We verify that the fintech has the rigorous third-party audits in place to prove they can protect against data breaches. This along with a solid "Pen Test" are the ultimate "safety checks" for an advisory firm, as it ensures they are meeting their fiduciary and regulatory obligations to keep client information secure. You open the digital press briefs today and all you see everywhere is another data breach. The CTO & CDO wing of RIA's today are doing everything they can to help protect client data. It is an imperative that most firms have either started the process toward becoming SOC II compliant or already are. Nothing will stop you quicker in a deal then getting to the vendor due diligence stage only to find out that the fintech is not SOC II compliant. Game over. Nothing more to say on this topic. It's the world we live in.

What is our gut telling us about this fintech?

Sometimes it boils down to a simple gut check. What's our gut telling us on this one? This one is pretty straightforward. Most all of the above items check out except maybe for one or two. Well, we sure would prefer to be early than be late with a good solution. Our buying audience wants to know what is new that's out there? Where is the next big item that they should be thinking about? Sharing an idea that is early typically is well received. We might not get the nod today from the buyers but they certainly will and have come back to us down the road saying, "are you guys still reping them" (fill in the blank). It's fun watching that magic happen.

A final thought on how we curate the future of fintech.

While we keep the mood light, the stakes are high. Whether we are evaluating a vertical solution or a massive enterprise disruptor, our goal remains the same: ensuring that when we say a firm is "commercial-ready," we mean it. Or when we call on you to "introduce a great new idea" you will want to take our call.

"Innovation is easy; implementation is where the winners are decided."

Does your current tech stack feel like it's writing history, or is it just history? If you're looking for the former, you know where to find the cool kids and that's where you will find us at Advintro.

The last question I posed was around the gut check. We will leave the final gut check question up to each and every one of you, the readers. While "cool" sounds qualitative, we use it to describe the "X-factor"—that seamless, modern user experience that makes an advisor want to use the technology. A "cool" product usually features high-end design and intuitive workflows that mirror the best consumer apps. For an advisory firm, this is the secret sauce for talent retention and client acquisition; advisors want to work with modern tools, and clients want to see that their wealth is being managed with cutting-edge technology. Come on, everyone wants to hang out with the cool kids…

Author Bio:

Brendon is the President and Chief Revenue Officer of Advintro. He comes to us with over thirty years of financial services sales and relationship management experience. He began his career in product sales, working for two prominent asset managers, as a wholesaler, selling mutual funds and separately managed accounts. Next, he served as the National Sales Manager at Etrade Financial where he built and oversaw a team of over two hundred financial advisors. Prior to joining Advintro, Brendon spent over fifteen years in custody sales where he focused on custody & technology sales to RIA's, Broker Dealers and large enterprise firms. He resides in the greater Boston area.