NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.–The National Association of Credit Union Service Organization (NACUSO) has named the five finalists for its 2018 Next Big Idea Competition, which will be at the NACUSO Network Conference in Anaheim on April 18th at the Disneyland Hotel.
“This year we received a record number of applications – 14 total,” said CEO Jack Antonini in a statement. “This is our sixth year of the competition and we are very excited to see it grow each year making it more competitive. The Next Big Idea Competition is our version of Shark Tank where five of the best new ideas in the marketplace for credit unions and CUSOs compete for the title, a trophy, a speaking spot at the NASCUS conference.”
The competition is sponsored by Mastercard, which is a partner of NACUSO.
Each finalist will be given seven minutes on stage to present their idea to a panel of judges who will ask them the questions for another 10-15 minutes. The judges this year are Herb Wegner Award winner Sarah Canepa Bang; the 2017 Next Big Idea winner, Kris Kovacs, CEO of Constellation, Ongoing Operations CEO Kirk Drake, and Bill Beardsley, president of Michigan Business Connection. The conference attendees will decide the winner by voting using an app at the end of the competition.
The five finalists for the 2018 NACUSO Next Big Idea Competition are: KnocKnock (by CU Rate Reset), LenderClose, Saylent, CULedger and Tethr.