We are just three days away from the start of LendIt 2014. And it is shaping up to be great conference. As of this writing we have around 870 people signed up, so by the time game day comes around there should be well over 900 people attending LendIt 2014.
Two Packed Days of Educational Sessions
LendIt 2014 will kick off Sunday night, May 4th, with a sold out cocktail party on the 46th floor of the Hilton Hotel in downtown San Francisco sponsored by Lending Club. Then, the main sessions begin at 8:30am on Monday morning with an opening keynote from Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of Lending Club. We have some great panels throughout the day as well as special presentations by Sam Hodges of Funding Circle, Mike Cagney of SoFi and then finishing the first day of educational sessions with Ron Suber of Prosper. We will then cap off the day with a Cinco de Mayo themed reception sponsored by Prosper.
We will begin Tuesday with a keynote from Michael Barr, a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former Assistant Secretary to the Treasury. Speaking of the Treasury we will also be hearing a special presentation from Sophie Raseman of the U.S. Treasury who helps to lead the Obama Administration’s Finance Data Initiative. There will also, of course, be many fabulous panel discussions throughout our second day. You can see the full agenda here.
There will also be a second track that will be running both days that will feature more than 50 workshops and company demos from the likes of On Deck, Funding Circle, Orchard, Nickel Steamroller and many more.
One special event I want to highlight here is the first LendIt Innovator of the Year Award. We will be presenting this award just before lunch on Tuesday to the company that we believe has created the most groundbreaking innovation of the past 12 months. So stay tuned for that one.
You Can Still Register for LendIt 2014
While the Sunday night cocktail party is sold out (with a long waiting list) the main conference itself will likely not sell out. We will be taking registration right up until kickoff on Monday morning. So, you can still register online here. And as a Lend Academy reader you will get a 25% discount – just enter the code LENDACADEMYVIP at checkout.
LendIt 2014 is Being Broadcast Live Online
I realize many of you cannot afford the time or cost of coming to LendIt 2014 in person, so we are offering the next best thing. Like last year, we will be broadcasting the event live online starting at 8:30am. There will be no charge whatsoever for this and you do not need to register. Just go to www.lendit.tv on Monday morning at 8:30am Pacific Time.
Podcast 14: Interview with LendIt Co-Founder Dara Albright
My focus this week has been on LendIt as we gear up for our second annual conference. So, in Episode 14 of the Lend Academy Podcast I intervew my fellow LendIt co-founder, Dara Albright who is also the founder of Nowstreet Wire. We discuss many aspects of LendIt including:
- How the idea for the LendIt Conference came about.
- Why LendIt 2013 was one of the most exciting conferences Dara had ever attended.
- Who is sponsoring LendIt 2014.
- An explanation of the structure of the conference.
- Background on some of the speakers.
- Some of Dara’s favorite sessions at LendIt 2014.
- Who will be attending LendIt 2014.
- The real important part of attending a conference like LendIt 2014.
You can learn more about LendIt 2014 here. Now, I realize I am biased but I think it is going to be a fascinating conference and I can hardly wait for it to begin. I hope to see you there but if you can’t make it I hope you tune in to our free live broadcast on LendIt.TV.
You can subscribe to the Lend Academy Podcast via iTunes or Stitcher. There is an audio player directly below or you can download the MP3 file here.
