I originally wrote about the mysteries of algorithms and small business credit after attending two excellent conferences on the subject here in New York City. Here is a good panel discussion on the topic. Since then Cornell Tech has launched the Digital Life Initiative, offering an abundance of excellent research and deeper explorations. Background. There [...]
Author: lumenous
Talking About Numbers
We have used a tagline from time to time. Strength in numbers. I am reminded of that when I think about participants in our pilots who have reported the ways they want to use Descant. You can take a tour of the application for pilots here. The most common feedback is exactly what we expected. [...]
My credit bureau cold call
Here we are, post breach of Equifax and the credit bureau model is just not going away. Once again, I am reminded of a call I got several years ago. I was already thinking about how some financial data-sharing technology I had built might give business owners a way to get more control over credit [...]
When the lines between consumer and business blur
I have (mostly) stayed away from all things Silicon Valley for some time now. After all, I moved across the country two years ago. This relates to a recent post by the New York City-based venture capitalist, Fred Wilson. Fred was writing about a panel he moderated on how globalization and outsourcing are changing the [...]
Small biz, small bank synergy is real!
I spend more time listening to independent business owners than to bankers. That's the point of the Descant platform after all. Listen and help them share their own story to show they are worthy of credit and trust. What jumps out across the board is indie business prefers community banks. Why? They experience relationship banking [...]
Vintage wine and canapes, oh my
Just catching up on the latest from the brilliant (well at least super rich) folks gathering in Davos to discuss the problems of the world. This New York Times piece notes, in part: Yet the solutions that have currency seem calculated to spare corporations and the wealthiest people from having to make any sacrifices at [...]
On the eve of the “truth, what truth?” election
Like many U.S. citizens, I can hardly wait for this campaign to end. But I cannot let it go without pointing out that there is another oft-ignored side to defining others without their participation and on a public scale. Obviously, people running for major office expect a certain amount of this. What makes 2016 unusual [...]
Small business at Harvard.edu!
I have long been a fan of Doc Searls from his seminal (co-authored) publication, The Cluetrain Manifesto, to his work with Linux Journal, and more recently his tireless battles for consumers who are tracked across the internet like so many bits of soulless data. Today Doc features small business and how credit cuts against them [...]
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