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Norman Piché

 15,480

FinTech Partner Search

I am seeking an ideal technical candidate to form a partnership to develop a Software Tool to Automate Financial Planning for Everyone.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Won
prize:
$10,000

This challenge is closed

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Summary
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Updates16
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Summary

Overview

The Challenge

My name is Norm Piché, and I am a Certified Financial Planner from Ontario, Canada. With 26 years of industry experience, and Top 1% status as a Financial Planner, I am now at a phase of my life where I am ready to give back.  After traveling the world and gaining exposure to a wide variety of cultures, people, and socioeconomic statuses, I have seen generations of families from all backgrounds suffer greatly due to a lack of financial resources and proper planning.

As a financial planner, I know this suffering is unnecessary and preventable if people were simply given the right tools with the right information.
 

Creating a Solution

I am seeking a co-founder from North America that also shares a passion for scaling financial planning services to anyone, anywhere. Our shared goal will be to lessen the burden of financial uncertainty and provide all individuals with the necessary tools to enable sound, empowering decision-making. The ideal partner will provide the technical expertise in the development of a software tool. This tool will serve the widest possible user-base with an automated, comprehensive, solutions-based financial planning service.
 

Background

A national survey conducted by Leger* on behalf of Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) has found that 42% of Canadians rank ‘money’ as their greatest stress. That stress is driving Canadians to lose sleep, reconsider past financial decisions, argue with partners, and even lie to family and friends.

The Value of Financial Planning, commissioned by FPSC in conjunction with the Financial Planning Foundation conducted a three-year longitudinal study which included close to 15,000 Canadians. The study revealed that Canadians who engage in comprehensive financial planning report significantly higher levels of financial and emotional well-being than those who do no planning or only limited planning.

Those with comprehensive plans feel:

  • More on track with their financial goals and retirement plans
  • That they have improved their ability to save in the past five years
  • More confident that they can deal with financial challenges in life
  • Better able to indulge in their discretionary spending goals

We know that Financial Stress is not limited to only Canadians. People all over the world struggle with developing and confidently executing long-term financial plans.

To worsen the matters, most certified financial planners are restricted to serving only high net worth clients, with an investable income greater than $100,000 USD. As a result, the families and individuals with the greatest practical need for financial planning make up the most severely underserved market.

 

More About Me

Following the competition, the winning applicant will have the opportunity to enter into a long-term partnership with Norman Piché, a Certified Financial Planner from Ontario, Canada.

Norm Piché is an award-winning Wealth Management Consultant with a solid background in finance. Starting his career in the banking industry and working his way to Branch Manager, Norm transitioned to Investors Group in 1998 where he has been recognized with President’s Club and President’s Elite awards over several years.

Northern Ontario Business listed him as one of their Top 40 Under 40 for 1996 and with his natural talent in finance, he has become a sought-after Consultant and public speaker.

With a focus on helping clients realize their life stage financial goals using targeted planning techniques, Norm offers creative solutions that will protect and preserve clients’ savings. He utilizes a holistic approach including tax and estate planning, insurance protection, investment lending and business succession in helping clients reach their investment goals

A lifelong learner, Norm continually studies new and innovative perspectives on financial management to better serve clients and their families.

Norman Piché is the author of "The Alternative Investment Option" (January 2016) and the host of Eastlink TV's "Financial Matters" and "Call the Experts".

 

 


Guidelines

How Do I Win?

The winning team or individual must demonstrate an ideal partnership through alignment of technical experience, motivation to partner, and submission of an automated tool.

  • Hard Skills: Design and Develop an automated tool based on the example below
  • Soft Skills: Complete the Submission Form
  • Get ranked higher than your competitors
  • Land a Finalist Interview with Norman Piché
  • Win up to $6,000 and Enter into a potential long term partnership!

Financial planning expertise is not required. Norm’s contribution to the partnership lies in his relevant financial industry expertise and his master set of algorithms intended to be leveraged to develop a robust financial planning toolset. We are solely identifying technical competence and partnership fit.

The following is one, simplified example of a financial planning solution to be automated. You must submit an automated tool meeting the requirements described in the following example.

A young couple has aspirations and dreams of one day purchasing their own home, however, they currently do not have a sufficient down payment nor do they know all that it entails to feel comfortable moving forward.  They wonder if there is a better way of proceeding or a cheaper way of getting their own home.

One day, the wife comes across your automated financial planning tool and quickly and anonymously answers a few questions, all online, from the privacy of her home.”

 

Here were the blank fields she completed:           

            Spouse 1 Annual Income:                                       $70,000

            Spouse 2 Annual Income:                                      $57,000

            Spouse 1 RRSP Contribution Room:                      $13,000

            Spouse 2 RRSP Contribution Room:                     $11,000

            Estimated Date of Home Purchase (if known):   March 1, 2018

            Have you ever owned a home in the past?         No

 

Additional Information to use in your tool:           

  1. Average Marginal Tax Brackets:

                        $0 - $12,000                            0%

                        $12,000 - $46,000                   22%

                        $46,000 - $90,000                   35%

                        $90,000+                                 45%

2. RRSP = Registered Retirement Savings Plan

3. HBP = Home Buyers Plan;  An individual can access monies from their RRSP without incurring income taxes if they are purchasing a home and they are considered a first time home purchaser.

4. If this couple invests $10,000 into an RRSP, they may expect a reduction of income taxes of $3,500  ($10,000 x 35% = $3,500).

5. The financial solution (output) is for a first time home purchaser to consider:

(1) Putting an RRSP loan in place; with the proceeds,

(2) Put the amount in an RRSP, 90 days later,

(3) Withdraw the amount when they are purchasing a home and with that money,

(4) Pay off the RRSP loan.

(5) RRSP loan interest rate of 3.5%

 

Your Job:

Design and develop a simple, mobile-friendly website where a user can anonymously register, input these 6 simple data pieces, and retrieve an automated output report; estimated benefits and related costs of the financial solution (estimated income tax refund and estimate interest loan cost).

Your website must also be able to generate the output report, and then the client must be able to share the report and chart with other people.

Prizes

After the Submission Deadline, we will publish a Leaderboard of up to 5 top submissions, and those teams will be invited to advance to the Finalist Interviews. Interviews will be scheduled individually during November 30th to December 6th and held with Norm Piché, the founding member.

 

Up to Top 5 Finalists

  • Leaderboard Recognition
  • $1,000 cash prize to recognize your time and energy and committed to the project.

Winner:

  • Opportunity to form a long-term partnership
  • $5,000 cash prize to recognize your time, energy and expertise contributed prior to a potential partnership

 

Judging Scorecard

 

Skill

Metric

Description

Weight

Hard Skills

 

 

50%

 

Functionality

Does your algorithm work? Does the automated output retrieve the correct information, and populate an accurate chart?

30%

 

Design

How does your website look? How is the user experience while interfacing with your website?

15%

 

Content

Does your website contain all of the required pieces of information, as described in the example in How do I Win?

5%

Soft Skills

 

 

50%

 

Motivation

The applicant shares a common vision as Norm and is similarly driven to serve this specific need in the market.

12.5%

 

Clarity of Vision

The proposed concept demonstrates the applicant’s understanding of the vision, and ability to deliver an accurate depiction thereof.

12.5%

 

Partner Compatibility

The applicant’s communication-style, via written submission and via a real-time video interview, is compatible with Norm’s. Like Norm, the applicant is altruistic and driven to make a positive change in the world.

12.5%

 

Contribution

Does the applicant bring extra qualities to the table: a relevant network, a connection to investors, an ability to financially contribute, etc.

12.5%

 

 

Total

100%

Rules

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the prizes, individuals must be from North America. However, teams may include the participation of 3rd party technology partners in the event that the technology referenced was outsourced during project implementation.

See the Challenge Specific Agreement for full eligibility details.

Registration and Submissions:

Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the HeroX.com website, on or before 4:59 pm ET on November 17th, 2017. No late submissions will be accepted.

Selection of Winners:

Based on the winning criteria, prizes will be awarded per the Judging Criteria section above. In the case of a tie, the winner(s) will be selected based on the highest votes from the judges.

Judging:

The final determination of the winners will be made at the sole discretion of Norman Piché.

Timeline
Updates16

Challenge Updates

Focus/Feedback Group for FinTech App

May 18, 2018, 5 p.m. PDT by Kyla Jeffrey

Hi Everyone,

We've been busy since the winner announcement for the FinTech Partner Search challenge! In fact, the Challenge Sponsor, Norman Piché is hosting a Focus/Feedback group on Friday, May 25th in Ottawa, Canada to discuss the technology from this challenge. If you're located in Ottawa or know someone who is and are interested in attending, please send a message to info@herox.com.

The session will be from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The individual will be required to sign a confidential and waiver form and in return will be compensated with $150 and lunch included in exchange for their time, ideas and feedback. Note, you must be able to attend in person in Ottawa.

More information regarding location, etc. will be shared with the interested parties (a total of three individuals is being sought out).

Thanks so much and have a great weekend!


Announcing the winner of the FinTech Partner Search Challenge!

Dec. 13, 2017, 9:03 p.m. PST by Kyla Jeffrey

We are proud to announce the winner of the FinTech Partner Search!

Congratulations to Lex Berezhny!

Lex is a full stack web developer who has been developing project management and financial systems for over a decade.

 

 

We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to all of the finalists for their contribution to this project and the 46 innovators who followed the challenge closely and shared it with their friends and family. Thank you as well to Lise Emard who provided valuable insight and feedback throughout the selection process.

We are incredibly excited to turn the vision of automated financial planning into a reality and we look forward to sharing an update on our progress with you in the future!


Announcing the FinTech Partner Search Finalists

Dec. 1, 2017, 3:06 p.m. PST by Kyla Jeffrey

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the innovators who registered for the FinTech Partner Search Challenge. We truly believe this is the start of a global community and movement towards financial literacy and you have played an instrumental role in launching it. Thank you for your contributions and support.

We are proud to announce the Finalists for the FinTech Partner Search Challenge! After careful review and discussion by our judging panel, the award recipients are as follows:

Finalists

 Lex Berezhny

 Nasir Rasul

 Robin Rowe

 

Honourable Mentions

 Brialy Cerruti MAYILOU BELOT

 Vqthanh

 

Stay tuned for the Winner Announcement on December 12th!


1 hour remaining!

Nov. 17, 2017, 12:59 p.m. PST by Kyla Jeffrey

This is your last notice that you have one hour remaining to enter into the FinTech Partner Search challenge! We look forward to hearing from you!

- Kyla


Two Days Remaining!

Nov. 15, 2017, 5:16 p.m. PST by Kyla Jeffrey

Just a reminder you have until Friday, Nov. 17 at 4:59 p.m. EST to submit your entry to the FinTech Partner Search!


Forum3
Teams49
Resources
FAQ