It was awesome to play a small role in the success of Team Green Pickaxes! Congrats to University of North Carolina at Charlotte students! They won the inaugural Next In FinTech Challenge. Campus Greensboro designed and ran this event.
The talented team was made up of four students from the UNCC computer science program. The students worked with “Success Squads,” — teams of local professionals volunteering their time and expertise. Xtern Software served on the Success Squad, along with the CIO of the City of Greensboro.
The students tackled a community issue through the use of financial technology.
Cone Health Challenge: use financial technology to address healthcare access, telehealth, and COVID-19 relief.
Piedmont Business Capital Challenge: use financial technology to address racial economic equity and provide resources for minority business.
Team Green Pickaxes chose challenge #2. They created a dashboard called Triad Transparency. The dashboard creates greater transparency for minority small business owners.
First, a small business creates a profile. Next, the system could aggregate different contracts. It would also aggregate different loans and government contracts. There is also progress bar to show how far in the process the business is with various steps. Finally, the dashboard includes all correspondence received and an events calendar of relevant events.
The judges liked this solution. They liked that the platform was super user-friendly. And, they liked that it was a one-stop-shop for small business owners. Finally, the felt it made the process much less confusing.
It was so great to work with local tech talent on critical socio-economic issues. We look forward to next year’s event!