LendIt, the largest conference series dedicated to connecting the global online lending community, today announced a partnership with information based lending company Capital One to co-host PitchIt @ LendIt, a competition to find a future star of the fintech world. 

The competition is aimed at firms innovating within the online lending and fintech space. It provides a showcase for eight high growth fintech firms to pitch their business case to a panel of expert judges as well as some of the technology industry's leading figures attending the forthcoming LendIt Europe 2016 conference in London.  

Ahead of the event, each shortlisted company will receive coaching for their pitch from L Marks as well as individual mentors from the industry who will help them to hone their pitch and prepare them for the competition. The overall winner will also be mentored by experts associated with Capital One Growth Labs via a personalised plan to help the fintech develop. Capital One Growth Labs is a partnership between Capital One and L Marks to ensure fintech start-ups can get access to expertise and capabilities to develop their innovations.

Commenting on the partnership, LendIt’s Chairman and Co-Founder Peter Renton said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Capital One for this year’s PitchIt @ LendIt Europe event. LendIt provides an invaluable opportunity for innovative fintech start-ups to get in front of an audience of global fintech leaders and investors.  Through the Capital One Growth Labs programme Capital One and L Marks provide start-ups with unparalleled access to their extensive expertise in a variety of fields. The combination of the two will create a platform that we feel will help fintech innovators take that next step in their company development."

Amy Lenander, chief marketing officer at Capital One, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with PitchIt @Lendit Europe.  Our Growth Labs programme has shown us the power that comes from pairing fresh ideas and technology from start-ups with the scale of our customer base and ability to trial those ideas.  I can’t wait to see the ideas and insights in consumer lending from PitchIt and hope that our mentoring will create value for the winner.” 

To be eligible to enter the competition firms must have raised less than £4M in funding, have at least two full-time founders, have a working prototype with customer interaction, and started their venture between 2014-16.

Applications are now open. Companies are invited to enter here. Entries for PitchIt @ LendIt open today, 24th August, and close on 12th September. The eight finalists invited to pitch will be notified on 19th September, with pitches taking place on 10th October.