What’s the best thing about startup demo days? You get to peek behind the curtains, before they scale (or fail).

Five startups, in five minutes each, took the stage at the Empire Startups Fintech December Demo Day yesterday with their latest and greatest. Bank Innovation has the lineup, in case you missed it.

PAINLESS1099: Headache-free tax savings for the gig economy

Etsy, AirBnb, TaskRabbit – the popularity of these and other similar companies prove that the gig economy may be the economy of the future. Painless1099 certainly bets on that, with its hassle-free automated savings account for independent contractors. Through a smart bank account, the platform automatically withholds taxes based on user info and transfers “what is safe to spend” into the user’s personal checking account, according to the startup’s site. The platform is currently free, “for a while, before we start charging for it,” Ace Callwood, chief executive of Painless1099, said during the demo. “Painless 1099 is really the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “For us, it very quickly becomes Painless401k, PainlesInsurance, PainlessHealthcare, PainlessUnemployment – a sort of a portable benefits package for the freelancers, but to start that, you need the savings component done first.” Check out their demo:

GOLDBEAN: Education-first wealth management

If you follow Bank Innovation on consistent basis, then you’ve surely heard about GoldBean and its innovative CEO Jane Barratt. GoldBean, a graduate of this site’s sister accelerator’s inaugural class, is aiming to educate newcomers in wealth management and even guide them to their first investment (yes, that’s what adults do). Upon signing up with GoldBean, users get a personalized portfolio, an ongoing education on the ins and outs of the stock, as well as trading access. The platform would even advise users on some of the stocks to invest in, based on their shopping behavior. “We are using where people shop as a hook, not a thesis,” Barratt explained yesterday. People seem to be more comfortable at the early stages to invest in companies they are familiar with, such as, for example, Amazon, she added. Banks – the main partnership target for GoldBean – have serious amounts of data on shopping behaviors, making it easy to identify companies of interest.

MORTY: Start-to-finish online mortgage buddy

Morty promises a “delightful” experience for the commonly dreadful process of getting a mortgage. (No one wants a mortgage, they want a house, etc.) The platform allows users to start their application, compare all the available offers, and close the mortgage – all the while dealing with Morty’s simple interface. “That’s what sets us apart: you start with Morty, and you close with Morty,” CTO Adam Rothblatt said during the demo. On average, Rothblatt said, customers spend about $7,000 and 47 days to close a mortgage. Rothblatt promised to go through the entire process during the five-minute demo … which he did.

HELM: Cyber-security and tech compliance adviser

Launched by an ex-JPMorgan Chase exec, Helm Solutions Inc. develops legal and compliance solutions for small business, enterprise and even the government. “We currently partner with 25 regulators around the world, that are constantly identifying and analyzing relevant laws, to provide the tools necessary to offer a comprehensive and instant GAP analysis for companies’ tech and cybersecurity operations,” CEO Paul McCulloch said during the demo. The solution allows for real-time alerts when compliance issues occur, and provides legal consultation on emerging laws. The startup also maintains a continually updated library of tech and cybersecurity laws, breaking it down in relevant sections for each firm. 

EXEQ: Budgeting app that grows with you

One thing that millennials need most (but do least) is budgeting. In comes Exeq – an all-in-one finance app that offers users in-depth analytics on their spending behavior and identifies opportunities to save. Once they sign up, users can open a savings account, and an investment account (when they are ready), link it to their personal account, and get personalized notifications to help them “buy smarter,” CEO Daniel Schwartz said. “They shouldn’t go to their parents to ask about how much they need to save,” Schwartz said. “It’s the responsibility of financial institutions,” which hold vast amounts of data, he explained. The startup plans to soon introduce a chatbot to make the platform even more engaging for millennials.