This week’s Q&A Wednesday is with an Austin-based company that debuted at DEMO 08, Voyant.  Voyant has just released the latest Web 2.0 version of its free do-it-yourself financial planning platform that gives consumers greater control over their financial health.  We recently sat down with CEO David Kaufman to find out more about the company and what the future holds.

What is Voyant?
Voyant is a free online financial planning solution that lets consumers create their own plan. A comprehensive plan can include everything from retirement income, college savings, debts and insurance needs, to buying a home, survivorship and everything in-between. Voyant simulations give you the power to illustrate different planning decisions and instantly see their impact on your financial outlook. The best part is, you don’t have to be a financial expert to use the product. Voyant provides simple, step-by-step wizards that guide beginners through the plan creation process by asking questions and eliminating intimidating financial language. Building your financial plan is only part of the process; you can track your progress using Voyant Snapshot, exchange questions and ideas in Voyant Community, and share your plan with licensed financial professionals using Voyant Advisor Connect. Voyant’s interactive Web 2.0 platform allows anytime, anywhere access.

Who is your target audience?
Voyant’s target audience is anyone concerned about his or her financial future. The sweet spot is generally between the ages of 30-55 years old. These people are starting to grow their income, acquire assets, expand (or take care of) their families, and think about retirement, and they want to understand how changing one financial variable in their life will affect their goals.

How are people solving this problem today?
Most consumers are not solving this problem today. They are living without a plan and have little knowledge about how the financial decisions they make today can dramatically affect their future. If they do anything, it is more along the lines of monthly budgeting and transaction management.

For those who are trying to plan ahead, traditional financial planning is still a frustrating process. Every year or two you might meet with a financial professional who walks you through a series of impersonal questions, the end result of which is a 200-page printed “plan” that’s outdated as soon as one variable changes in your life. There’s no flexibility built into this model, and the consumer has no visibility or control over his or her financial plan. Even if you have a terrific financial professional, he’s probably more interested in making sure you’ve got the right levels of life insurance than whether or not you should send your children to public or private school. Life is complicated and Voyant gives consumers the tools to make smarter financial decisions tailored to their individual needs.

How do you plan to make money?
We make our money through lead generation, software subscriptions, advertising and customization and integration services.  Voyant is absolutely free for consumers. We support this model with built-in advertising. Additionally, consumers who want professional advice can use Voyant Advisor Connect, a feature that provides a direct link to licensed financial professionals who use our companion product, Voyant Advisor. Financial professionals pay for subscriptions to Voyant Advisor and for leads received through Advisor Connect. Consumers never have an obligation to connect with a financial professional. If, when and how they choose to share their plan is completely up to them. If consumers don’t like the service they receive, they can disconnect from the advisor and their plan is no longer shared; the consumer is always in complete control.  We are also working on relationships with financial institutions that will subscribe to the Voyant Suite and “white label” our products for their customers.

How are you funded? Profitable? What are the next hurdles to get there?
Currently, Voyant is self-funded.  We are not currently profitable, but we’re working on getting there. We have strategic accounts in place in the U.S. and a new sales partnership in the United Kingdom. We will be releasing our U.K. version of Voyant in Q3 2008. Our next hurdle is successfully executing on our strategy and signing large financial institutions in the U.S. and U.K.

Where do you see the Company in three years?
Voyant will be a key player in redesigning how consumers and financial institutions interface with each other. Consumers will no longer have to make important financial decisions without the benefit of understanding how these decisions might affect their futures. Financial enterprises will be using Voyant as a value-added service to build trust and deepen their relationships with customers by providing the right products and services at the right time.

Ok – last question, tell us, where did the name come from?
Voyant is French, for “sighted person.” Our goal is to help people gain a clear vision of what goals they want to accomplish – and how to get there.