Why this Nebraska fintech company opened a new Philly office

At the end of last year, Omaha, Neb.-based fintech company Orion Advisor decided to hire a Philly-based marketing chief based on her track record at companies like eMoney Advisor.

Come 2018, since the experiment worked, the company decided to go all in and establish a Philly office around CMO Kelly Waltrich. Currently at four people in a 1,500-square-foot outpost in King of Prussia, the North Wales resident will look to expand that team to 15.

“Philly is the ideal location to build a fintech marketing team,” Waltrich said in an email. “We’re in the heart of the mid-Atlantic, surrounded by world-class colleges, universities, and financial services firms, and we have one of the most vibrant and underrated tech scenes in the biz.”

Orion Advisor employs 365 staffers form its Nebraska headquarters and two other satellite locations in Hauppauge, N.Y., and Bothell, Wash. The company offers portfolio accounting software to financial advisors and boasts of serving some 1,500 firms with $650 billion in assets under management.

“I’d stand the talent in this region up against anyone from the traditional tech ‘hubs’ any day,” said Waltrich, 35. “This new office allows us to strengthen our creative, marketing, media engagement and thought leadership efforts so that we may step outside of the sea of sameness common in our industry.”

Orion said it may look to expand the King of Prussia hub — which neighbors the King of Prussia Mall — to include other teams in the future.

“We’re thrilled to have her grow our footprint on the East Coast not only in support of our marketing and recruiting goals, but also as a local resource for the large concentration of clients we serve in the greater Philadelphia area,” Orion CEO Eric Clarke said in a press release.

A recent report from corporate site selection specialist John Boyd — who said Philly’s a prime contestant in the Amazon HQ2 bid process — shows Philly offers companies in the financial services sector an attractive deal for establishing back offices in marketing, accounting and IT.

“Philadelphia costs show well, totaling $11.4 million per year, roughly $2 million less expensive than the U.S. financial capital of New York City,” Boyd said in the report. “[Philly is also] lower than other U.S. financial hubs like San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Jersey City.”