Summary
Mutual funds were created to simplify investment decisions. However, over time they have grown more and more complicated. By the end of 2018 alone, there were nearly 119,000 mutual funds across the globe. With so many mutual funds in existence today, figuring out the best one to buy into can be almost impossible.
That’s why last week we recommended Infinovate as a Deal to Watch. They have created a subscription-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform that makes analyzing mutual funds less burdensome.
We sat down with founder Blair Buick to discuss what sets Infinovate apart and where the company is heading.
Olivia Strobl
For those who don’t know, what is the genesis story of Infinovate?
Blair Buick
Investors take due diligence very seriously. Wealth Managers come across thousands of funds and fund managers every year. Every manager and investor needs a way to ensure that they are managing their client’s money in the best way possible.
That means in-depth, meaningful analysis that provides actionable, timely, and relevant information. The lack of options in the market made clear that Infinovate was a necessity.
Additionally, our goal at Infinovate was to build a model that assisted analysts in identifying style drift in managers before style drift became a problem. This feature compares predictive performance each day versus the actual performance.
Olivia Strobl
How do you plan on allocating funds raised in this round to scale the business?
Blair Buick
The financing will be used for (1) additional product development to improve the platform, (2) adding to the management team, and (3) initial marketing.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Olivia Strobl
Who are your target customers and how do they use the product?
Blair Buick
Registered Investment Advisors, Institutional investment platforms/investors, family offices, and individual investors.
Olivia Strobl
Do you have any competition, if so, how do you differentiate?
Blair Buick
The competition is composed of data providers such as Morningstar and Bloomberg who do not produce predictive, personalized analytical investment information to users but rather act as content creators.
Olivia Strobl
What are the biggest risks associated with your business?
Blair Buick
Our ability to manage growth and continue to develop innovative analytics.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Olivia Strobl
How is your team uniquely positioned to win out in this market?
Blair Buick
The Infinovate team is composed of seasoned professionals and analytic creators that are focused on predictive results instead of reporting results. This is unique in the marketplace.
Olivia Strobl
What does your business model look like?
Blair Buick
The business model is a subscription model priced on depth and breadth of data and platform use.
Olivia Strobl
As you think about the business 5-10 years down the road, what do you see exit opportunities looking like?
Blair Buick
There are three basic exit opportunities. First is the opportunity to merge or be acquired as part of a “roll-up” in the financial analytics space. Second is the opportunity to be acquired by a national or international institutional investment platform. Third is the opportunity to take the company public based on its growth and performance.
Wall Street has Morningstar, S&P, and Bloomberg
The equity crowdfunding market has KingsCrowd.
Olivia Strobl
Why equity crowdfunding?
Blair Buick
Crowdfunding appears to be the most efficient way to obtain a broader base of shareholders instead of placing the amount of required funding into the hands of a single investor.
We at KingsCrowd are excited to see where Blair and her team take the company. Infinovate is currently raising on NetCapital.
About: Olivia Strobl
Olivia comes to KingsCrowd with a background in venture capital and technology. She spent time at Glasswing Ventures, an AI-focused venture fund in Boston, before joining the KingsCrowd team. There she helped develop machine learning algorithms for the opportunity qualification of preseed and seed-stage startup companies. Prior to her time at Glasswing, Olivia worked in a lab studying the neural correlates of attention. She holds a degree in Neuroscience from Wellesley College.