MERAV OZAIR, MILLENNIAL INVESTMENT INNOVATOR SOARS AT FINTECH CONNECTOR PITCH NIGHT
OCTOBER 17, 2017 — NEW YORK, USA — FinTech Connector is the exclusive online and “real-world” membership community that brings together and meaningfully connects Fintech entrepreneurs and start-ups (the “Innovators”) with Fintech thought-leaders, subject matter experts, technologists, and investors (the “Enablers”).
We are rapidly driving Fintech innovation forward and transforming financial services across the globe with our dedicated team of Community Partners, now represented in 16 cities in 12 countries.
Merav Ozair’s recent Pitch Presentation was exceptionally vibrant. The entire audience of Fintech professionals recognized that Merav Ozair’s HoliSym is set to disrupt the financial investment world by claiming the Millennial market.
Merav Ozair Ph.D. Finance is a Quantitative Financial Instruments Strategist, a Data Scientist, and Wall Street Hedge Fund Advisor. She is also a Professor at NYU and teaches Finance 101 to non-finance majors. Therein is the native origin of HoliSym. Ozair’s creative financial mind is behind one of the most compelling and forward-thinking innovations in the Fintech industry.
Merav Ozair is an extraordinary educator and technology futurist who knows something about finance and Millennials and wants to change the world.
Ozair’s backstory reveals Millennials’ real problems with finance and why the enormous untapped marketplace does not invest.
Merav says, “Every semester, I experience a steep uphill battle with a very antagonistic crowd of Millennials who shy away from everything to do with finance and investing. The core reason for not investing is their FEAR. Fear of not knowing what to do; fear of it being too complicated and too confusing, and fear of taking advice from institutions they do not trust.
Millennials experienced the effects of the 2008 economic crises. Because of the collapse, everything relating to finance is
more pronounced for them.” Merav continues, “At the start of the semester, they consider me as their enemy. My task is to bring them to a level of not only proficiency and understanding, but also to a level of comfort to start experiencing with investing. Their comfort is a satisfying reward at the end of the semester. By then, they all invest, and they enjoy investing. It is my greatest joy to observe the metamorphosis of my students. It is a great triumph when some change their major to Finance!”
Since no one, including the big banks and financial institutions, have tackled the real problems that inhibit Millennials from investing, Merav’s experience has been an exceptional advantage. Her viewpoint represents the roadblock that big financial institutions (FIs) cannot overcome themselves.
OLSON: What is HoliSym and how are you reshaping today’s investment tools?
OZAIR: HoliSym is a new concept. It is an all-inclusive asset management platform. It is a whole experience that takes users from learning to engaging, exploring, understanding, simulating, and then trading.
HoliSym stands for Holistic System, which is at the core of the building blocks of this platform.
The heart of the platform builds trust among Millennials, diminishes fear and makes everybody and their “trusted network” knowledgeable investors and connected through a social media component within the platform. Social media networking is an invaluable cultural component for Millennials. Technology and scientific-wise, I also created a powerful AI, “the horsepower” behind the scenes. It stripes down complexities of finance and investing to make finance easy and intuitive for users who interact with the platform.”
OLSON: There are many trading and investing apps that target Millennials. Who are a few of the successful ones? How do you evaluate the competition?
OZAIR: “Everyone is trying to target Millennials. Millennials stand to inherit $30 Trillion from aging Baby Boomer parents(1). It is one of the largest untapped financial markets. Everybody wants to benefit from this marketplace.
It is a challenging market for large investment firms because Millennials consciously refuse to stay with their parents’ financial advisors. Native digital players and robo-advisors populate the space, of course.
We can divide the FinTech landscape for Millennials into two major product groups: One treats them as “Imbeciles” like Betterment or SigFig or WealthFront — these are the Robo Advisors — as if saying “handoff, you know nothing, we will take care of everything”. The other treats them as “reckless gamblers” like Robinhood or Level3 — these are apps that do not provide any research or analytics only the ability to trade (buy/sell). Either they assume that Millennials already know how to invest or that they are gamblers.
But Millennials are neither “Imbeciles” nor “reckless gamblers”. They are intelligent, responsible and very cautious individuals! If these were the solutions, then Millennials would have been already investing by the millions. But they are not, and the problem has not been solved yet.
HoliSym offers the right solution for Millennials. The platform has been vetted with the Millennial crowd, and they are eagerly waiting for it to come to market!”
OLSON: How does HoliSym compare to these competitors?
OZAIR: “In simple terms, the competitors come from buying, selling, and advice. They do not have a holistic approach.
I came from a different place as an educator, a data scientist, and a creator of AI and analytics. Trading is only one component. It is a call to action at the end. Trading is the icing on the cake in my platform. It is something Millennials will engage last.
HoliSym helps people understand the financial market and the underline of investing, simulate trades, and engage the learning processes with each other socially. Of course, they can jump straight to the brokerage platform and trade.
I know Millennials. They will learn and socialize first. They will resolve their inherent fears and evolve trust. I am not kidding. The concern is real. It is profound. As they learn and advance, all of my students invest eventually. I know Millennials very well. Therefore, I am not asking our users to open an account or put money upfront before they feel ready to trade.
Eventually, the advanced investors will continue to engage their friends in the social community and influence (and support) others, all with different levels of understanding.”
OLSON: Why the hustle? Why make your life difficult? Wouldn’t it be easier to take your models and open a Hedge Fund rather than build a startup?
OZAIR: “Yes, I have an option to take my IP and engage a fund one way or another. Then what? Do I make the “one percent” become ”point one percent”?
It makes me think of people I know personally who went through the financial crises and lost their retirement, or most of their retirement, and had to go back to work. It broke my heart, and I felt there must be something different. It couldn’t be in the hands of those who know all and those who know nothing.”
OLSON: Describe your grand vision.
OZAIR: “My mission is leveling the playing field of investing. We are here to empower everyone to take control over his/her financial future. It will be a financial technology disruption because the HoliSym community can serve everyone.”
The grand vision stems from my greatest satisfaction seeing my students understand finance and grow to love it. It is fulfilling when they make the information their own and do well in life.
I believe that by enabling everyone to participate in the financial market and to invest with comfort and confidence, we will be able to establish a global; social-economic responsibility which will bring about a stronger and more stable global economy.”
OLSON: What are the near-term milestones?
OZAIR: “Now we are building the MVP to go-to-market which we believe will be four to six months.
I am prepared to invest in relationships with the right people.
Not only are we always looking for talent who are in alignment with our purpose, but there is no better time for an investor than right now. HoliSym is a compelling engagement. Currently, I am welcoming investors who share our vision and strong core values.
I plan to use the funds to complete the MVP, further build-out the components of the platform, hire developers, create the brand identity, build brand awareness, and continue to communicate the value proposition to the marketplace.
A great investor fit is somebody whose integrity is in alignment with the HoliSym brand, wishes to make a lasting impact, and drive change. We have a concise message and value proposition. We are solving real problems and provide real-world benefits”.
OLSON: Thank you, Merav. We at FinTech Connector are excited about your Pitch Night Presentation. Well done. We will share your goals with our global network of community partners and other thought-leaders, technologists, and investors.
We encourage readers of this interview to join us in building investor interest in HoliSym and move Merav Ozair’s Fintech innovation forward to speed HoliSym to market as soon as possible.
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MERAV OZAIR
Email: merav@holisym.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merav-ozair-258aa9b/
Twitter: @HoliSym
Website: www.HoliSym.com
MARY OLSON | BRAND INTELLIGENCE
MIT Fintech: Future Commerce Certified
Critical Thinking, High-Value Branding, Web Business Development, Writing, and Speed-to-Market Support
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryolsonbiz/
Twitter: @maryolsonbiz
Co-founder and Chief Strategic Branding Officer at FinTech Connector
Email: MaryOlson@MaryOlson.biz
Website: HTTPS://FINTECHCONNECTOR.COM
FINTECH CONNECTOR is the exclusive Fintech network connecting the global Fintech Community with Innovators and Enablers disrupting financial services.
Learn how we are increasing efficiency in the Fintech innovation supply chain by connecting enablers and innovators, collaborating on projects, and cultivating Fintech ideas into financial services innovations. Visit http://www.fintechconnector.com to see how you can join the community!!!
Source: (1) Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-03/wall-street-has-its-eyes-on-millennials-30-trillion-inheritance
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