I’m a firm believer in a process known as “Working Backwards”. The “Working Backwards” process was pioneered by Amazon and is the foundation of how the company innovates on a regular basis. As a former Amazonian myself, I’m a proud believer in the process as at the end of the day it forces you to put the customer at the center of everything you do.
The process begins with writing something known as a “Press Release”. This mock press release lets you imagine what would be like for your product to come alive to your customers sometime in the future. It’s a goal that you’re setting for your product release and then working backwards from there. I’ve found this process to be extremely effective — it’s a process that forces you to be customer centric, but at the same time is practical i.e. it is deadline driven (the release has a date).
The second part of the Working Backwards process is a document called FAQ. It includes all the questions that either internal/external stakeholders and/or customers would have regarding your upcoming release. Examples of these include:
- Who is your customer?
- Whats your competitive differentiation?
- Why you?
- How are you going to go to market?
- How do I get started?
etc. etc.
So in this post, I’d like to write out the first draft of the Finagic press release for our MVP release. Its the beginning of our journey with the end in mind. Future posts will include more refinements to the press release and also FAQ to go along with the press release, as we get more clarity.
Finagic Lets Investors Make Smarter Investments in Public Companies Using Artificial Intelligence Based Predictive Insights
January 31st, 2019: Seattle based startup Finagic, founded by Amazon General Manager — Kunal Chopra and Trillium Wealth Management Founder and Managing Director — Samir Kapoor, came out of stealth mode today. The Finagic platform helps investors and financial advisors make smarter investments in public companies using artificial intelligence based predictive insights.
Finagic evaluates companies using the following “Qualitative” criteria 1. The industry the company belongs to 2. The fundamentals of the company’s business 3. The company’s financial strength (Fundamental Analysis) 4. Strength of the company’s management team 4. Actions that the company’s management takes 5. Growth opportunities for the firm and 6. Risks the company face.
Additionally, Finagic gives investors recommendations into the right time and price to buy and sell a company by 1. Valuing the company (Intrinsic Value) and comparing it to its market price 2. Analyzing the market sentiment and 3. Analyzing catalyst events that move the market.
Finally, Finagic has portfolio management features such as 1. Recommending a portfolio of stocks based on your investment goals and 2. Actively managing your portfolio as market and company conditions change 3. Back testing your selected portfolio 4. Performance measurement and reporting 5. Dollar cost averaging, among others. The Finagic platform is your active equity investor.
The Finagic web app gives each investor a personalized investment experience. Based on their goals, investors get a recommended portfolio to start with. Additionally, they can import their existing portfolio that the Finagic platform will analyze. Then active equity portfolio management begins. Buy/Sell and rebalance recommendations are made consistently depending upon changing company fundamentals and market conditions. Future plans for Finagic include analyzing various funds, ETFs, derivatives etc.
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Finagic, Kunal Chopra said “Our mission is to bring active equity portfolio management to the retail investor. We want to be your hedge fund manager. To be active in equity investments, you need to consistently do due diligence on companies. This involves reading research reports, annual reports, company financial statements etc. etc. and forming insights. This process is time consuming, manual and prone to financial advisor bias. Finagic uses artificial intelligence to do due diligence on companies and picks companies to buy by converting qualitative and quantitative data into quantitative insights. Finagic lets you do this globally not only on every public stock exchange, but also for private enterprises and startups in the future”.
Finagic’s initial launch is focused on the US stock market, with plans to expand to various stock markets globally and then expanding into the startup, private equity and small business market segments.
Sam Harris, early adopter of Finagic, in a recent interview said “Finally, we have a platform to pick companies based on qualitative criteria. There are over 3000 stocks on the US stock market alone. It would be almost impossible for investors to go deep into each company. The media and analysts only focus on top stocks. There are so many hidden opportunities out there that Finagic surfaces. Additionally, the focus on being a global player further expands my investment opportunities. With Finagic, I become my own Hedge Fund Manager”.
The Finagic platform is available for a free trial for 30 days, after which it is $49 per month per user for full access. To get started, go to www.finagic.com and create a free account.
Till next time,
