EQUITYZEN USERS COMMUNITY/COMPANIES OVERVIEW
Ripple stock: full review
Ripple is another company that is on the radar of many investors. Previously, I reviewed SparkCognition, a company with a valuable mission, and a promising market, but no stellar prospects. This review of Ripple will similarly help you sort out whether the company is an interesting company to invest in.
I’ll move on to the promised full review of Ripple. I’ll start by showing the general scoring of this company, and then I’ll go into detail about each evaluation criterion:)
- in this review, I refer to third-party data that I was able to find and access; I always cite primary sources, which you can access by clicking on the hyperlinks
- I am not responsible for the quality of the data presented on third-party resources
- I guarantee the correctness of the information obtained from official sources, while some data in the document is given as is — according to unverified data from an unofficial source — in this case, the value is preceded by “approximately” ~ and the data itself is written in italics
- I deliberately regard data from some sites as insufficiently reliable, but I use them to reflect general dynamics
- the conclusions and estimates set forth herein represent my personal view only, are for informational purposes only, and in no way constitute financial or investment advice
- the information in this document is not a prediction or guarantee of future results, and I am not responsible for any consequences of the use of the data provided
- investing is a high-risk activity, so potential investors should do their own research before entering into any deals and signing contracts
- this review was prepared for the EquityZen Community for informational purposes only
- I use multi-criteria evaluation for the selected companies by several criteria (each in the range from 1 to 3); I also output the final score and mark “red flags” (especially sensitive facts that could potentially affect future investments); the assessments reflect my understanding of the situation, they are not an incentive to action
Company Scoring
The final score is 14 out of a possible 21.
If we look at each evaluation criterion separately, we get the following results: C-level Executives — 2, Market and Competitors — 3, Investments — 1, Traction & News — 2, Culture and Team — 1, Client Score — 3, Exit — 2.
Each evaluation criterion was scored from 1 to 3.
I personally invest in companies with a scoring of 19 points or more. But that’s just my opinion (this is not financial advice or investment advice).
Executive Summary
- Company: Ripple (10 years)
- Founded, Headquarters: 2012, San Francisco, California, USA
- Sector/Market: Blockchain in FinTech Market, CAGR of 47.9% (2021–2030)
- Investment history: 14 rounds, a total investment of $293.8M, valuation on the last round (2019) — $10.09B
- Revenues: Estimated annual revenue for Ripple is currently $158.6M
- Probability of exit: no clear signals
- Glassdoor rating: 4.2* (190 reviews)
- Client rating: 4.8* (645 reviews)
Ripple Highlights
- Ripple is a B2B company that provides one frictionless experience to send money globally using the power of blockchain. It offers a global real-time payment system that enables banks and financial institutions worldwide to transact directly with each other without the need for a central correspondent.
The company also offers FX Market Making, a solution enabling enterprises to gain access to cross-currency liquidity through a distributed network that allows the foreign exchange to be externally sourced from a competitive FX marketplace or an internal FX trading desk. This minimizes FX exposure thereby lowering the volatility and counter-party risk of trades. Ripple Insights features industry updates, insider perspectives, and in-depth market analysis. - Mission: “Build breakthrough crypto solutions for a world without economic borders.” ©
- Featured customers that trust Ripple: BeeTech, Modulr, Tranglo, Bank of America, Novatti, Nium, etc.
- Ripple partners with American Express, MoneyGram, PNC, Stantander, Nium, and others.
Origins&Offices
The company was founded in 2012 in the USA, headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area.
- San Francisco, USA (HQ)
- New York, USA
- Washington, USA
- Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Mumbai, India
- Singapore, Singapore
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- London, UK
- Reykjavik, Iceland
Social media
C-level Executives
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (January 2017-present)
- San Francisco Bay Area, United States of America
- Prior to Ripple, Brad served as the CEO of file collaboration service Hightail. From 2009 to 2012 he was President of Consumer Applications at AOL and prior to that he held various executive positions at Yahoo! from 2003 to 2009, including Senior Vice President.
- Earlier in his career, Brad helped to pioneer the VoIP industry as CEO of Dialpad Communications. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of OutMatch and has held board positions at Ancestry.com and Tonic Health.
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO) (July 2018-present)
- San Francisco, California, United States of America
- David Schwartz is Chief Cryptographer at Ripple. David is one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger. Prior to joining Ripple, David Schwartz was Chief Technical Officer for WebMaster Incorporated, a Santa Clara software developer. He developed encrypted cloud storage and enterprise messaging systems for organizations like CNN and theNational Security Agency (NSA).
- Known as “JoelKatz,” he is a respected voice in the digital currency community.
- Chief Business Officer (CBO) (October 2020-present)
- San Francisco Bay Area, United States of America
- Eric van Miltenburg has over 20 years of leadership experience at companies ranging from early-stage, high-growth start-ups to multi-billion dollar public companies. Expert in business operations, business development, strategic planning, financial planning & analysis, etc.
- Commonly hired to solve complex business problems and execute strategies that help technology companies systematically accelerate growth. Other areas of expertise include payments, global expansion, consumer Internet, digital media, SaaS/subscription revenue, strategy, etc.
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (April 2021-present)
- Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Prior to Ripple, Kristina Campbell worked for companies such as Avery Dennison, PayNearMe, The F Suite, and others. She has a large number of proven skills.
- Kristina studied at Harvard Business Scholl as well as Stanford University.
C-level Executives Scoring — 2
Qualified and talented CEOs and tops (education and experience available, but they are not stars in the profile environment) with medium or low promotional activity.
Market and Competitors
- Blockchain
- Cryptocurrency
- FinTech
- Internet
- Payments
Blockchain in FinTech Market
Forecast till 2030 valuation is poised to reach USD 31.4 billion by 2030, registering a 47.9% CAGR throughout the forecast period (2021 to 2030).
Blockchain technology has created significant interest in the fintech industry. The emergence of the blockchain has encouraged the financial industry to move toward app-based operations. The increasing adoption of blockchain induced the growth of the fintech industry even during the pandemic. Whether it is needed for transaction security, transparency, or fraudulent activities, blockchain technologies can address them all.
Leaders on the market as a whole:
- BTL Group
- Earthport PLC.
- Oracle Corporation
- Factom
- Digital Asset Holdings
- Bitfury Group Limited
- Coinbase
- Tradle
- Cambridge Blockchain LLC., and others.
Market and Competitors Scoring — 3
Large and/or actively growing market in which the company is a leader or has a significant market share (if share data is available);
There is a roadmap for scaling up and capturing the market.
Stocks and Investments
Stocks and Investments Scoring — 1
A lowering round in the absence of top or profile investors in it;
No investment in the last 1.5–2 years/infrequent rounds.
Traction & News
All data on revenue is taken from public sources, the reliability of which I do not guarantee. However, based on the approximate revenue growth/decline dynamics, I can draw conclusions about its trends.
- Ripple’s Q2 2021 revenue was $105M
- The estimated annual revenue for Ripple is currently $158.6M per year
- 2022/08/24 — Ripple extends presence to UAE through Tranglo.
- 2022/06/28 — Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple will leave the US if SEC wins.
- 2022/05/18 — Lithuania’s Finci gets onboard with Ripple.
- 2021/12/24 — Ripple Achieves ‘Strongest Year Ever’ Despite SEC Lawsuit Over XRP, Says CEO.
- 2021/11/23 — Ripple seeing ‘good progress’ in SEC case over XRP, outcome expected next year.
Traction & News Scoring — 2
Good traction;
Positive in almost all of the above news items;
Any problems in the company are counted as minus 1 point of scoring: Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple will leave the US if SEC wins.
Culture & Team
I take reviews from Glassdoor and Comparably, where current and former employees anonymously leave company reviews. Sometimes there may be conflicting views, indicating a subjective perception of work at a particular company, rather than an error in review analysis.
A comparative table of overall company ratings:
The general trend of team reviews lately:
Positives based on reviews:
- “Some of the people are great but they all seem to be leaving the company.”
- “Good culture, not a typical frat.”
- “Great benefits.”
- “The team is incredibly ambitious.”
- “The leadership is committed to achieving this goal, not as a disruptive startup, but as a constructive partner in the financial industry.”
Negatives based on reviews:
- “Bad management filled with ego and zero vision.”
- “Certain managers are bad at taking criticism and have an immature, adversarial mentality.”
- “CEO is incredibly meticulous and a perfectionist.”
Culture & Team Scoring — 1
Rating = 4–4.5*.
Exit
- Ripple will consider an IPO after the end of the SEC lawsuit, but the exact date is unknown.
Exit Scoring — 2
There are no signals of an upcoming IPO.
Conclusion
The company works in a fast-growing market, and has a leading position in it, but without stellar prospects. Rare investments, poor Glassdoor rating, no signals of an upcoming IPO.
There is an SEC scandal that has been dragging on for several years. This has a negative impact on Ripple. A lot of company energy is spent on this particular scandal, and there are simply no resources left to strengthen the team, go public (IPO), and create innovations.
Before you go
Join the discussion of the current situation in the closed Discord group: https://discord.com/invite/8yMBnWB7AX
