At Intrinio, we are known for being a top provider of financial data. Our powerful technology is paving the way for developers and large enterprises across the globe and is positively changing the way our dispersed financial sector operates. Intrinio’s advanced, reliable platform delivers premium data packages that allow innovators to build with a peace of mind.
We are proud to collaborate with some of the most innovative and impactful entrepreneurs and businesses, and we’re delighted to showcase their leading-edge work in our blog. Intrinio’s Customer Success Spotlight series will focus on a client that has used our powerful technology to build something revolutionary.
Meet our newest Customer Success Spotlight, Ditch Your Fund Investing! DYF Investing is an investing platform that focuses on empowering the average investor, increasing education, and reducing barriers. The platform is based on a system that simplifies value investing, so that you can invest with ease. We recently spoke with DYF Investing’s mental health therapist, Kim DuBois, and discussed what sets them apart from competitors, talked about their biggest challenges and successes so far, and she explained how the platform was created.
Give us the elevator pitch for your company.
If you’re a value investor who likes company data, can easily identify intrinsic value and manage reckless emotional investing, we are not the site for you. But if you don’t have the time, feel overwhelmed by the numbers, or are less than confident in your valuations, DYF Investing offers the perfect tools. We are value investing, simplified.
What is your professional background?
DYF Investing was founded by Bryan Stockwell. He is a programmer and software developer by trade, with investing as a long-term hobby (studying the stock market and value investing since 2010.) He is the brain behind the algorithm that drives our website and allows us to provide fundamental analysis at a glance.
We then have Brian Hensel and Mike Savarese, also programmers, Brian with a degree in finance. And lastly are Ric Patrick with almost 3 decades of project management experience, and Kim DuBois, a therapist whose goal is to create a strong educational program that addresses the behavioral and psychological barriers to effective investing.
What inspired you to start your company?
Bryan dove into the concepts of value investing over a decade ago. After putting its concepts to the test, he was amazed by the consistency of the results. To him, it was so simple! But it wasn’t easy. Working full-time, as many of us are, he didn’t have the time to do the deep dive for weeks on end, when researching companies. And neither did anyone else he knew, but everyone wanted a reliable way to invest that did NOT involve a fund manager and the hefty fees.
Playing to his strengths he designed an algorithm to quantify over a dozen data points, thus reducing the “data vomit” that tends to overwhelm and create a barrier to entry for many people. He thought if he could simplify something as reliable and proven as value investing, he could open up the world of investing to everyone, not just those with the time or ability to do those deep-dives.
What have been your biggest challenges, and what did you learn from them?
The algorithm Bryan created required an enormous amount of information, for every single company. Securing that information was very expensive. Back in the early 2010’s it was going to cost over $10,000 a month and he simply didn’t have that kind of capital to develop his website.
Second to that was the challenge of writing an algorithm to account for and interpret all sorts of data points to determine what was most predictive of a company’s future health. It was a lengthy endeavor that took almost 2 years to perfect. But was also an amazing learning opportunity that really pushed both his skills as a programmer and an investor.
What have been your biggest successes?
Without adequate data, the success and application of the algorithm remained somewhat theoretical. Finding Intrinio was a crucial piece to moving forward, as once he could afford the data, he could apply the algorithm on a much broader scale. It was immensely satisfying to realize that consistently, his program reflected the same results others were getting by hand, with a fraction of the time and effort.
Not only could he now prove the efficacy of the algorithm, but he could also see his vision through to completion by designing website to simply value investing for everyone. His mission has been a constant one; to provide a unique set of tools to empower investors toward decisions that make financial freedom available to everyone.
How do you set yourself apart from your competitors?
Simplicity and education.
We want to break down the barrier to entry for the average investor. Those that love research and numbers and have the time to get ‘deep in the weeds’ on analysis will likely not find our site satisfying.
For us, less is more. Rather than giving more tools and more raw data, our goal is to simplify the process of value investing. To create an educational piece so comprehensive yet simple, even the most inexperienced investor will gain the ability to invest and create wealth with confidence.
Part of Intrinio’s mission is to “change the way our broken financial system works.” This aligns perfectly with DYF’s mission to empower the individual investor through education, bypassing a greedy middle-man, and “Ditching” a poor performing and fee-heavy mutual fund or 401k.
A secure financial future should be available to everyone, not just those who already have the time, money, or expertise.
Are you interested or have questions about our data feeds and packages? Find out more information at intrinio.com or request a consultation today.
