Bristol grad Daniel Gold and Southampton alumna Nikki Hawkes have founded Stratiphy, and have already raised more than £440,000 from 700 investors spread over 53 countries.
Stratiphy gives users control over their investment, according to risk profile, industry preferences and sustainability criteria - without the high fees of professional guidance.
Daniel, who has a degree in maths from the University of Bristol and went on to complete PhD in algebraic geometry, said: “I wanted to combine my three passions – maths, finance and sustainability – into one vision.”
Daniel has worked as a risk analyst and in bond yield forecasting for a banking giant. He set up Stratiphy after studying strategies used by high-net worth clients at investment banks and applying it to his own shares – doubling his money over two years.
But he found there was a lack of online tools to help ordinary people build and monitor their own portfolios. He set about designing a system to mimic the experts’ approach to growth.
He said: “It was a personal challenge to make investing more accessible, with the option to make more ethical choices.
“I wanted to provide quality investments and advice, without drowning the user with unnecessary information. It reduces time, effort and risk involved in investing.”
The University of Bristol helped set him up for sustainable entrepreneurship.
Daniel said: “My time at the University of Bristol instilled a deep sense of hard work, ethical and healthy living.”
Daniel was in full-time employment when he started developing the idea for Stratiphy and often worked into the early hours and at weekends.
After a year he had created an interface for building strategies like the quantitative approach used in the investment industry.
He then brought in a technology advisor, David Adler, and make his first hire, Nikki, who became a co-founder.
Despite not meeting in person due to lockdown, they clicked over a shared mission to make investing accessible and sustainable.
Nikki, who has worked as an actuary at a life and pensions operations centre in Bristol, said: “We want to help people invest sustainably and safely by themselves.”
Stratiphy introduces beginners to investing with an education in portfolio risk management. And it allows users to customise their preferences, so they can choose Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) options.
Stratiphy, which has a team of industry leading advisors from banking and fintech backgrounds, has already won a contract with Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG research and data.
Daniel, who also set up a business with his brother to help off-grid communities in the Middle East make use of solar energy, says sustainable investing is vital.
Their firm has to date saved 150,000 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide emissions, equal to planting over 3,705,000 trees or removing 28,100 cars from the road for an entire year.
Daniel said: “It has shown me that the financial decisions we make can have a physical impact on the world – and we need more of this.”
Stratiphy, which came through the South West’s SETsquared accelerator programme, is growing both its team and waiting list – as the app goes live next year.
SETsquared is a collaboration between the University of Bristol and five other universities in the area, which incubates ideas into businesses.