This is a blog dedicated to building in public, where founders can see what goes on behind the scenes at a venture-backed startup. Weekly internal team emails (on a delay) are juxtaposed against interviews and articles published in real-time.

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Setting our sights abroad

September 5, 2023

As we get closer to the day when we have the multi-market software suite ready to launch, we've been putting in the work to ensure we find the right anchor client to go to market with first to help us get our legs underneath us. An anchor client like this should ideally meet certain criteria:

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Rest and recharge

August 28, 2023

As we head into Labor Day weekend and the last weekend of summer, I wanted to express how proud I am of each and every one of you for what we've accomplished not just this year but this summer alone. It's been an incredible few months and the pace at which we're getting things done (deals, releases, fixes, clients onboarded, investors acquired, and more) is at a level of which the company has never seen before.

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Hitting the ground running

August 21, 2023

We're not one to waste time, that's for sure. Fresh off our broker dealer approval, we managed to launch and close a new offering that simply wasn't possible before. Limited partnership (LP) interests in funds are the first of many new asset classes we can expand into, allowing our investors to become institutional investors in the truest sense of the word.

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At long last

August 14, 2023

Finally, two years after we first kicked off the discussion around becoming a broker dealer, we officially have our application approved. To say this was a journey is an understatement - the amount of times we had to explain what we do, outline how our business operates, answer the same questions again and again, and then re-explain all over to another group who needed the same explanation but worded differently, was an exercise in persistence like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

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Momentum

June 5, 2023

Building a company with longevity can often be compared to getting a massive freight train to move. You’re adding cars to the train by building all the components of the product and you’re priming the engine by putting in place all the operational structures it takes to scale. Every little win, every small success, and the gears start to turn but it’s still slow going early on. The train crawls forward inch by inch and all the effort being put into it doesn’t seem to compare to the results.

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It's not always sunshine and roses

May 30, 2023

In a year like this where markets are volatile and being able to predict how things are going to play out is harder than ever, it's inevitable that it won't always be smooth sailing. We managed to clear our lofty revenue targets in January, February, March, and April by grinding on all fronts and also catching a few lucky breaks along the way (as we always seem to be able to do). 

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Back to basics

May 22, 2023

It's been a long road to get here and I recognize that the path itself has been difficult. We were forced to make hard decisions, rein in our spending, and oftentimes that has led to us having to change our culture to adapt to the new normal. While we've been able to hit the ground running this year with an incredibly strong start, we've also ended up losing some of what makes our team tick.

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5 years to the day

May 15, 2023

Today marks an important milestone in our company’s life. Five years ago to the day, we officially incorporated ourselves in our small office in Tribeca that we shared with a few other companies. Five years later and I could have never imagined we’d be what we are today.

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Founder Notes Ep. 10 - Singles & doubles: Why the grand slam startup model is dying

The traditional startup playbook—raise big, spend fast, swing for the fences—is fading. In this episode, I unpack why the VC model is under pressure, how AI is fueling a new era of smaller, faster, more profitable startups, and why debt might beat equity for founders who want to scale on their own terms. If you’re still raising like it’s 2013, this one’s for you.

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Never let a good opportunity go to waste

May 8, 2023

As we've been wrapping up the last remaining items for the Series B, we've seen palpable demand from so many investors who were forced to be left out. In market conditions that are more favorable, it's normal to just leave the demand as is and prime them for the next round of financing. In times like this though, it's never a bad idea to pad the war chest and prepare for the what ifs that could happen in the coming quarters ahead.

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And that's a wrap

April 24, 2023

And that's that. We're done. We've successfully closed on our Series B. There's of course still a few administrative items to get to the finish line but all the commitments are in and ready to be signed for and wired. Amazingly enough, we were actually oversubscribed, with several groups this past week trying to figure out how to squeeze into the round with checks as large as up to $[ ]M beyond this $[ ]M we already have committed.

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And that's a wrap for Q1!

April 3, 2023

With that, we've officially closed the books on Q1. For the first time ever in the company's history, we've managed to post three consecutive beats on revenue and also the highest quarter ever for technology revenues. This is no small feat, especially in as volatile and unpredictable a year as this.

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