One of the many pleasures of being Head of News at Finance Magnates is getting the opportunity to actually sit down with industry leaders and get a peek behind the curtains of the various Wizard of Oz's.
In a corona-stricken couple of years, this has been limited. However, one CEO I have had the pleasure to meet a few times has been the TipRanks' CEO, Uri Gruenbaum, a genuinely affable guy, full of boundless energy and enthusiasm but with a sharpness and clarity that strikes you instantly upon meeting him.
When we last met in August 2020, it was in a small stylish Tel Aviv Bauhaus building. Now, nearly 18 months later and after numerous isolation lockdowns and postponed meetings, I finally got the chance to sit down with Uri at TipRanks again, but boy, a lot has changed in those 18 months. For a start, the company changed offices. Gone is the compact converted house and now, sprawled over two floors; renovations are underway (it was 80% building site, 20% office); and a new chapter for the global leader in financial analysis tools is beginning.
Prophetically, at the end of our interview, I made the call of 'watch this space' when it comes to TipRanks. There was an unmistakable feeling that big things were happening there. And now, 18 months, a massive investment, phenomenal growth, a glut of new users and a steady stream of deals, later, it is fair to say I was proved right (something I can never say at home with my wife).
Having been shown around the new offices complete with Mediterranean Sea view (just), and exchanged our personal corona stories, I asked Uri about the last 18 months of phenomenal growth and how great a part COVOD played in that boom?
There’s no doubt that the Covid pandemic has had a huge impact on the number of people trading the financial markets.
Thinking back to the beginning of the pandemic, a convergence of factors has attracted millions of new investors. By the end of 2020, the S&P had gained over 65% following the March low and continued to add another 26.9% by the end of 2021. The price of Bitcoin soared from around $6,000 in March 2020 to over $64,000 in November 2021. For anyone not involved in investing, there was a definite fear of missing out (FOMO).
Of course, this was escalated by millions of people being stuck at home during lockdowns, sporting events being cancelled and with that, the opportunity to bet on your team, the Reddit/ meme trend, and the availability of free trading apps.
I think that one of the reasons that investors have stuck with TipRanks, while they have abandoned others, is that we make it easy for them to make data-driven investing decisions. In June 2021, while AMC was trading at over $62 a share and there were people on Reddit convinced they could bring down hedge funds, if you had looked on TipRanks, you would have seen that analysts’ were predicting a significant price drop. The stock is currently trading at $15, and analysts predict a further 50% decline over the next 12 months.
Another is that we continue to innovate. We’re always looking for new ways to level the playing field for retail investors. TipRanks is the only platform to provide aggregated analyst ratings and to rank analysts. We now have an entire suite of stock analysis and research tools based on unique data that investors simply won’t find elsewhere.
Whichever tools institutional investors use, we will find a way to simplify them. For example, we recently added a new feature that offers insights about website visits to publicly traded companies. Anyone using this tool ahead of earnings, would not have been surprised by disappointing reports from Netflix and Meta.
Although TipRanks has been around for almost a decade, it has only really exploded in the last couple of years. So, I was interested to know, along with the massive uptick in users, from a $12 million investment in August 2020 to a further $77 million investment just eight months later, what change of thinking and practices were needed from Uri on such a big upscale?
Firstly, I believe in TipRanks. I think that what we are doing is important, and I’m delighted that I’m not alone. Our customers use TipRanks every day, and they tell us how thanks to our platform they make more profitable investments. I hear from analysts who thank me for the work TipRanks does, they work extremely hard, and they too want accountability. Investment firms use TipRanks to see how their analysts are performing. The leading financial websites in the world use our content. This deep belief in the importance of what we are doing has certainly contributed to our ambitious growth.
Almost ten years ago when Gilad and I founded TipRanks we worked around the clock. As the company has grown, I’ve learned to let go. For example, when we started out, I’d run around trying to resolve issues as they arose or anticipate what could go wrong. I was constantly stressed. At some point I realized that this isn’t feasible, I simply don’t have the time to stress about every challenge we have or every mistake we make.
I’ve also had to let go of how involved I am. Just two or three years ago, we were a relatively small company with around 20-30 employees. I was very involved in all aspects of what we did, from product to design, to marketing to QA and so on. We now have over 100 employees and are growing. I don’t have the time to be so involved. And, I’ve learned that I don’t have to. I am surrounded by a talented, motivated and dedicated team that I can delegate to. I trust my team and greatly appreciate them.
As the subject of involvement came up, I took the opportunity to ask Uri about two very strong successful characters heavily involved in TipRanks' ascension; AndreyYashunsky and Yair Seroussi and involved they are still.
I am extremely grateful to have brilliant investors such as Andrey and Yair. They play a significant role in helping me make difficult decisions and provide strategic guidance. But, what distinguishes PryTek most is that they are really focused on the long term rather than on quarterly results. Which is exactly what entrepreneurs trying to build a big business need.
We recently announced the top analysts of 2021, and for the first time, we held an online ceremony where we chatted to some of the leading analysts. One of them, Randy Giveans from Jefferies spoke about his best Buys for 2022, starting with Zim. Well, Yair is the chair of Zim’s Board of Directors. He is a brilliant person and has a long history with TipRanks. In fact, it was Yair who opened the door to the world of banking for us. When he was the chairperson of Bank Hapoalim, it became the first bank to integrate TipRanks data.
As for Andrey, he is more than just an investor, he is also a good friend, and it is great to have him on my side of the table.
In a seamless link, I asked: "Speaking of tables... after such an incredible year would it be fair to say that, now, TipRanks is now sitting at the top table?"
Yes, it has certainly been our best year yet, with revenues doubling and headcount almost tripling, however, I like to think of it as more of an upward graph than a top table seat and anticipate lots of more peaks to come.
And, it is the upcoming peaks that I am interested in. It is clear that next level stuff is happening here, but what? there have been rumours of possible TipRanks acquisitions and a few other exciting media-related projects. It has been impossible not to miss the massive recruitment drive, and there is a buzz around TipRanks that I haven't felt since the last and latest Israeli success story (see Lemonade, Waze, Monday.com, Fiverr et al). So, I wanted to know more about what's ahead
Our goal is that anyone, anywhere in the world can use TipRanks in their investment research. We’ve still got a lot to do to achieve this. This includes adding new markets, translating TipRanks into other languages, providing data for additional assets, such as cryptocurrencies and funds, adding technical analysis and advanced charts. We are also expanding our news and analysis offer as we want the TipRanks platform to be the only place investors need to go to conduct their research. If we will find potential acquisitions that would help us accelerate our growth, we will not hesitate to act.
I asked should Bloomberg be worried, but I knew from the wry smile and silence that I wasn't going to get a comment on that just yet, so I wrapped up with a thought for when we do our now annual event in 2023, what can I expect to be questioning Uri about?
Interesting question! I hope it will be around how 2022 was our best year yet. But, with all the new activities planned to take place in 2022, which includes global expansion, asset diversification, video content and many new innovative developments, I hope I would be able to share insights on how to get into new areas and become a domain authority within a year.
And, so this year's TipRanks and Uri interview ended as with tradition, I will make another prediction. 2021 was the best year yet for TipRanks, but expect 2022 to be even better. A lot of exciting things are going to be happening there this year and some big established industry players should be looking over their shoulders.
