Buying an existing company is a time-tested approach to breaking into a new industry. Building infrastructure and customer bases from the ground up takes forever — so why not take advantage of ones that are already there?
That strategy is less common in the tech world, where infrastructure needs constant upgrades and where compelling, humble origin stories are adored by consumers and investors alike.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
had been around for about 15 years when “founders” Rasheed Hammouda and Sanjay Sharma took over the reins. Both had backgrounds in finance and were looking for the right opportunity to get into fintech. After scoping out the landscape, they came across the Chicago software company and saw an opportunity to pivot.
With the veteran company’s desktop application as a starting point, the Bridge team is building a cloud-based platform that helps investment advisors manage their day-to-day operations, from account management to reporting, trading and billing.
“There’s not really a provider of software in the registered investment advisor space that is trying to offer a very simple, easy-to-use piece of technology that is able to give the vast majority of advisors the level of functionality they need without overburdening them with features they don’t use and are confusing,” said Hammouda.
For Bridge’s target demographic — financial advisors who operate independent small businesses — every moment spent running back office operations is a missed opportunity to spend time with clients. By emphasizing ease of use and efficiency, Bridge wants to buy that time back for its customers.
For example, while interviewing prospective customers about their current pain points, Sharma said he talked with an investor who spent two months on billing over the course of a year. By contrast, Sharma said the billing process can be completed in a matter of minutes on Bridge’s platform.
To Sharma and Hammouda, the existing network of clients has been a valuable asset in researching what functionality to include in their new suite, and — of equal importance — what to leave out. And though neither founder is originally from the city, they were both excited by Bridge’s Chicago roots.
“It’s a really awesome community, and people are very open and collaborative,” said Hammouda. “There’s a recognition that even for people who work toward the same targets, the markets are so big and so untapped that there’s enough business to share. So it isn’t combative at all — not even a little bit.”
That collaborative spirit can be invaluable to an early-stage entrepreneur. Because when you’re bootstrapping a company with a team of eight, the last thing you want to worry about is your neighbors poaching your customers — or your developers.
Images via Bridge Financial Technology.
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