Graduates develop app to encourage sustainable investing
Daniel Gold and Nikki Hawkes, co-founders of Stratiphy, have raised more than £440,000 from 700 investors spread over 53 countries.
Nikki, who has worked as an actuary at a life and pensions operations centre, said: “We want to help people invest sustainably and safely by themselves.”
Stratiphy gives users control over their investment, according to risk profile, industry preferences and sustainability criteria – without high fees of professional guidance.
Effective and ethical investing
Daniel, who has worked as a risk analyst and in bond yield forecasting for a banking giant, said: “I wanted to combine my three passions – maths, finance and sustainability – into one vision.”
Daniel 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.
Daniel, who has a degree in maths from the University of Bristol and went on to complete PhD in algebraic geometry, 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.”
Environmentally friendly choices
Daniel was in full-time employment when he started developing the idea 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.
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.
Impact on the world
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.
Nikki, who has worked on campaigns to reduce carbon footprints both at home and abroad, said: “We can’t wait for the full version of the product to be live. Personalised, sustainable investing is the future and we are here to make it easier.”
Sustainability projects
Nikki was part of a university team to come first worldwide in an academic and business sustainability project called Enactus.
The team developed a solar lighting project based in Kenya, which helped tackle kerosine pollution and provided affordable lighting.
She also took part in a university project in Indonesia to reduce carbon footprint and combat change.
Nikki has taken part in various campaigning events – from swimming in the sea and picking up litter as part of ‘Ocean 8 challenge’ to dressing up as a giant plastic bottle and running 10 miles a day for 10 days for ‘no excuse for single use’ against plastic pollution campaign’.
