ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: HUDDLESTOCK
Norwegian fintech Huddlestock, founded in 2014, provides digital solutions that connects stakeholders in the wealth management industry. The company makes trading and investments safe, easy and cost efficient. We sat down with Murshid M. Ali, co-founder and former CEO, to hear about Huddlestock’s progress, current development and challenges.
The fintech participated in the Mastercard Lighthouse Program in the spring of 2019 and substantial changes have happened since then. After the program Huddlestock pivoted and shifted from focusing on B2C to targeting a new market segment focused on B2B operations. Huddlestock signed an agreement with several banks, including BNP Paribas and fintech companies that want to offer their clients unparalleled access to discount trading.
Ali shares that the program impacted their core business evolution. It proved to be an important incentive to understand Huddlestock’s value proposition. Ali explains,
“We could lay a strategy that was sustainable for the company into the future. For us, it was important to find a sustainable structure going forward, and I think the program has been helpful in that sense. Besides that, the Mastercard brand is a door opener, and the potential to do something together with Mastercard was an important factor for us for joining the program.”
Murshid M. Ali
Co-founder
According to Ali, like many other companies the current pandemic has presented Huddlestock with some obstacles and they must now work to tackle these challenges. Many big B2B players have been particularly affected by the pandemic. As an effect of the difficult circumstances facing many companies, Huddlestock has had delays in launches and slower progress with deals. However, Ali still sees a lot of opportunities beyond the challenges the pandemic presents. For example, arranging meetings and introductions online has never been more efficient. “Only a few years ago, it was unheard of to have the first meeting online” says Ali.
Looking forward, Huddlestock has exciting new launches and announcements coming up. The fintech just instated a new CEO, John Skajem, have an estimated break-even for 2021 and are looking to grow in the next couple years to expand the business. In the end of November this year, Huddlestock went public at marketplace Euronext Growth. Since listing, the share-price has doubled to date. In addition, Huddlestock will also be launched in Malaysia together with MHX Group as an investment management platform for retail.
There is also promising news about Huddlestock entering the German market. In Q4 2020, Huddlestock partnered with German investment bank Baader Bank with the aim to allow customers to trade shares in over 20 000 financial instruments without brokerage. Huddlestock will go live with their market platform Qinfen in January this year and their signed agreement with BNP Paribas is a huge investment into the German market. In other words, the fintech has many exciting plans ahead for 2021.
